AGO 1993-074.

• Case Date: December 30, 1993
• Court: Ohio

Ohio Attorney General Opinions 1993. AGO 1993-074. December 30, 1993OPINION NO. 1993-074The Honorable Anthony L. Gretick Williams County Prosecuting Attorney 1210 West High Street Bryan, Ohio 43506 Dear Prosecutor Gretick: You have requested an opinion concerning the use of land and buildings formerly used for agricultural fairs. In particular, you have asked whether a board of county commissioners can reclassify a portion of land formerly designated as fairgrounds, and use that portion for general county purposes where the land is owned by the county, and specifically, where there is adequate vacant land available in the area that remains designated as fairgrounds for any foreseeable expansion of the agricultural fair. You have explained that the parcel of land in question and the buildings thereon have not been used for the past several years by the agricultural society for agricultural fairs.

A Board of County Commissioners May Provide Real Estate and Erect Buildings Thereon for Fairs Under the Control and Management of a County Agricultural Society

R.C. 1711.15 provides, in part, that "[i]n any county in which there is a duly organized county agricultural society,(fn1) the board of county commissioners may purchase...real estate on which to hold fairs under the management and control of the county agricultural society, and may erect thereon suitable buildings and otherwise improve it." (Footnote added.) When the board of county commissioners acquires real estate pursuant to this authority, title to the property is vested in the board of county commissioners.(fn2) 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 516, p. 141 (overruled, in part, on other grounds by 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 88-026). See generally Carder v. Fayette County, 16 Ohio St. 353 (1865); Dall v. Cuyahoga County Bldg. Comm'n., 14 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 209 (C.P. Cuyahoga County 1913).

The Control and Management of Land and Improvements Purchased by a Board of County Commissioners for Agricultural Fairs Conditionally Vests in the Board of Directors of an Agricultural Society Pursuant to R.C. 1711.31

In general, ownership of property implies the right of possession and control thereof. "The chief characteristic of ownership is the right to complete dominion, and when ownership is applied to land it means the land itself and what pertains to it, and the right for the...