Morgan County Fairgrounds vandalized, fair board says; repairs to cost $13,000

MORGAN COUNTY — "It was malicious vandalism."

That was what Bill Rumbaugh told members of the Morgan County Fair Board during their meeting Tuesday night.

Rumbaugh, a board member and building and grounds superintendent, said someone cut the wiring in at least three fair buildings.

Things to do: Here are 5 events this weekend in Morgan County

He said the electrical wiring was left alone but the cables for the public address system, internet and other systems were pulled down from the rafters and cut.

"They didn't take any wiring, they just cut it," he said.

Rumbaugh said the damage is so bad it cannot be repaired.

"The estimate to replace the wiring is around $13,000," he said.

The three buildings — swine and sheep, the show arena, and the multipurpose building — along with any additional damage found will need to be replaced as soon as possible because of events being held on the grounds.

Rumbaugh said when the wiring was installed, the majority of it was run on top of the rafters. He said it was intended to keep it away from people.

Rumbaugh said someone used a pole — possibly a pruning pole with a cutter on top — to pull the wires down and cut them.

Several board members wanted to know if it is possible to put security cameras up around the grounds.

Rumbaugh said he has discussed the matter with a local company who installs cameras and security systems that will come up with a proposal to install a camera system. The board can get quotes or bids for the job.

He said a police report has been filed.

The fair does have insurance, but he said the fair will have to pay the deductible.

Fair insurance increases

Fair treasurer Keno Koehl gave the fair's financial report for last month.

The biggest expense last month was for the fair's insurance, he said, which costs $38,000 annually, up from $29,000 the previous year.

He said the company had not been notified of the damage to the wiring in the buildings so he was at a loss to explain the increase.

Kohel said the agent is checking with the company to see if a mistake was made in calculating the premium.

Development: Morgan County Council approves tax abatement for Monrovia-area proposed warehouse

Water problem

As if the damage to wiring and increase in insurance costs were not enough, the fair has to contend with an astronomically high water bill.

The fair owns all the utilities on the fairgrounds. The water, sewer, electrical, cable and internet lines belong to the fair who has to maintain them. There are hundreds of feet of water lines running underground.

As new lines were installed and old lines replaced over the years, their exact location was not noted. Koehl said the fair's water bill normally runs under $1,000 per month during the winter months when not much is occurring on the grounds.

Koehl said he was extremely surprised to get the April water and sewer bill which was around $9,000.

Rumbaugh said they began searching and found the leak in an out of the way place. The leak has been fixed, he said. Since the water did not go into the sanitary sewer, he is hoping the city will give them a break on the sewer charge.

Rumbaugh said they have 54 toilets on the grounds. He said if one of them fails to shut off, each toilet can use $50 worth of water a day.

She's only a junior: Just how good is Mooresville softball ace Alex Cooper?

Long term committee report

Jim Lankford, chairman of the long term committee, said they have discussed what may need to be done to update the infrastructure of the fair. One of the biggest needs is to replace the older sections of water lines.

He said they hope to have a report later this year.

As for the possibility of moving the fair dates, Lankford said there are a lot of factors involved in making a decision. He hoped they could have a recommendation by the end of the year.

Total eclipse of the moon: How to watch next week's total lunar eclipse in Central Indiana

Spring derby

Board president Terry Brock said all fair nights will have events at the grandstand. He said they will have wrestling and the Cincinnati Circus performing in the arena.

Brock said the spring demo derby is set for May 21. They are also planning to have a fall derby later this year. That will be in addition to the two nights of derby which will be held during the fair.

He said the fair is replacing the old sound system in the grandstand area. Brock said it should be done by the fall derby.

The next scheduled fair board meeting is set for 7 p.m. on June 21 at the 4-H building, 1749 Hospital Dr, Martinsville.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Morgan County Fairgrounds vandalism to cost $35,000 to repair