Regional District irks Fall Fair Society
It might’ve been “an innocent mistake” but the Peace River Regional District has still managed to raise the ire of area residents once again.
Long-time members of the North Peace Fall Fair Society, Karen Goodings and Lita Powell came out to the Sept. 14 meeting to express their concerns about a recent Request for Proposal, or RFP. The RFP in question (RFP 32-2023) was for a feasibility study of the North Peace Fall Fair grounds. In the RFP, the Regional District claimed that it owns the Fall Fair. Among the concerns were both the issue of ownership of the Fall Fair, and the transparency of the document.
Goodings told the Board that she was “curious to know what the PRRD was looking to accomplish in the feasibility study, and if you actually thought the RFP would be an open and transparent document.”
She assured the gathering that it was not. According to Goodings, the document was difficult to open, and once she was able to read a portion of the 23-page document it appeared to be “threatening the future existence of the Fair on these grounds.”
History, Goodings explained, suggests that the grounds were purchased and intended to be used for the existence of the Fall Fair. It was difficult for the volunteers, under very trying circumstances, to bring the fall fair to fruition this year.
“This volunteer group of people, who not only give of their time, but also never ask to be reimbursed for costs, was feeling that they could be ousted from those grounds. No wonder they were upset,” Goodings said.
Powell, who in addition to her appearance at the PRRD meeting also wrote a letter to the Board, outlining her concerns, was incensed by the opening words of the RFP: “The North Peace Fall Fair is owned by the Peace River Regional District.”
“The letter I sent to the Board was not the original letter, the original was full of emotion that reflected the comments of the volunteers. Hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours over 76 years, hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorships – that’s what puts the fair on,” Powell said.
“[Goodings] made reference to the complete and total lack of transparency at the PRRD board – in this facility, not long ago, there were a thousand people that were willing to take you on, because of a lack of transparency,” she said.
“The letter was not meant to do anything other than to ask the board to do your jobs. You’re sending out documents out into the public realm that are not only incorrect, but they’re insulting and demeaning to the thousands of hours volunteer work,” Powell said. “Do you read what leaves your office? This is on your CAO to make sure liability doesn’t fall back on the shoulders of your directors.”
“Did any of you actually see and read the RFP prior to it being put out for bid,” Goodings asked. “I ask you to receive this item for discussion and spend the necessary time to understand how important our fair is, in our attempt to build bridges between urban and rural and spend time educating residents on the importance of the agricultural industry.”
Area E Director Dan Rose asked if any steps had been taken to correct the things that were stated in the letter.
“I honestly think it was an innocent mistake to put forward the North Peace Fall Fair instead of the North Peace Fall Fair grounds,” said PRRD CAO Shawn Dahlen. “As soon as staff realized that that was a concern for the Society, an addendum immediately went out and that was rectified.”
According to information Fort St. John Mayor Lilia Hansen dug up, and Dahlen confirmed, the North Peace Fall Fair grounds were purchased in 1979 (10 acres) and in 1985 (40 acres) by the Regional District.
“Hopefully this is corrected, and it can be resolved, and we’ll work forward to make sure the fair grounds work for both the Society and what has to be fixed to make that happen,” said Area B Director Jordan Kealy.