Beer garden expected to be done by Colfax Free Fair

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX — With any luck at all, construction of a new beer garden at the Colfax fairgrounds will be completed by the time the Colfax Free Fair starts June 12.

The Colfax Village Board approved allowing Auth Consulting to continue working on designing the building at the April 28 meeting.

The state of Wisconsin recently changed the rules for replacing a building that was lost because of a “catastrophic failure,” said Dale Adams, a designer and project manager with Auth Consulting.

The beer shed collapsed following a wet, heavy snow toward the end of February.

Under the new rules, the village can build back the same exact building right where the old building was located, Adams told the village board.

“It is the most economical to put it back where it was, exactly the way it was — just newer than it was,” Adams said.

Village board members immediately began discussing making changes to the building.

Scott Gunnufson, village president, noted that the old beer structure had eight-foot walls and wondered about making the walls nine feet or ten feet high.

Jeremy Klukas wondered about installing a wider door, rather than the previous eight-foot door.

Gunnufson said he would like to see a 16-foot door.

Gunnufson also wondered about removing the eight-foot chain-link fence and replacing it with a four-foot fence to make it a more inviting space, perhaps something like a split rail fence.

“The more that’s changed, the more questions that the state will ask,” Adams said, adding that he would see what he could do about higher walls and wider doors.

Receiving the plans back from the state will take about three weeks, he said.

Gunnufson said he would work on the bidding documents this week and that he hoped the building could be completed by the time the fair starts.

“It will be a push,” Adams said.

The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved a motion authorizing Auth Consulting to continue with designing the building.

Special meeting

At a special meeting May 1, the Colfax Village Board approved bid documents for the beer garden, approved advertising for bids for the structure and approved opening the bids at 7 p.m. on May 21.

The advertisement for bids will be published in the Colfax Messenger May 7 and May 14 and also will be published in the Eau Claire Leader Telegram.

The 40×60 foot building will have cream-colored walls, a red roof and red trim and doors. Instead of eight-foot walls, the building will have nine-foot walls. A 16-foot door going out to the dance hall will replace the eight-foot door that was there previously.

In addition, the roof on the dance hall will be replaced with a red steel roof to match the building.

An eight-foot by 16-foot concrete slab will be part of the bid as well to replace a portion of the 40-foot by 16-foot slab that was damaged during the demolition of the collapsed building.

As part of the bid, the existing bathrooms at the fairgrounds will be covered with steel to match the beer garden.

Bids are due at the administrator-clerk-treasurer’s office by 4 p.m. on May 21.

Construction on the structure will begin May 22 so that the footings can be poured and allowed to cure over the weekend of May 24 and 25.

Construction must be completed by June 5, leaving one week for members of the American Legion, the FFA Alumni and the Colfax firefighters to build a bar inside of the structure.

The three groups have agreed to share in the cost of building the bar.