Chemung County Fairgrounds - Is There A Better Way To Utilize Them?

[Hal 542]

9 minutes ago, Kevin said:

Plus all the horse people think they own the fairgrounds and arena and complain anytime it is used for anything else.

 

7 minutes ago, Chris said:

Are they renting the facilities at that time?

Good point !! And actually I have not actually seen the inside of the Arena and aren’t the horse barns ( not the newer ones off Grand Central ) available for boarding year round any longer ? Guess i’m leaning toward what Tioga Raceway has done with theirs . 

[MsKreed 1,505]

23 minutes ago, Chris said:

The fair board has no say as to what goes on there, except two weeks a year, for the actual fair. The rest is on the county itself. 

 

9 minutes ago, Hal said:

As i said before , keeping the “Fair “ out of the equation and concentrating on the actual grounds which is operated by Chemung County Building and Grounds .

This....right here. Exactly.

I think, for year round utilization, we need to separate the actual fair & Fair Board from the Fairgrounds and how the property could/should the other 50 weeks out of the year into two distinct conversations.

If the County Building and Grounds department administers rental and usage outside of "the fair", then perhaps an ARP grant earmarked for for specific improvements and utilization is in order.  Heating, expansion & renovation of indoor spaces.....that would facilitate year round events (farmers market, craft fairs, etc).....along with coordination with some local non-profit that could host those events (to prevent some large commercial interest from leeching off the taxpayers for their own gain). I'm not sure which non-profit something like that might fall under, but it seems like there must be some.....Cooperative Extension? Chemung County Ag Promotion Committee? 

 

14 minutes ago, Chris said:

As an afterthought, I'd be fine with a one time infusion of cash into the fair boards coffers, and make it so they'd have to report to the county where the money is utilized and how they're doing financially going forward. I do not think having a county politician involved in the county fair is a good idea, there's too much room for yet more self-serving activity.

Agreed....although wouldn't an infusion for improvements to the entire grounds make the venue more inviting and increase traffic at the actual Fair also?

[Chris 3,051]

3 hours ago, MsKreed said:

…although wouldn't an infusion for improvements to the entire grounds make the venue more inviting and increase traffic at the actual Fair also?

Oh absolutely. I’m okay with both really. 

[Jack 69]

Karting track. 

[Chris 3,051]

Adam Bunce announced recently that his company, Bunce Entertainment would be bringing in the grandstand act for the Chemung County Fair this year. I've often wondered why someone else, like Tag's, didn't take the reigns on this and help bring higher caliber acts to the fair. ( Waite, never mind, I know why. ) Well looks like someone finally has, and it can only mean great things for the fair as a whole:

I had to look up who they were, but as soon as I did I recognized a couple of their songs from the radio. 

Great job Adam!

[Chris 3,051]

At last night's legislative meeting, 14th District Legislator Mike Smith brought up resolution that was a request by the county executive and/or county fair committee for $33,000 to help sponsor the country music show at this year's fair. Smith said he doesn't think this is a correct use of taxpayer dollars or the ARP funding. Smith added that he would like to see an actual business plan from the committee. 

Several legislators agreed. 9th District Legislator Burin said that he doesn't think that it's an appropriate use of taxpayer money.

And apparently, there's some disagreement about how the request for this and other funding came before the legislature. 

The resolution failed. 

Perhaps having the ag society come up with a sound business plan going forward isn't a terrible idea. What do you guys think?

 

[MsKreed 1,505]

I thought Smith’s (and others’) premise that this performance wouldn’t serve all county residents was disingenuous at best considering the millions we’ve dumped into a hockey arena that only serves a small segment of the population. As Legislator Strange pointed out.... taxpayer money supports all kinds of things that are not utilized by everyone.  

On the other hand, as Legislator McCarthy noted, the timing and format of the request doesn’t seem appropriate. "Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance"

Is this the same band that is already booked for the Fair, or an additional event? 

What precedent do we have for taxpayers to front money for Fair performances?

I might understand if the Ag Society outlined some ledger numbers that show that they lost revenue during the pandemic and need a little cushion to recover, etc. But if that were the case, the report, numbers, and plan should have been presented a long time ago. Instead it appears that they suddenly got the idea to request the county to “sponsor” the show barely five months from the date.

 

[Adam 499]

1. Glad it was turned down. one look around the area can see the results of Tax monies being used for entertainment purposes.

2. Tax money should NEVER be used in such a manner. If the Ag society, or other entity wants to put on a show, let them do it like everyone else, take loans, present a better business plan than" hey we wanna do this, could you front the majority of the money?" 

3. i have to wonder, i dont believe a request like this has been made before, isnt this the show that Bunce Entertainment has been touting? sorry but im still not convinced he and/or the L wasnt tied in some skeetchy stuff with the church, and to see this request associated with a show brought in by his business just confirms to me, that Tax monies should be nowhere close to this event.

4. IF the funds were approved, would the County then get a cut of the profits from the show?

[Ann 403]

What about using ARP  funds to repair damage caused by the fire under the grandstand.  Booths could be set up for venders to provide food and/or wares for sale to people attending the fair. 

[Chris 3,051]

ARP funds were suggested for the indoor farmers market/ convention center right?

Thats the only thing I would approve of right now when it comes to those funds. You know, something that would generate not only income, but growth for the surrounding area.

