By Jondi Gumz
More than 75 people came angry and frustrated to the Santa Cruz County Fair board meeting in Watsonville on Oct. 25, with another 68 on Zoom, watching how the leadership would carry on after firing longtime CEO Dave Kegebein Oct. 4 in the wake of a critical state audit.
County fair board meetings are usually sparsely attended but not on Oct. 25. • Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz
Kegebein, in 11 years had orchestrated a financial turnaround with $1 million in the bank for the fairgrounds, a state agency known as the 12th District Agricultural Association, but the audit found the fair had no receipts for $163,442 of purchases from 2017 to 2021 including $31,345 of fuel for his truck, one of a dozen lapses in requirements which Kegebein called “red tape compliance.”
Only four board members attended in person, Don Dietrich, Dana McRae, Stephanie Fontana and Tony Campos with Lupe Flores and Michael Pruger participating via Zoom. Fair board member Bill Barton of Aptos, appointed in 2014 at age 70, resigned his seat.
One surprise: Leaks were discovered in the Heritage Building during the unseasonable September rain, and it’s not yet known whether the roof can be repaired or needs to be replaced.
Another surprise: The 1955 livestock barns, deemed unsafe by the state Department of Food and Agriculture and unusable for the 2022 fair, have been designated historic by another state agency, along with the entire 102-acre fairgrounds property. This is due to an error made in a map when historic designation was sought for the Rodgers House in 2000. It’s not known if this status can be changed.
Fair board members Stephanie Fontana, Dana McRae, Don Dietrich, and Tony Campos listen to public comment on Oct. 25. • Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz
Dietrich, the board president turned acting CEO, will continue in that role, as none of the other board members volunteered and it may take six months to recruit a replacement manager.
During public comment, the board got an earful from Kegebein and his supporters.
Kegebein delivered a check for $33,582, the amount in the state audit spent on fuel and maintenance on his truck, and contended Dietrich had taken advantage of the fairgrounds shop building for personal use, a charge Dietrich said he would respond to at the next meeting, which is Dec. 6.
One credited Kegebein with negotiating a line of credit when the fairgrounds was “practically in bankruptcy” to save it.
“Who made the motion to fire Dave?” asked fair volunteer Paul Vitale, his comment applauded.
“Who is behind this heartless direction has yet to be determined,” said former fair board president Dave Cavanaugh, urging attendees to appeal to state officials. “Fight back.”
The two fair board members who voted against firing Kegebein, Loretta Estrada and Jody Belgard, were dismissed by the governor’s office, which makes the appointments.
Their replacements, Nicolas Calubaquib, 42, of Aptos, and Rachel E. Bickert Wells, 29, of Felton, named Oct. 21, did not attend.
During public comment, Estrada, a fair board member for 34 years, said she and Belgard, on the board for 16 years, lost their seats for supporting Kegebein.
She said she will continue to support the fair and the fairgrounds foundation.
“I’m truly heartbroken about what’s happening to Dave Kegebein and the fairgrounds,” said Jeanette Crosetti. “I believe the state has a hidden agenda.”
Mary Bannister, the volunteer fair board secretary, resigned the day before the meeting.
That left board president Dietrich to run the meeting, give reports and take minutes, which he said was “impossible.”
He struggled with his agenda presentation of a contract under “other financial documents,” with former mayor Dennis Osmer saying items not properly noticed run the risk of being nullified. That item was postponed, and board member Fontana asking for an explanatory narrative to accompany it.
“I hear you,” Dietrich said. “I’ll try to do better next time.”
During public comment, former city councilwoman Trina Coffman-Gomez said the meeting was the most disorganized she’d seen.
Also on the agenda, an independent accountant’s review of the fair’s 2019 finances by McGilloway, Ray, Brown & Kaufman of Salinas. Omitted from the review was management discussion of postemployment benefits, typically a requirement.
“Why is it still a draft from 2019?” asked Osmer, contending this review conflicted with the 2021 state CDFA audit.
Dietrich said he negotiated with the Fairgrounds Foundation, which raises money for fairgrounds facilities, to lower the share of revenue on gross sales paid to the fair from 15% to 12%.
The reason, he said, was to ensure the upcoming Holiday Lights event makes a profit.
No one objected.
“I think this event is very important to the public,” Dietrich said. “I don’t want the foundation to cancel.”
Dietrich said the fair has no agreement with the County of Santa Cruz regarding 38 acres at 188 Whiting Road next to the fairgrounds which the county would like to acquire for parks and recreation. Asking price is $2.65 million.
The county has no funds to buy it but twice sought grants, which were turned down, explained Kim Namba of county parks.
John Eiskamp of the Ag History Project at the fairgrounds said proponents interviewed people at Second Saturday on the Farm, but there’s no agreement.
Dietrich said he was in Sacramento last week to learn about state Resilience Center funding for fairgrounds’ climate change projects, but most of the money will go to the Central Valley.
Dietrich said state rules do not allow him to be board president and interim manager, so Fontana, the most senior member, took over running the meeting.
Dave Kegebein suggested getting a list of potential fair CEO candidates from CDFA, which Dietrich supported.
CDFA branch chief Michael Francesconi, on the Zoom call, said he did not have a list on his desk but he could reach out to the industry.
Coffman-Gomez suggested putting the recruitment on the Santa Cruz County Fair website.
To support the fair, Jeanne Kegebein, who runs the Fairgrounds Foundation and is Dave Kegebein’s stepmother, urged people to attend the Holiday Lights event, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, Nov. 25 through Dec. 25.
The state audit did not appear on the board agenda for Oct. 4, the date Kegebein was fired. The short agenda, posted Sept. 24, listed a closed session with CDFA Legal to discuss personnel.
After the meeting, Dietrich said he was “heart-broken about Loretta.”
He said he saw the state audit in his official county fair email, which he checks regularly.
Under the state’s Bagley-Keene Act, he is allowed to communicate with one other board member, not the whole board, he said.
Estrada said she saw the audit only minutes before Kegebein was fired.
As for her fair email, she told Aptos Times, “They knew I’ve never used the state email.”