Del Mar Fair Board Eyes Update on ‘April Madness’ Talks with City

March Madness is over, but Del Mar is gearing up for what City Manager Scott Huth calls its April counterpart—seeking a voice on the board that oversees the Del Mar Fairgounds.

“It’s going to be April Madness,” Huth told U-T San Diego. “There’s going to be a lot of meetings.”

City Council members have said said they’d like to have some sort of resolution by the end of April, the U-T reported.

According to the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting of the 22nd District Agricultural District’s board of directors [April 10], the Community Relations Committee chaired by Community David Watson will report on a meeting with representatives of Del Mar and Solana Beach in an “informational” item.

The U-T reported: “Officials with Del Mar, Solana Beach and San Diego have made it clear that they would like a say in what happens at the state-owned fairgrounds.”

The April 10 agenda [attached as PDF] depicts the association as having total assets of $37.5 million as of Feb. 28—down from $40 million as of the end of 2012.

Representatives of the fair board—the agency that oversees the venue—met with state and county officials in Sacramento in February to discuss a plan for more local oversight of the property, the U-T said.

Deputy Mayor Lee Haydu was quoted as saying that Solana Beach and San Diego needed to be in the mix as well.

 “If we leave them out, we’re dead,” she told the U-T. “We might as well never work with Solana Beach or San Diego again.”

The board meets at 1:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.