Chamber, fair board at odds

During the Aug. 2 meeting of the Weston County Commissioners, Sandy Martin, president of the Newcastle Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, asked the commissioners for an “under the table meeting” with the chamber board and the Weston County Fair Board to discuss issues between the two entities. 
Martin said that she was asking for only two commissioners to attend the meeting between the fair board and chamber, prior to the regular fair board meeting on Monday Aug. 8, so that open meeting laws could be circumvented. 
“The reason I am asking is, I don’t want the newspaper to lie again. They are not very reliable,” Martin told the commissioners. “I don’t care for the newspaper, so I think honestly we would like to do it under the table.” 
She noted later in the same discussion that she had told the fair board that she would come to the newspaper to make the issues between the two entities public if the fair board would not meet to discuss the issue. 
“I want to squash the animosity; there is hearsay going on out there. There is a lot of hearsay that is very inaccurate. Pig wrestling was the final straw for me,” Martin said. “... I said, ‘we’re done. This has got to change or I’m not just going to come here (to the county commissioners meeting). I will go publicly to the newspaper.’” 
During the July 19 commissioners meeting, Martin had approached the commissioners to discuss issues with the fair board and fairgrounds manager Kara Fladstol. She noted that the current issue concerned her being “blatantly lied to” by the board and/or manager about the fair’s liquor license and the ability to sell alcohol at the chamber’s pig wrestling event. 
According to Martin, this is not the first time she had issues with the fairgrounds when she had events there and that getting events organized at the fairgrounds was like “pulling teeth.” 
“It would be my hope that the board of county commissioners would be there to observe and hear, not necessarily to be part of the discussion,” Chairwoman Marty Ertman said. 
Commissioner Nathan Todd agreed, stating that he would question how much the commissioners should interject because they rely on the fair board to operate independently. 
“I agree with what Nate is saying. There is a fine line between micromanaging and holding someone accountable,” Commissioner Don Taylor said, noting that he had experienced issues at the fairgrounds. “With an event and fair going on, there needs to be someone to get ahold of. There was no help to be found. She (Fladstol) does a lot of good things. I am not criticizing.” 
Ertman said that the commissioners must go back to what their duties are and what the fair board’s duties are. She noted that commissioners could be there to observe and listen so they are not receiving the information third-hand. 
“I agree, but at some point there has to be accountability. We are giving them (the fair board) the chance to do what they need to do,” Taylor said. 
Commissioner Tony Barton said that while it is not a bad thing to meet and have an informal discussion to get things sorted out, those in attendance need to make sure no promises are being made.
“Be very aware that you (those in attendance) better not be making any promises on either side, our side or the fair board’s side, if it is not in an open meeting,” Barton said. 
He noted that a situation can be discussed during the informal meeting and then presented in a public meeting where decisions could be made. 
 
(Editor’s note: The News Letter Journal is a member of the Newcastle Area Chamber of Commerce.)