News file photo Emmett Dziesinski is seen holding his goat, Gompers, outside the goat barn at the Alpena County Fair.

ALPENA — The Alpena Fair Society and Alpena County retain certain rights, per the deed which was created at the sale of property, which became the Alpena County Fairgrounds.

Amid uncertainty of future development on county property, county officials maintain that the deed will still be honored regardless of the property’s future.

Blackwaters NE proposed a plan to the county and fair board last month that could upgrade the existing infrastructure and build an entertainment complex on the existing Alpena County Fairgrounds property.

On April 28, the Alpena County Board of Commissioners held its monthly full-board meeting. Following weeks of online discourse dominating the Alpena County community spaces regarding a proposed upgrade and lease of Alpena County Fairgrounds to Blackwarters NE, public comment during the commissioners meeting was held up by concerned citizens.

Select participants during the public comment portion cited concerns regarding the rights that the fairboard retained in hosting an annual fair and questioned whether or not a fair in Alpena County would continue alongside the lease agreement with Blackwaters NE.

County Administrator Jesse Osmer assured those in attendance that the Alpena County is legally required, per the deed created at the time of the property’s purchase in 1901, to allow the Alpena Fair Society, (then called the Alpena County Agricultural Society) exclusive use of the premises and non-privately owned buildings for an annual fair.

Osmer gave an overview of how the fairgrounds came into possession of the county. The following is the timeline he gave:

– 1880: The fairgrounds property was deeded in 1880 to the Alpena County Agricultural Society.

– 1894: An agreement between the society and Alpena Driving Club opened up the property for other uses for a period of 15 years.

– 1901: The Alpena County Agricultural Society sold the land to the county. However, the deed asserted that the society had control over the grounds for a period of one week of their choosing each year to hold a fair. 


– 1929, 1936, 1939, 1941, and 1960: The county acquired, expanded, or otherwise modified properties on the fairgrounds during these years, according to Osmer.

– 2025: The recent agreement between the county and current fair board reiterated the term set forth in the 1901 agreement, filing under the society’s new name. This agreement excluded certain buildings from inclusion for use during the one week period when the fair is held.

The 2025 agreement excludes the fair board’s use of the following buildings during fair week:

– MSU shed

– Shed near the Merchant’s Building

– MSU building

– Animal Control shed

– Animal Control building

– Caretakers house

– Truck barn

Under the proposed fair board contract with Blackwaters NE that The News obtained a copy of on April 25, Blackwaters NE will retain exclusive control of all Blackwaters NE improvements at all times, including during fair time.

The contract proposes a 22 day annual period for fair set up, programming, and clean up.

The following “improvements” would be removed from the fair board’s exclusive use, according to the proposed contract:

– New mainstage

– New indoor event venue

– Blackwaters NE festival grounds located on the inside of the track

– VIP suites

– Hospitality and entertaining facilities within grandstand

– Rodeo arena

– Outdoor staging areas

– Artist green rooms, dressing rooms, and hospitality areas

– Blackwaters NE offices

– Blackwaters NE production and broadcast facilities

– Immediate surrounding areas, within 30 meters, of specified facilities as needed for crowd organization and control, ticket and will-call queueing, et cetera.

The contract states that if the fair board and Blackwaters NE come to an agreement on a case-by-case basis, then the fair board could have access to Blackwaters NE equipment and improvements.

Osmer told The News on Monday that the original county deed for the fairgrounds only requires the county to grant use by the fair board for an annual fair for a week.

Under the 2023-2033 use and access agreement between the county and society, the county allows the society the right to access the grounds one month before the fair for ground preparation and barn setup. The society also has the right to access the grounds one week after the fair.

Osmer said that apart from the 10-year use and access agreement, the county and the society also agree to an event and programming contract annually. He added that there are parts of the event contract that the county will “look the other way” on which he said benefits the society and costs the county money.

For example, the county requires all fair equipment and vehicles to be off the property at the conclusion of the lease, which expires five days after the cleanup period following the fair. Osmer said that after that five day period, the county is required per the contract to charge the fair board $20 every day the vehicle (s) or piece (s) of equipment remain on the property.

He said that the county has not required this payment of the society despite equipment and vehicles being left after the five day period in the past.

“It costs the county money when we look the other way,” he said. “We give a lot of stuff away for free … There are a lot of things we do as a courtesy.”

In regards to the 2023-2033 use and access agreement between the society and the county, Mike Romanowski, CEO of Blackwaters NE, said that there is no provision within the agreement that prevents the county from scheduling other events during the same timeframe as the fair.

Under the proposed Blackwaters NE agreement with the society, Blackwaters NE affirms that no events will be scheduled over the fair during its seven to nine day run.

Romanowski reiterated Osmer’s statement that the deed reserves only seven days for the fair, but Blackwaters intends to go above and beyond that period of time.

“Blackwater has agreed to provide up to 22 consecutive days to allow for full setup, operation, and teardown during peak season when the venue would otherwise be generating revenue,” Romanowski said.

He added that Blackwaters NE believes that the fair would benefit from access to upgraded facilities, including agricultural barns, the rodeo arena, and 50 of the 58 fully operating campsites.

“Blackwater has also offered, at its own expense, to provide a technician to assist with the operation of the upgraded venue wide audio system, further supporting the fair’s success,” he added.

The News left a voicemail and text message with Alpena County Fair Board President Courtney Tauriainen for comment regarding the fair board’s concerns regarding its legal rights for access and use per the county’s deed. Tauriainen did not respond prior to The News’ print deadline.

The fair board is hosting a meeting of its members tonight to discuss the proposed contract. Tauriainen told The News on April 27 that the board will not vote on the contract, but only on a direction moving forward.

Blackwaters NE has said that further delay of a contract with the fair board could put the project in jeopardy.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.