Your Feb. 23 headline article “Fair association turns microscope on itself” reporting Jefferson County Fair Association self-governance failure, reminds me of your mud-drag event reporting last fall. 

That unpermitted event seriously degraded fairgrounds soils and water, created inaccessibility, and generated unregulated health and safety hazards. Your article celebrated noise, mud, and ecological degradation generated in violation of county codes regulating off-road vehicle use and did not comment on the event’s unpermitted status, destruction of county property, or nuisance to adjacent neighborhoods.

Another mud-drag event “planned” for April must require a special use permit application to allow full disclosure for public comment and to ensure adequate sanitation and on-site code violation monitoring for permissible events. Public records show no permit applications for such events. 

We do not believe such events are, in fact, permissible. Further, we do not believe that Jefferson County Fair Association has legal standing to allow destruction of public lands and property without oversight or to “plan” for its future use.

I recently partnered with the Center for Sustainable Economy to demand code compliance for all events at Jefferson County Fairgrounds. We have already notified the fair association and the county commissioners of apparent violations of county code and state law. We ask that the county create and adopt a long-range development plan for the fairgrounds extending beyond the association’s current memorandum of understanding that considers full economic, recreational, environmental, and ecological values for our entire community. We welcome you to join these efforts!

The fairgrounds are vital for Native American cultural practices. Its vestigial wetlands contribute to a complex hydrological system including North Beach, Chinese Gardens, Lynnesfield ponds, the golf course, Kah Tai Lagoon, and historic outflows to the harbor. Real fairgrounds planning would recognize its value as part of this system as we plan for economic vitality, possible tsunami disaster, or inevitable climate change and sea-level rise.

Mark Schlenz
PORT TOWNSEND