Fair board told to vote on title transfer

COSTA MESA — A state agency has instructed the Orange County Fair Board chairman to hold a meeting to vote on transferring the Orange County Fairgrounds to the state by the end of the year, a fair executive said.

However, Jan. 1 was the earliest the board could meet after giving the proper 10-day notice to comply with the State and Consumer Services Agency’s order, fairgrounds President and Chief Executive Steve Beazley said.

The agency oversees the Department of General Services, which has been in charge of selling the fairgrounds.

The meeting may answer questions about who owns the fairgrounds, which the board brought up in September, Beazley said.

This latest move by the governor’s office is in violation of the temporary restraining order that was issued by an Orange County Superior Court, blocking the state from finalizing the sale, said Thierry Montoya, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit opposing the sale.

Also on the agenda for the meeting are Ali Jahangiri, Alexander Vellandi and Douglas La Belle, the new appointments to the board.

—Mona Shadia