Fair president says volunteers hurt by staff actions after bleachers moved

Fair Board President Megan Nothelfer told the Board of Commissioners that volunteers had poured cement, cleaned the DPW/Fair building, and spent "many volunteer hours," only to face what she called poor communication from Parks and Recreation and DPW staff. "The communications with the Parks and Recreation/DPW staff was unacceptable during the past year; many volunteer hours spent and concern volunteers will be leaving due to internal county communications," Nothelfer said.

Nothelfer raised two specific incidents: removal of large bleachers from the derby area, which she said were anchored and were damaged when moved to the Kaliseum grounds, and relocation of an archery target previously stored in the Fair room. When asked about the archery target, Chad Williams said it "did not belong to FAIR" and later said he had authority under his job description to make decisions about county property.

Tony Parcher also defended the decision to move items, asserting they are county property. Commissioners Kohn Fisher and David Comai said items on fairgrounds should not be relocated without prior communication. Commissioner David Persons said such issues should be handled through Administration. The board directed that the bleachers be returned pending repair and requested documentation of communications.

No formal disciplinary action or change in staffing was taken at the special meeting. The exchange focused on restoring property, repairing damage, and improving interdepartmental communication before the upcoming fair.