During the Crawford County Fair Board’s December 5 meeting, the board met the only person who applied to fill the county’s fair coordinator position.

Lyrica Marks, who is the Richland County fair and recycling coordinator, met the board and said she felt she could fulfill the duties of both part-time positions. Marks was hired in Richland County in January 2023.

Fair Board Chair Mary Kuhn said she had discussed the possibility with other fair coordinators and received positive feedback from Richland County’s administrator.

Kuhn said Marks’ appearance at the meeting was not a job interview, and the board did not make any decisions at the meeting. Instead, it was a chance for the board members to meet her in person.

“Our thought was that we would do this as a one-year contracted position, so if this doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out,” Kuhn said.

Board member Wayne Jerrett asked, “You don’t think that would be too much if this happened?”

“So, that would be my only concern as of now, but I’m a very outgoing go-getter person,” Marks answered. She said balancing the two fairs during the busiest season will be the most challenging aspect of the proposed arrangement.

Marks’ contract with Richland County is for 20-30 hours per week; however, during the “fair season,” she said her hours fluctuate.

According to Kuhn, there would need to be some adjustments to the position’s job description and schedule for Marks to accommodate both jobs.

“The only other option is to post [the job opening] again, and last time, we didn’t have any luck,” Kuhn said.

The Crawford County Fair will be held from August 21-24 next year, while Richland County’s typically takes place in early September.

More members

The Fair Board discussed adding community members to their committee. Kuhn said there are not any bylaws pertaining to community members on the fair board, but Fair Board Member Craig Anderson noted that other committees in Crawford County, including the ADRC committee, retain at least one community member.

Currently, the Crawford County Fair Board has five members, and the board suggested adding two more voting members.

“Let’s start with two and see how it works,” Anderson suggested. “Start somewhere instead of nowhere.”

Kuhn said the county will have to post openings to the public and go through a process similar to hiring an employee.

“Instead of reinventing the wheel, let’s see what some of the other committees, like the ADRC and others, are doing and see if it’s applicable,” said Anderson. “The last time we went through this and had an opening, we considered basic things like what part of the county they are from, what our mix is, do they represent any of our constituents, like the disabled or elderly.”

Kuhn said she would bring the recommendation to the personnel and finance committees for approval. Both committees were scheduled to meet on December 18.

In other business

In other business, the board:

• accepted resignations from both of the horse show superintendents, Amanda Smiley and Shannon Gher.