Former dairy farmer, now disabled says attorney might file injunction to shut down the Fairgrounds

 

It is predictable what First District Supervisor Rex Bohn and Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell, Humboldt Public Director Tom Mattson and good ole boys and gals like Andy Titus and Cindy Olsen associated presently or formerly with the Humboldt County Fair would say this afternoon. The dog and pony show of certain people showing up to speak at these meetings does not fool anyone who knows how politics are done. 

The 1 p.m. meeting started late and about 10 minutes into the meeting, one speaker made a valid point about how often the County inspects and maintains the building and that damage wasn't just due to the earthquake.

He was followed by the dairy farmer pictured above who is now disabled. He lives in an RV on the Fairgrounds. He mentioned the ADA, lack of access and that based on what happens at the Humboldt County Fair Board meeting tonight, his attorney may file an injunction to shut down the Fair. He claims an elevator has been sitting around for 3 years.

The County, especially Rex and Bushnell could decide to throw away a million dollars for a temporary fix to stabilize the stands which will do nothing for the required deferred maintainence and earthquake repair and there is no guarantee of reimbursement. This according to Mattson. 

There is a lot of money in Ferndale and among the connections Rex and Bushnell have and this includes the Ferndale folks speaking at this meeting. The wanna be cowboy hat and boot wearing crowd, the cattle barons, the land barons and local livestock owners who are into this event should step up. What are they offering? None of these people are hurting while the majority of Humboldt struggles daily. This even after COVID, inflation, the PG & E blackouts because the good ole boys always get taken care of so tough luck for their mismanagement and poor planning. It is Rex's district. Why doesn't he hold one of his auctions or call up his Humboldt rich, generational buddies? They expect others to just pull themselves up by the bootstraps. Why should the County give them a handout?

At today's meeting, former Supervisor and Humboldt County Fair Association Interim General Manager Jill Duffy said "Fairs do not represent Americana" the way they did and urged to make the Fair more diverse. She also mentioned there has been a "decade of turmoil" and the embezzlement scandal which are allegations against the Fair's former bookkeeper and being investigated by the FBI. 

The concern expressed for businesses that Rex and Bushnell and the good ole Humboldt boys and gals kept bringing up today rings hollow because their concern does not extend to businesses that do not include their Humboldt lifestyle, their buddies and funders. If they cared about Humboldt, the County and all past, present and future Supervisors should have made better decisions. There were no horseraces twice; once during COVID. Maybe the Fair Board should have made contingency plans when they knew months ago that there were structural issues.

Third District Supervisor Wilson is absent at this meeting. Hearing what CAO Elishia Hayes said and Rex and Bushnell's comments,, it is obvious what they think and what direction they are leaning. Only Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo spoke up and expressed the viewpoint many have and is inconvenient to the local git er done crowd. Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone is a disappointment with his remarks. Had Madrone supported Supervisor Arroyo, maybe the vote would have been different. It was not stated why Supervisor Wilson was not there or did not appear via Zoom. It was a yes 4-0 which I knew would be the case even before watching the meeting.