March 14, 2023 Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

I attended the March 14, 2023 Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

Commissioners Gohagan and Skelton were present. Commissioner Williams showed up about twenty minutes into the meeting. He was delayed because he stopped on the way to the meeting to assist a farmer who was chasing an escaped cow.

The meeting was held in the conference room of the Commission Building.

The first agenda item was Camden County Senior Services Fund Board Appointment – Stephanie Krehbiel-Kerns.

Krehbiel-Kerns was unanimously appointed to the Board.

The second agenda item was Road and Bridge Rental Equipment Bid Awards.

This item was initially tabled because nobody from Road and Bridge was at the meeting, but the Administrator arrived later (nobody asked if he was also helping wrangle a cow). Once he arrived, the Commission approved his bid award recommendations unanimously.

The third agenda item was Liquid Asphalt Bid Award Correction.

This item was also tabled and then approved later.

The fourth agenda item was Camden County Mapping- Road Re-name.

The road is being changed from Cocamo Ridge Lane to Castlewood Lake. The owners originally asked for Valley View Drive, but that was too similar to an existing road name.

This name change was approved unanimously.

The final agenda item was the CCAYEC Presentation.

CCAYEC stands for Camden County Ag and Youth Enrichment Council. Laura Burns explained that one of the principal goals of this Council is to form a not-for-profit organization that will establish a Camden County Fair. They have identified a property on the South 5 Highway that would provide an excellent location for the fairgrounds. They plan to initially purchase 60 acres and add another 60 acres as needed.

The Council is currently fundraising for the down payment on the property. They need to raise $250,000 for the down payment and the property’s total sale price will be $440,000.

Plans for the proposed Camden County Fair includes a full rodeo, pulling events, and other events you would expect at a large, regional fair. The fairgrounds would also offer a meeting location for various agricultural, hobby, and recreational groups. It would also serve as a tourism destination that would not be tied to the tourism cycle of the lake.

The Commission decided to write a letter of support for the Camden County Fair.

There was also discussion regarding whether ARPA funds could be contributed to the project. Laura Burns mentioned that her previous request for ARPA money for the Camden County Fair was declined. Boo! I thought we were an Agri-Ready County!?

(It seems strange that it was declined by BKD (the county’s ARPA consulting firm). Especially since $150,000 in ARPA money was given to the Magic Dragon Trail because it was classified as an outdoor recreational project. You can’t get more outdoors than a fair.

Looking at the ARPA rules, it appears that the Camden County Fair would qualify under several different permissible categories. Even a quick Google search produces dozens of examples of counties contributing ARPA funds to their fairs. Heck, Greene County gave their county fair $5 million in ARPA funding.)

And that was that.