GOCO VISIONING NOVEMBER 2022-JULY 31, 2023
The previous Visioning and Master Planning funding was expended mid-summer right before the largest community engagement event (the fair draws 17,000 people). The City and the Community Engagement team opted to forge ahead and the Fair has paid for a part of community engagement. We are respectfully requesting reimbursement for the additional community engagement, materials (models, renderings and marketing).
This region wide, transformative project will ultimately be funded and maintained utilizing a diversified fundraising strategy to include funding, matching, leverage and gift in kind from the following sources: Principal Partners, Government Grants, Foundation Grants, Corporate Sponsorships, Events and Nonprofit Partners.
Implementation & Funding: The full Arkansas Valley Fairground & Crystal Lake improvements are multifaceted and have many partners engaged with each phase of the project. Parallel to this project, the rodeo grounds will be working on campaigns to ensure that that the main rodeo arena is safe for people and animals.
GOCO PLANNING AND DESIGN DEVELOPMENT -
GRANT SUBMITTED DEC 1, 2023
This 2 year planning cycle will result in full architectural, engineering, surveying and permitting so that the transformation & revitalization plan will be shovel ready for the restoration of the Crystal Lake area (former holding ponds left behind by the sugar industry-35 acres) & updates to the historic Arkansas Valley Fairgrounds (the oldest running fair in the state-70 acres) expanding use of facilities to year round programming. To increase capacity for the City of Rocky Ford, funding will also support continued community engagement, strategic planning, and capacity building resulting in a robust 3-5 year development plan with a fully developed sustainability plan for ongoing operations and maintenance. Additionally, this process will deepen the relationship with the City of Aurora, as due diligence talks and strategic planning begin regarding almost 5,000 acres of formerly agricultural land that stretch along the Arkansas River from Manzanola to Swink. Ultimately we will break down barriers to public space & enable access to the outdoors for marginalized, underrepresented & underserved people including the rural agricultural & Latinx communities.
