Commission discusses fairground liability insurance

Nevada Daily Mail

With fairgrounds events approaching, including the youth fair and tractor pull, the Vernon County Commission discussed the issue of insurance and liability that goes along with owning the grounds that host such events.

"I'm concerned about our exposure out there," Butch Renwick of Renwick Insurance said in a meeting with the commissioners. "The Fairground is out there for Vernon County, and I want them to be able to use it."

While Vernon County is shielded through their own liability insurance as the owner of the grounds, any events by non-county organizations are not covered unless they bring in their own. But even with the insurance they bring, spectators likely are not covered.

Renwick said the fair board could be made part of the county and be covered by their insurance or would need to pursue their own coverage in case of an emergency at the fairgrounds during an event.

Tommy Wait of the fair board also attended the meeting with the commissioners and said he would gather a list of all the events to be held at the fairgrounds this year so Renwick can share that with an underwriter and get a quote on what an annual insurance fee would be.

"We need something in place that will protect us in case something happens," northern commissioner Neal Gerster said, saying they need to be selective when considering who could rent the fairgrounds for events.

Just recently, the fair board discovered a participant in an upcoming event did not have the liability insurance needed. Other groups such as 4-H have accident coverage for participants.

"Everything changes when you start talking about liability," Wait said, recalling when he went through such a lawsuit.

Renwick said even board members could be held liable without the proper coverage.

With such a short period of time available before upcoming events, Renwick said he will get a quote on what it could cost annually for the coverage with the number and type of events they host, but they may need to consider single-event liability insurance initially.

The commission also discussed repairs needed in the juvenile office with the chief juvenile officer Joleene Simmons Tuesday morning as she shared a bid they had received for the labor and materials needed for a new door.

Simmons said they had at first considered requesting two doors, a half door to be installed near the entrance to the office as well as one for the director's office, but decided to just go with the one, full-sized door.

Currently, Simmons' office has a door that does not reach to the floor, so that any conversation held in the office, some of tthem confidential in nature, can be heard by other staff or visitors to the juvenile office.

The full-sized, solid oak door and its installation was billed at just under $1,600.

Southern commissioner Everett Wolfe said he believes privacy should be a priority in that office and the new door is needed.