The Chaffee County Fair Committee told county commissioners it needs a county guarantee to book a carnival and expand the county fair's attraction and revenue base. The committee asked for a $140,000 guarantee the commissioners could make available so the committee could contract a carnival and use gate and vendor revenues to offset the county advance.

Ben Scanga, chairman of the Fair Committee, and other committee members described growing visitor counts and higher in-kind donations at the fairgrounds. A fairgrounds manager said the venue is on track to host about 11,000 visitors by year'end and reported an all-time high of about $68,000 in in-kind donations for event space use.

Scanga said the committee hopes the carnival would run Thursday through Saturday of the fair weekend and that gate receipts and increased vendors could, over time, reimburse the county. "If we could be assured of a $140,000 to use, then the Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the second weekend ... we could have the carnival there then and and do a gate charge to get in," he said.

Committee members said some fair expenses tied to public safety and services (sheriff presence, ambulance standby, dumpsters, porta potties) currently come from the committee budget and suggested those costs might more appropriately be funded from departmental budgets that use the fairgrounds. Committee members also urged the county to consider permanent infrastructure investment to reduce recurring rentals for toilets and back-of-house event needs; they reported spending more than $5,000 on porta-potties in recent years.

The fairboard said the rodeo and livestock sale are strong revenue drivers; the board reported the livestock sale raises significant funds (committee members mentioned the sale net as a major positive, once referencing $400,000 in sale receipts as an example of scale). The committee asked commissioners to consider increasing annual county support for the fair from the current $35,000 to an amount that would help cover new costs required to grow the event.

Committee members asked for clearer financial disclosure of related organizations: the Fair Foundation currently manages liquor sales and the livestock sale scholarship account and the committee asked for better transparency from the foundation on its fund balances and grants. Several fairboard members and commissioners discussed whether liquor revenue should be returned to county oversight because the liquor proceeds are a material revenue source and if the county taking liquor liability would enable those proceeds to fund county event needs.

Several fair committee volunteers urged more administrative support year-round to convert volunteer ideas into executed projects. Committee members argued a part-time administrative coordinator could help run sponsorship drives, help secure entertainment and steward vendor relationships.

A range of commissioners and staff said they heard the request and would consider options for budget support, departmental cost-shifting and additional reporting from the Fair Foundation. No formal county action was taken during the meeting.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff to return with options and clearer financial disclosures for the committee's consideration in the 2026 budget cycle.