WCPO 9's Jackie Bauer covers Warren County. If you have a story that you'd like Jackie to look into or a news tip, email her at Jackie@WCPO.com
WARREN COUNTY, Ohio — Although the 2026 Warren County Fair will proceed as planned, the future of the fairgrounds remains uncertain after the city of Lebanon issued a notice of property maintenance violations to the county.
Warren County decided against selling the fairgrounds to the city of Lebanon for redevelopment. County Commissioner Tom Grossmann said it is now up to the agricultural society to come up with a plan to comply with a series of Lebanon city property code violations within 30 days.
In a notice sent to the county, the city of Lebanon said an inspection of the property was conducted and identified these violations:
- Areas with faded or deteriorated paint need to be repainted. This includes wood surfaces and previously painted brick/block.
- Damaged and/or rusting metal, such as siding, doors, windows, etc. need to be repaired or replaced.
- Any damaged or missing gutters/downspouts need to be repaired or replaced.
- Several of the buildings show structural cracking or damage that needs to be addressed.
- Any broken or missing windows must be replaced.
- Areas of deteriorated pavement need to be resurfaced.
- Rusted light poles need to be removed, repaired or repainted.
- The photos show areas where manure is still being dumped outside and not in an enclosed dumpster.
The city said a "written remediation plan" must be submitted within 30 days of the notice.
WCPO spoke to some of the harness horsemen at the grounds Wednesday, who said it's been quiet as they await an update on their fate and the future of the fairgrounds.
Terry Hall, a harness horseman, said he and his horse are still in a state of uncertainty.
"Now everything's in limbo, we're not sure how it's gonna end," Hall said.
Following the notice of violations, the Warren County Farm Bureau issued the following statement:
"The Warren County Farm Bureau opposes any consideration that shifts the ownership of the Warren County fairgrounds to any other entity besides the Warren County commissioners. As supported by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation 2026 policy (Section 378 line 1.6), we oppose any diminishment of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC 1711.01) stated authority of the Warren County Agricultural Society. As our purpose is to perpetuate a strong agricultural community in Warren County, we would view ownership by any other entity as detrimental to that purpose."
WATCH: Warren County Fairgrounds face maintenance violations ahead of 2026 fair
Grossmann ran against Lebanon Mayor Mark Messer in the primary election, with both candidates campaigning on the beautification of the fairgrounds.
"The public does not want us to sell this fairground, which has been a long legacy property of Warren County, and where our traditional fairs have been held there for decades," Grossmann said.
Grossmann acknowledged some of the cited violations, including the need to paint certain structures.
"One of the things they said in the Lebanon thing is they need to paint things, and yeah, I agree with that," Grossmann said.
Grossmann said he plans to visit the fairgrounds and work with the agricultural society to bring the property back up to code, and that the county should be willing to invest public money in the effort.
"I believe that we as a county should spend money to improve these grounds, to use the storage if they have this property, to properly run it, to properly maintain it, to delete the code requirements. All of that should be done, but at the same time, I want to help them with that. We should be willing to spend public money," Grossmann said.
Messer addressed the violations in a statement Wednesday afternoon:
"The City has an established property maintenance process to ensure that minimum community standards are met. These minimum maintenance standards apply to both publicly owned and private property. The City will work closely with property owners when violations exist. The property maintenance violation notice that was sent to the County will not impact the 2026 Fair."
The Warren County Agricultural Society did not respond to our request for comment.
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Have a story idea or tip for WCPO 9 Warren County reporter Jackie Bauer? Email her at Jackie@WCPO.com.
