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Bedford County Fair asks committee for county support to stretch $20,000 state grant for safety and accessibility projects
Summary
JD Turner, president of the Bedford County Fair, told the Rules and Legislative Committee the fair has $20,000 in state capital-improvement funds spread across eight projects and asked whether the county could provide additional funds or assistance to address priority safety items such as bleacher replacement, electrical repairs and air circulation.
JD Turner, president of the Bedford County Fair, presented an eight-project plan to the Bedford County Rules and Legislative Committee on Feb. 10 and asked the county to consider providing additional support so a Tennessee Association of Fairs state capital-improvement grant can be stretched to cover the most urgent safety and accessibility work.
"We would like to see if there was a way that we could get some additional grant money from the county so that we can make this money go further," Turner said, describing projects that include replacing every board on bleachers, repairing damaged electrical housings and plugs, improving lighting and adding industrial fans for air circulation.
Turner said the state grant allocates roughly $20,000 to the county fairs’ list of projects and that any unused funds must be returned to the state; each proposed project has a minimum threshold of about $2,500 as the fair collects vendor quotes. He said the ag board has reviewed the list and that vendors are providing quotes so the board and fair can prioritize by greatest impact.
Committee members pressed on scope and cost. "The first thing that we would probably do would be tackle the bleachers because we feel those are the biggest single opportunity for something to possibly happen," Turner said, adding that some electrical plugs were observed hanging out of cases and presented a shock risk. An unidentified committee member warned, "That's a liability, folks," and urged incremental action.
Fair representatives and committee members also flagged accessibility concerns: gravel walkways and handicap parking complicate access for people using wheelchairs during events. Turner said the fair holds special-needs days and that improving pathways and other site features would benefit multiple users of the county-owned property, which is rented for events year-round.
Turner asked that the county consider options such as matching funds or other assistance and noted the Tennessee Association of Fairs must submit its documentation to the state by Nov. 1 to be considered for recurring funding. He said the fair and ag board will refine quotes and priorities and bring those recommendations back through proper county channels.
The committee did not take a formal vote on a county contribution during the meeting; Turner said the fair will continue coordinating with the ag board and return with prioritized cost estimates for committee consideration.