But everyone sees that “free money” and wants it for their pet project. And then we’ll still be talking about that indoor farmers market in another ten years from now..

[Hal 542]

NO !! 
I too am happy that it was turned down for all the reasons listed in the prior post ! As alluded to before these ARP funds are like blood on the water to some sharklike individuals in the area … old and new sharks . 

[Chris 3,051]

Driving past the fairgrounds yesterday, I was thinking, "Man, it would sure be nice to see an indoor farmers market and convention center going in there."

[Chris 3,051]

I've bumped and pinned this because once again there's a lot of complaining from the public about this year's county fair. 

[MsKreed 1,505]

The Budget Committee only had a few item on their Agenda (less than 2 minutes worth), and a brief update on the Five Star Building......Mr McCarthy asked about the Fair at about the 3:45 mark......

The Committee members all seem interested in finding some way to improve the County Fair as well as addressing year round under-utilization.....but it wasn't an official Agenda item and seems like it's not been/being brought up to the Full Legislature at this time 😔

August 7, 2023 Budget Meeting 

[Chris 3,051]

it's a simple matter of starting with more services provided to the fair committee. The county can help with the clean up, sanitation, etc., which I'm pretty sure the fair committee is responsible for now. That alone could free up a good chunk of change. 

 

[Adam 499]

paraphrasing what i was told but: there was request for financials or profit/loss records in order for Legislature to look into providing funds and either could not or would not be produced so far

[Chris 3,051]

4 minutes ago, Adam said:

paraphrasing what i was told but: there was request for financials or profit/loss records in order for Legislature to look into providing funds and either could not or would not be produced so far

Requested by whom and from whom? Otherwise that's a useless answer. 

 

[Adam 499]

17 minutes ago, Chris said:

Requested by whom and from whom? Otherwise that's a useless answer. 

 

My inquiry: 

"who plans/hires for the event, does the County have any input/financial involvement/manpower invested"

The response: "We discussed the fair last night we do not have any input they asked for money we would be glad to give them some but they will not give us a business plan we r asking for there profit  and loss to see where the money is going we r looking into doing more with the horses"

[MsKreed 1,505]

1 minute ago, Adam said:

"We discussed the fair last night

If that discussion was the Budget Committee meeting I linked, it was pretty informal. No one from the Fair Committee was there to answer, but they mentioned the earlier request for funds (for the concert) that the Legislature rejected in May. 

Additionally, Legislator Morse noted the Troy Fair (that everyone uses as a contrast) i in PA and not subject to some of NYS's restrictive seasonal employment laws. 

[Kevin 426]

Most of the current fair board members are in their 70's and are retiring after this year. So next year's fair will have a mostly new board. I am hoping they can turn it around.

[Twin Tiers Living 464]

Unfortunately, due to technical issues, this topic has lost some of the posts that happened since Friday afternoon. We apologize for this inconvenience. 

[Chris 3,051]

I recently got quite an education as to why the fair has shrunk in size. ( I was told 11 rides this year compared to 27 in 2019 ). 

In 2021, James E. Strates apparently couldn't do the fair due to a lack of manpower. So Wheelock was booked as the ride provider, with the understanding that Strates would return in 2022. However this didn't happen, so Wheelock would again do it, with Strates adding 3 of their rides to Wheelock's. That gave a total of 16 rides for that year. 

Allegedly this past spring a five year contract was signed with Wheelock. They brought a total of 12 rides, one of which didn't pass inspection and could not be used. Strates was not involved in any way for unspecified reasons. 

Don Wainright, who serves on the Executive Board of the Chemung County Agricultural Society appeared on "Frankly Speaking" about some of the challenges facing those working to put on a county fair: https://fb.watch/moQ5Eh15aM/

[Zapp Brannigan 203]

23 hours ago, Chris said:

I recently got quite an education as to why the fair has shrunk in size. ( I was told 11 rides this year compared to 27 in 2019 ). 

In 2021, James E. Strates apparently couldn't do the fair due to a lack of manpower. So Wheelock was booked as the ride provider, with the understanding that Strates would return in 2022. However this didn't happen, so Wheelock would again do it, with Strates adding 3 of their rides to Wheelock's. That gave a total of 16 rides for that year. 

Allegedly this past spring a five year contract was signed with Wheelock. They brought a total of 12 rides, one of which didn't pass inspection and could not be used. Strates was not involved in any way for unspecified reasons. 

Don Wainright, who serves on the Executive Board of the Chemung County Agricultural Society appeared on "Frankly Speaking" about some of the challenges facing those working to put on a county fair: https://fb.watch/moQ5Eh15aM/

video is gone

[Chris 3,051]

53 minutes ago, Zapp Brannigan said:

video is gone

Link just worked for me.

[LocalSportsGuy 46]

To be fair to the workers at the fair, they are all volunteers but saying that this year had a lot of errors and missteps. I do think there needs to be a little more investment from the county to try and right the ship, working with more media outlets on the big acts or weekly acts. I noticed in those pictures the grandstand had a lot of empty seats. I know it's a lot of work and resources that need. As for getting more use out of the fairgrounds, a farmers market on like a Tuesday or something wouldn't be a bad idea but even the big ones like the one in Elmira I notice have lacked vendors this year so I don't know how many they would get.