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State Offers Money to Repair Old Fair Barns, By Jondi Gumz
COMMUNITY NEWS
State Offers Money to Repair Old Fair Barns
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By Jondi Gumz
The 1955 livestock barns at the Santa Cruz County Fair are not going to be demolished under the new regime in place since CEO Dave Kegebein was dismissed Oct. 4.
On Dec. 6, the fair board, with new members Nick Colubaquib of Aptos and Rachel Wells of Felton, voted with board member and interim manager Don Dietrich and acting board president Stephanie Fontana abstaining, to rescind the motion to demolish and instead agreed to pursue repairs to engineered specifications with money proffered by Michael Flores, deputy director of the state Department of Food and Agriculture.
“The state will step up,” Flores said. “No strings attached.”
An audit of the Santa Cruz County fair by that agency, which oversees operations at state-owned fair property, found no receipts for $163,442 in purchases and led to the dismissal of Dave Kegebein, who in 11 years had orchestrated a financial turnaround with $1.75 million cash on hand, albeit with omissions in record-keeping.
As in October, the fairgrounds meeting room was full, some calling for more transparency on the financials, which are behind schedule, and more watching on Zoom.
Flores, dressed in a suit, stepped to the microphone at the fair board meeting and said that state resiliency funding will pay for the repairs.
“We feel it’s prudent,” Flores said, acknowledging it would take time to come up with plans for a new multi-purpose building, as Kegebein had proposed and the board supported.
Kegebein, at the microphone, said resiliency funding was “widely perceived” as a plan to adapt fairgrounds for use by homeless people.
Flores, responding to Kegebein, said, “He couldn’t be more wrong.”
Flores said resiliency funding is designed to upgrade heating and cooling systems at fairgrounds, which are needed in disasters such as earthquakes, fires, and flooding.
He said the money is also going to install commercial kitchens to provide meals to disaster victims and incubate startup food businesses, proper showers and broadband, and RV access.
“That’s what this money is meant for,” Flores said.
Some in the audience were unconvinced.
“We want no strings attached,” said Kevin Hurley, a volunteer who heads up the fair’s beef cattle department.
The barns were deemed unsafe by the state and cordoned off during the fair. Tents were put up for fair animals and their exhibitors.
Historic Mess
Dietrich, in his role as interim manager, said he got the impression from talking with CDFA and California Construction Authority (designed to facilitate construction projects at fairgrounds) that due to the historic designation, it would be easier to repair than demolish the barns.
Asked he could get the historic designation corrected, Dietrich said he tried to reach the county planning department, which oversees historic resources.
“They’ve been fairly unresponsive,” Dietrich said.
“If you need help, I’m available,” said fair board member Dana McRae, county counsel for 22 years before retiring.
“Our legal team can certainly help,” said Flores of CDFA.
The county Historic Resources Commission meets in January.
Board member Tony Campos said demolition was stalled because of “an honest mistake” designating the entire fairgrounds property as historic.
The intent had been to designate the Rodgers House, built in the 1870s, donated by Melanie Kett Wirtanen to the fairgrounds and moved there in 1998, as historic.
However, Wirtanen, who spoke, said she was “completely shocked” by the designation, which limits what can be done to the property.
Kegebein said the historic designation is by parcel and the fairgrounds is one parcel.
That explains why the historic designation was applied to the fairgrounds as a whole.
Fontana pointed out the access for fire trucks and trailers is difficult with the current setup. This is why she had favored pursuing a new multi-purpose building.
New Interim Manager
Anew interim manager is coming on board Jan. 2.
“Fair Barns” page 24
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Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz
