Equestrians and neighbors balk at plans to relocate the county fair to Sydney-Dover Trails.
By LETITIA STEINTimes Staff Writer
Published May 28, 2004
DOVER - The Hillsborough County Fair has big dreams for Sydney-Dover Trails: a permanent home for its exhibits, an event hall, a resting place for historic buildings endangered by growth and an equestrian exhibition.
But such long-ranging plans sounded like a nightmare to equestrians and some residents at a public hearing Tuesday night on a proposal to relocate the county fair to an 80-acre site in the county park near State Road 60 and Sydney Washer Road.
In recent years, the county fair has set up in tents in the parking lot at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, where organizers have contended with uncertain weather conditions, lacking facilities and limited water resources.
"The parking lot at a football stadium is no place to show a cow," said Hannah Huggins, 17, of Plant City, explaining the need for a new home to more than 50 people who attended the meeting at Turkey Creek Middle School.
Fair organizers also hoped to foster community identity with a move to East Hillsborough. Initially, the fair would continue in tents, but leaders envisioned a day when an event hall could serve the greater Brandon area.
"It takes more conversation," said Tom Umiker, fair manager, noting that funding to build permanent facilities remained years into the future.
Equestrians and local residents who currently use the park won't allow a noisy fair to move into the area without a fight.
"Don't push us out," said Vickie Oliva of Thonotosassa, who has ridden horses for years along a trail that runs around the park's edges. "It's a beautiful trail that you wander though at your own pace."
Neighbors also voiced concerns about noise and traffic.
"If you put a midway in there, it's not going to be quiet," said Bruce Morehead of Dover, who lives next door. "I don't think it's a good idea."
County commissioners will decide the issue in the coming months. Meanwhile, fair organizers planned to continue conversations with concerned residents and proposed to carve an alternative trail through the park for horse riders.
