PADUCAH — During its Tuesday meeting, the Paducah-McCracken County Convention and Expo Center Board discussed improvements to the facility and the new QuiltWeek contract with the American Quilter’s Society.
The first improvement to the convention center, a roof repair, has been decided for months. The supplies for the repair have been delivered to the convention center, and the project is expected to be complete by April of next year.
The McCracken County Fiscal Court asked the board to list other improvements it wants completed for the convention center. The county plans to take out a $6 million bond to pay for the projects once those improvements are decided.
The board said the second priority would be replacing the convention and expo center’s HVAC units.
The facility has a high electric bill, and Executive Director Michelle Campbell believes replacing the units will help with that monthly cost.
“If we get the HVAC done, whatever the thing is that’s causing our peaks, maybe that will go away. So, I think there could be quite a bit of savings just with the HVAC,” Campbell said.
The convention center board will inform the county of its decision, so they can start contracting bids for the project.
The board will appoint a subcommittee and give it 30 days to determine other improvements for the convention center. The recommendations will be submitted to McCracken County and the city of Paducah.
During the meeting, Board Chairman Mark Whitlow presented updates to the new contract with the American Quilter’s Society for QuiltWeek. The contract will take effect in 2025 and last through 2030.
One update to the contract is holding AQS responsible for assembling the temporary dome pavilion used during QuiltWeek.
“We will lease the dome to the quilt show for a dollar, and the quilt show will then be responsible for erecting and taking down the dome,” Whitlow explained.
AQS will be responsible for any damage to the dome.
“We will not be, we the convention center, will not be liable for any dome-related issues,” Whitlow said.
Another contract update is an increase in the cost of renting the convention center for QuiltWeek.
“We’re going to have a 10% increase in the square footage rental every two years,” Whitlow said.
Currently, it costs five cents per square foot for AQS to rent the space. When the new contract starts in 2025, the cost will increase to six cents per square foot.