Council member Casey Thieryung will be the liaison between the City of Brooksville and the Hernando County Fair Association. The Councilman volunteered for the position during the May 17 workshop meeting of the Brooksville City Council.
The meeting took place just after Mayor Blake Bell and City Manager Ron Snowburger met with Hernando County Fair Association Operations Manager Richard Klimas. “We used to have a person on the board several years ago, and now they are interested in moving forward to determine what the different people in the community want (at the Fairgrounds),” Snowburger told the panel. “So they feel it would be very beneficial if one member of the Council sat on the (Fair) Board to see what was taking place.”
Located at 6436 Broad St. in Brooksville, the Hernando County Fair Association hosts various events at the Hernando County Fairgrounds, including the upcoming July 4 festivities. It has hosted 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) livestock shows and auctions in the past. The Association is also responsible for maintaining the Fairgrounds.
The organization came under fire in April 2021 when several code violations were discovered during inspections of the fairground structures. Additionally, the association was accused of mismanaging its funds, including more than $60,000 in grant funds from the county, and for charging 4-H and FFA livestock show participants for promising to market their animals for auction and delaying payment to the owners of livestock that were successfully auctioned during the events.
Since then, the City has had little to do with the organization, said Bell. “I told Klimas that there are some concerning issues with the Fair Association and the groups they work with,” he said. “The most important function of the fair is making sure that children focused on agriculture have a thriving fair, so until the Fair Association gets their own issues resolved and gets their house in order, I don’t want the City touching it with a 10-foot pole.”
Snowberger pointed out why the City should accept Klimas’ invitation. “The disadvantage of our not participating is that a direction could be taking place out there, and we wouldn’t have any input – we wouldn’t have any idea,” he said. “Also, I’m sure it would be beneficial to have that kind of feedback coming back to the Council as to what their plans are and how we might be involved as a city.”
Council member Christa Tanner agreed. “I have always thought that it was interesting that it (the Fair Association office) was in the city,” said Tanner, who volunteered to serve as Thieryung’s alternate on the Fair Board. “I think there’s some interesting dynamics to it, and I definitely think that we need to be involved as a city.”
Exactly when Thieryung and Tanner will begin serving on the Fair Association Board is to be determined.
