DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Leon County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to renegotiate a nearly century-old agreement with the North Florida Fair Association before Blueprint’s $30 million investment into the Fairgrounds Beautification Project moves forward.
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The current lease, signed in the 1950s, allows the fair to use the land for $1 annually, requires both parties' approval for major projects, and runs until 2067.
"The structure was really set up so that it would just be protected for generations to come and the Fair Association could continue to do the good work that they do," said Miranda Muir, director of the North Florida Fair Association.
The county's proposed changes include adding six county officials to the fair's leadership board, reclaiming 50 acres for development, shortening the lease term and potentially gaining the power to relocate the fair entirely with mutual agreement.
"Those are not things locked in stone. Those are things not, you know, deal breakers. Those are just the possibilities of what can occur," Commissioner Bill Proctor told ABC 27 before the meeting.
Proctor said he has advocated for changes to the fairgrounds for 25 years, pushing for indoor bathrooms, public WIFI and potential mixed-use development on the land.
"What more could this be than the Ferris wheel, and for 10 days out the year? For 355 days out of the year, what is the highest and best use that this property could be?" Proctor said.
More recently, commissioners have pushed for increased county oversight following a controversial luxury watch purchase by the fair last fall.
During the meeting, Commissioner Brian Welch said the site is “stuck in a time warp” and called the purchase a “egregious mismanagement of money.”
“I don't think they want us involved. I think the North Florida Fair Association exists under some kind of obscure statute, and they operate under a model that is not keeping up with the times,” Welch said. “The reason that the fair the Fairgrounds are stuck in a time warp is because the Fair Association exists in a time warp.”
However, Muir said the Fair Association has no interest in renegotiating the lease at this time.
She expressed concerns that additional county oversight could complicate operations and threaten the fair's sustainability.
"I think it would complicate things on our end and make it difficult for us to be sustainable. If they're overseeing off-season rentals, for instance, that's a huge revenue stream for us, and that's how we keep the lights on, and we pay the bills throughout the year," Muir said.
In a letter to the commission, the Fair Association Board stated they would instead like an offer to buy the property.
Blueprint funding remains paused for the Fairgrounds Project.
The county administrator will initiate negotiations and will report to the commission in 90 days.
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