BY DAN HILDEBRAN
James L. Gissy has filed a public notice indicating that his trust, the James Gissy Revocable Trust, intends to foreclose on the Bradford County Fairgrounds.
The Notice of Lis Pendens is intended to notify potential buyers of the 20-acre parcel near the intersection of Market Road and U.S. 301 that litigation is pending that may cloud a potential buyer’s title to the property.
Around 2018, the fair association received a $1.5 million state grant to construct a $3 million 10,000-square-foot arena. The arena would be hardened to meet state codes, allowing it to serve as a hurricane shelter.
In 2019, the organization borrowed $1.5 million from Community State Bank (now DLP Bank) in anticipation of receiving a second $1.5 million state grant.
However, the 2018 Parkland high school shooting and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic upended the state budget for two consecutive years, resulting in Tallahassee lawmakers failing to provide the second grant.
That left the fair association facing foreclosure on its mortgage with the bank in January 2024, and Gissy’s trust took on the promissory note.
Fair association President Bob Milner said he asked Gissy to delay legal action after the association failed to make an annual mortgage payment of $189,000 to the trust. However, Gissy elected to proceed with the lawsuit.
The fair association leader added that he has been in constant contact with Gissy to resolve the pending litigation.
Milner also said his board recently met with State Senator Jennifer Bradley and Rep. Chuck Brannan to discuss state funding, essentially asking lawmakers to follow through on their original commitment for the second grant.
The former Bradford County Sheriff and current Starke City Commissioner said his board is talking to other private investors to organize a financing package that would pay off the trust.
