KINGMAN – Mohave County supervisors have opted for compromise after voting Aug. 16 for immediate termination of a lease allowing the Fair Association to operate the Fairgrounds facilities in Kingman and hold events there. A 3-2 vote during a special Aug. 19 board meeting will instead terminate the lease at the end of this year.
Fair Association Chairman Jerry McGuire made clear his disappointment with Monday’s Board action. “The immediate hostile takeover and the bullying of our Board and staff was divisive and harmful to many good people,” McGuire said.
40-year Kingman resident Doug Scholl urged supervisors to revisit the immediate takeover, contending the county lacks experience and expertise to conduct the rapidly approaching annual Fair, scheduled Sept. 16-19.
“The county is not prepared to conduct a fair as we know it. The Mohave County Fair Association is,” he said. “We don’t want the first fair that the county runs to be a flop.”
Fair Committee Chairman Kristen Scholl also weighed in.
“The move to take over the fair immediately just prior to the opening of the fair has caused confusion and problems,” Mrs. Scholl said. “Planning for the fair is at a standstill. Sponsors do not know if they’re donating to the Mohave County Fair Association or to the county government.”
Scholl said the takeover undermines fair planning that’s been underway for months. She said contracts are in place for various entertainers, performers and vendors, and that some 1,500 online entries have already been accepted for competitions and exhibits.
“I would ask that you would allow the Fair Association to complete those things that they’ve already contracted,” said Fair Association Board member Becky Fawson. “We need to be given the opportunity to finish what we started.”
In addition to the fair, a PRCA rodeo and two livestock auctions are calendared into October. Fawson said allowing the lease to run to Dec. 31 will allow the county to shadow the Association and benefit from a multiple month learning curve as the entities work together to transition the Fairgrounds back to county control.
The Board directed staff to develop a comprehensive transition plan by October. Board Chairman Buster Johnson said a facility needs assessment, a staff organization, and a budget plan are necessary, as well as an analysis of the merits of selling the 75-acre campus in Kingman and relocating the Fairgrounds.
McGuire said he welcomes the financial audit planned by the county.
“Please be sure to look far enough back to help us uncover and explain substantial financial irregularities we found ourselves when conducting our own audit of prior years just a few years ago.” McGuire said.
District 1 Supervisor Travis Lingenfelter insisted that county management of the Fairgrounds is in everyone’s best interest. “It’s the right thing to do for the citizens of Mohave County,” he said.
Dave Hawkins
