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CRA approves fair permit after heated debate over late payments, traffic and prepayment terms
Summary
After extended public comment and board debate over late payments, traffic and prepayment protections, the Margate CRA on Sept. 10 approved a temporary use agreement allowing the fair to operate on CRA property and forwarded the application to the City Commission for conditions on police and fire staffing payments.
The Margate CRA approved a temporary use agreement Sept. 10 allowing Hildebrand & Music Rights Inc. (the fair operator) to hold a multi-day fair on CRA-owned property, advancing the matter to the City Commission for any conditions related to police, fire and other city staffing costs.
The agenda item prompted lengthy public comment critical of the operator, including repeated citations that applications were submitted late and bills to the city had been paid piecemeal in past years. Several speakers and a commissioner urged the CRA to deny the request because it violated the 90‑day temporary-use policy and because prior invoices for police and other city services had not been paid promptly. Speakers also voiced concerns about traffic backups on State Road 7 (441), the length of setup and teardown (the operator seeks a multi-week presence) and the scale of the event (staff cited an estimated attendance of about 40,000).
The fair operator’s attorney, Josh Rydell, told the board that past payments were late but that his client had made payments and that he would accept stricter prepayment terms going forward. He described a payment structure in the draft agreement that includes an initial CRA rent (the item before the CRA was $50,000) and prepayment for policing and fire details to be set by the City Commission; he said a $100,000 prepayment before setup was part of the protections he had proposed.
Board members proposed and voted on an amendment to raise the CRA rent from $50,000 to $75,000; the amendment failed. The CRA then approved the temporary use agreement as presented to the board (subject to legal revisions by the CRA attorney) by roll-call vote; staff noted the application will still go to the City Commission, which will set any required prepayments or staffing conditions for police, fire and other city services.
Speakers opposed to the fair emphasized repeated policy violations and late payments in prior years. Supporters and some board members flagged the fair’s charitable contributions and youth access to tickets. The CRA’s approval is procedural for use of CRA property; any policing and fire prepayment amounts will be considered by the City Commission when the application advances.
