Officials with the Colorado State Fair are looking to the legislature for help in funding the demolition of a few buildings contaminated with lead paint and asbestos near the fairgrounds in Pueblo.
The three vacant buildings near the state fairgrounds were originally set aside to build a Naval and Marine Corps Reserve. But back in the mid 90’s the Department of Defense moved their base to Colorado Springs and the structures were turned over to the Colorado State Fair. Spokesman Cliff Wyatt says they’ve been working to tear them down ever since.
“We had never accepted it but they have truly sort of walked away from the responsibility there. We still have some asbestos there at the facility. What we are looking for is funding to tear that facility down and do whatever remediation we need to do with it."
Wyatt says he hopes the Colorado legislature would be willing to designation some state funding to help pay for the estimated 450-thousand needed for the demolition.
“We are in very tight budgets on both the state and federal level. And so expenditures are really kind of tough right now. Just recent these buildings were put on the state priority list. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will get the funding this year but it is something we will continue to work on.”
Lawmakers are looking at possibly fitting that into the budget this year. Wyatt says the state fair would like to turn the property into a parking lot.
