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Mayor Joe Thallemer quickly refuted allegations from the Kosciusko County Fair Board contained in court papers filed in the race track lawsuit that suggest he’s taken sides in the dispute.
The suit, by property owners along Winona Lake, seeks to shut down motorized racing at the Warsaw Motorsports Complex on the fairgrounds and claims an agreement reached 28 years ago should once again be enforced.
On Monday, the fair board filed paperwork seeking a change of venue, a new judge and dismissal of County I of the property owners’ complaint.
Circuit Court Judge Michael Reed on Tuesday granted the motion for a change of judge, but had not ruled on the request for a new venue or the dismissal.
Thallemer, who lives in a neighborhood just to the east of the fairgrounds, was mentioned in the fair board’s argument for a change of venue.
Arguments in the case were reported in the media Wednesday. By that night, Thallemer released a statement comparing claims in the court filing to several facts.
The fairgrounds contended in paperwork that Thallemer is related to one of the four named plaintiffs.
Thallemer denied being related to any of the plaintiffs in the suit, but pointed out that he has a niece who is married to a defendant in the case, Randy Shepherd, a longtime member of the fair board.
Thallemer also took exception to language in court papers claiming he “openly opposed the manner in which events were taking place at the fairgrounds.”
In response, Thallemer listed actions he and the city have done to assist the fairgrounds with activities.
Thallemer said in the news release that he has not attended any meetings organized by the plaintiffs and has not contributed money to support the group’s legal effort.
Thallemer also points out that he sought to work on a compromise, an effort he said was declined by the fair board.
Specifically, Thallemer said he has approved permits for fairgrounds activities this year that include racing. He said the city agreed to requests by the fair board to continue providing city services for all fairgrounds events including fair week.
Thallemer ended the release by noting that he “personally supports” 4-H Livestock Auction and the 4-H Livestock Possibilities program.
Court papers also claimed incorrectly that Thallemer lives in the town of Winona Lake.
Thallemer has said previously the city has “no dog in this fight” and that he’s looking at the issue from the perspective of the mayor’s office rather than as a homeowner on the lake.
As a representative of the city, Thallemer said today that he’s done “what’s been requested by him of the fair board and that he’s not taking sides in the issue.
“I’m not defending anybody,” Thallemer said. “I don’t want to continue to be dragged into this under false pretenses. I’m just trying to set the record straight.”
