BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Now that it owns the fairgrounds, Bradford County is adding up the cost of management and maintenance until the fairgrounds is paying for itself.
As of the county’s budget workshop last week, money to insure the buildings — $22,000 — was already added to the county’s budget. Public works was still surveying the fairgrounds to develop a list of needed repairs or upgrades. They needed to be planned for as a part of the county’s capital improvement plan.
“As of right now, Rick and Chris in our maintenance department have been down there doing some inspection,” Public Works Director Jason Dodds told the board. “There’s been some HVAC issues that they’ve taken care of. That’s the initial shock right now, but we still need to go through that a little closer to see exactly the age of everything down there, and I can give you all an update at the next meeting.”
Clerk of Court Denny Thompson said a big unknown is the cost maintaining the fairgrounds. Brad Thomas, vice president of the Bradford County Agricultural Fair, said they are looking at costs such as insurance and utilities. They receive rental revenue from the church that meets there to help cover those costs, but events will be the real source of income for management and maintenance. They are discussing several events, including the fair in March.
Answering Thompson, Thomas said the fair board intends to be self-sufficient.
“With that being said, it may take, it may take two years to get there,” said Thomas. It may be next year before they can take over the insurance bill, and a little longer before the board can be contributing toward the salary of a fair manager.
Not knowing some of the figures such as the anticipated salary of the fair manager complicated predicting self-sufficiency. That person will be key to bringing in revenue.
“We have full-time jobs. It’s going to take somebody beating the bushes and dragging stuff in to get an income. That’s not only what the fairgrounds needs, that’s what the county needs. We need somebody to bring income in, so it pays for itself,” Thomas said.
While his office is handling administration for now, County Manager Scott Kornegay said a full-time manager for the fair needs to be part of the discussion.
“Nothing’s going to fall through the crack, but the point is, we don’t have the capacity to go out and do what Brad’s talking about, which is what needs to be done,” he said.
Thomas suggested a salary range of $75,000 to $90,000 to attract the right person and motivate them to work hard. This was the consensus of the county commission as well. The county manager and fair board executives will work together on drafting a job description and hiring the fair manager.
“Mr. Scott said it best. You’re looking for a unicorn, and we know that, but with the right people on the board to hire, I believe, with the right salary, you’re going to get somebody that wants to come in here and really work hard for it,” Thomas said.
The fair board understands this is their burden, he added, not the county’s burden.
“But we ask the county to help us get to the point where we can handle that burden on our own,” he said. When that happens, they may even be able to pay back some of the county’s contribution, he said.
For now, funding from the county reserves will be used to pay the fair manager’s salary.
Asked by Commissioner Diane Andrews, Kornegay said there was less than $5,000 in the fair board account when the county acquired the fairgrounds. More money may be found pending the outcome of an ongoing state-level investigation into actions taken by the prior fair board.
One thing the fair board does have among its members is a lot of experience, Thomas said. They are also motivated to create income through fundraising. But without someone to manage operation of the fairgrounds, it will be difficult to fully understand its position or plan for its future.
