County Fair May Switch to Private Operation

The 104-year-old Orange County Fair, historically one of the most successful in California, is moving away from state control and could become a private business, fair officials said Tuesday.

The state Department of Food and Agriculture, which operates all the county fairs throughout the state, will announce on Thursday that Orange County will be the subject of a pilot study to determine if it could be better operated either privately or by a local government agency, said Becky Bailey-Findley, the fair’s general manager.

Bailey-Findley said the agriculture department’s secretary, Ann Veneman, will make the announcement at the fairground. The fairground, which generates $11.7 million annually, is highlighted by the Pacific Amphitheatre and the 17-day Orange County Fair. It holds a variety of events throughout the year, including a swap meet on weekends and motorcycle races.

Any changes in operations would generally be minimal for the public, said Bailey-Findley, who has worked at the fair for 24 years.

The impetus of the fair’s move away from state control has come from Gov. Pete Wilson’s effort to downsize government, said Doy Henley, one of nine members of the fair’s board of directors.

Henley said the board was informed in a letter from Wilson on April 9 that a need “for trimming the tangled web of bureaucracy in Sacramento” meant it was necessary to review all state boards and commissions to see if they could be divorced from state jurisdiction.

“We are part of a historic chance to reshape government,” said Henley, a Tustin resident who is also chairman of the Lincoln Club of Orange County, a powerful conservative political organization. “We have it from the governor to be as innovative as we can. . . . This is revolutionary.”

Randy Smith, another fair board member, said the study would determine whether to make the fair a nonprofit business or perhaps place it under the jurisdiction of the county or city of Costa Mesa, where the state-owned fairground is located.

“I don’t think our customers would know the difference,” said Bailey-Findley, who oversees the fair’s 100 employees. “But for us, it means an opportunity to control our destiny.”

Not all the participants in the fair are enthusiastic about possible changes. Serge Kohan of San Juan Capistrano, a spokesman for the 1,200 vendors that make up the weekend swap meet held on the fairground, said a move to privatization has them “scared to death.”

He said the vendors, many of whom are small-business operators who support their families with proceeds from the swap meet, are concerned that they will bear the brunt of changes, if any.

The swap meet is run by a private business, Telphil Enterprises of Newport Beach, which operates through a contract with the fair board.

“We believe this is completely motivated by special interests,” said Kohan, a spokesman for the Independent Marketplace Vendors Assn. “This will definitely cost us more and put many of us out of business. If the fair goes private, any leverage we have will be dissipated.”

The fair board’s Henley said the opposite will be true.

“I don’t think they have a thing in the world to worry about,” Henley said. “If any changes are made, it will be to make it a better operation.”

Bob Teller, an owner of Telphil, could not be reached for comment.

Kevin Herglotz, a spokesman for the agriculture department’s Veneman, said privatization is a move that eventually all county fairs could undertake.

“This is something the governor has proposed as a way to improve the way we do business,” Herglotz said. “If the local community can do it better than the state, we should give them the opportunity to do so. All the fairs that want to participate will eventually have that opportunity.”

Costa Mesa Mayor Joe Erickson said city officials have not discussed proposed changes in the operation of the fair. He said the city’s relationship with the fair over the years has been positive, although there have been problems with traffic and noise from the amphitheater.

Erickson also said the city generally has supported privatization of services, as long as accountability to the public is maintained.

The fair currently is the fourth-highest sales tax generator for the city, behind South Coast Plaza, Crystal Court and the Performing Arts Center, Bailey-Findley said.