The county is forking out nearly $30,000 to repair “potentially” dangerous electrical problems at the Island County fairgrounds.

Facilities Director Larry Van Horn asked Island County commissioners for emergency funding during Wednesday’s work session, and the contract was approved at Monday’s regular meeting.

“Violations of this magnitude” needed to be repaired right away, said Van Horn.

Inspectors conducted a routine check of the fairgrounds prior to this year’s fair, but the problems found did not come to Van Horn’s attention until after the fair was over.

“He found a number of code corrections that are required, but it didn’t prevent the fair from going forward,” Van Horn said.

Asked if holding this past year’s county fair was dangerous knowing that problems existed, he said, “Potentially, yes, to be frank about it.

“That’s the purpose of having the electrical inspection.”

Once the problems were identified, the county had a few weeks to work with inspectors and electricians to develop a plan of action. Van Horn said the problems are both lack of updated electrical wiring and hardware, as well as failure to meet grounding regulations.

Some of this stuff “should have been replaced years and years ago,” Van Horn said.

Van Horn assumed his new role as facilities director in May, after the previous director was out for nearly two years with an injury.

“It’s been a lack of focus that has let things get where they are today,” Van Horn said.

The $29,338 contract was awarded to Clinton-based electrical contractor Jerry Beck and Company Inc.

Van Horn said, if approved Monday, work should begin immediately and will take a few weeks to complete.

“We have to do it,” said Commissioner Jill Johnson.

Johnson said the commissioners were notified by Van Horn a couple weeks ago the extent of the electrical problems and that they had been cited by the state’s Department of Labor and Industries.

While it was unclear who is ultimately responsible for lack of maintenance, Johnson said she thinks because of a lack of funding and electrical expertise, the Island County Fair Association, which has been maintaining the property, has been doing repairs “piecemeal to keep it going.”

“The county was not engaged in the maintenance of the property, so it sat on the side and was neglected,” Johnson said. “Nobody wanted to take ownership of the problem.”

The Fair Association has for years asked the county for assistance with the property and has been consistently ignored, according to Sandey Brandon, director of the Island County Fair Association.

Brandon concedes that part of the problem has been the lack of a facilities director, but that the county deprioritized the problems as well.

“Larry Van Horn is trying to play catch up,” Brandon said. “The problems are nothing new and nothing the county didn’t know about.”

Brandon said the Fair Association is in a sort of catch-22 because some of facilities are not at a high enough standard to rent out and get a return on an investment for capital improvements.

“We can’t give them what they want so they’re unhappy,” Brandon said.

Johnson, who has been hesitant to fund the Fair Association’s maintenance of the property, said Wednesday that she has “hit a wall” and will likely push to cut back future funding for the property.

“It highlights how many county resources are going to this facility,” Johnson said. “I know the fair is valuable… but in terms of all the things the county is tasked to do with limited resources, this conversation is getting more serious all the time. This benefits one part of the county.”

“This whole thing reeks with failing to maintain Island County facilities,” said Commissioner Aubrey Vaughan Wednesday.

Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, who has been a champion for the fairgrounds that lay in her district, said the fairgrounds are important not just for the annual county fair, but for the programs and businesses that use the facility year round.

“The property highlights how expensive some basic maintenance can be,” Price Johnson said Friday. “The downside is without adequate revenues this is the kind of thing that happens.”

Vaughan and Price Johnson made the point that because small investments have not been made over the years, the county is now having to make some large, more costly repairs now.

“It will only cost more the longer we wait,” Price Johnson said.

The Fair Association told the county earlier this year that they need additional funding to properly maintain the facility.

Commissioners approved $30,000 in July for maintenance of the Island County Fairgrounds through next year, although they are looking at finding a new management company for the property.