CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – The organizer of the Strawberry Festival in Clay County responded Monday to backlash over the weekend regarding traffic issues at the event.
The event, which was held at the Clay County Fairgrounds on State Road 16, saw cars backed up for hours, frustrating many festival-goers. The traffic congestion ultimately led to Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputies closing the festival’s entry gates just before 4 p.m. on Saturday due to safety concerns.
Sheriff Michelle Cook sent out a statement on Saturday, calling the situation “unacceptable.”
“A couple of years ago, they literally hired 2 deputies to work the event. Although they have increased the number of off-duty deputies, this is still not acceptable. Our deputies have been out there all day with no breaks. We’ve had to call in on-duty personnel to assist. This is unacceptable,” Cook wrote.
The sheriff added unless more staff was hired for a comprehensive traffic plan, the sheriff’s office would no longer support the event.
While there was progress on the second day of the festival on Sunday with additional law enforcement and fewer complaints, questions remained on Monday.
Richard Buckler, organizer of the festival with Buckler Promotions, said he was caught off guard by the situation.
“It did seem to kind of infer that it was all planning on our part. We don’t actually draw up the MOG or designs for traffic. We submitted an event permit request, then they take over from there. They asked us how many people we expect, the days, what are your hours? And they decided how the traffic flow should go,” Buckler said.
Buckler said as far as they knew they did everything they were required to do by signing up for a permit with Clay County.
“Anything that was requested of me I said yes to. So I’m not sure what the issue was on our side from the planning. We’re always willing to cooperate with the police because they do a fantastic job for us,” Buckler said.
It is not unusual to have traffic issues along SR-16 going into the fairgrounds, especially every year at the fair and at last year’s Strawberry Festival. But this year, traffic congestion seemed worse than in previous years.
“It is very bad traffic,” Clay County resident Kim West told News4JAX.
Buckler said he did not expect the sheriff’s reaction.
“We knew there was a lot of traffic in the afternoon. We knew what was being done to solve the traffic. The statement by the sheriff wasn’t expected,” Buckler said.
But what is expected is a lot of discussion between the event organizer and the county if the festival returns next year.
News4JAX reached out to Clay County officials and sent the following statement:
“Clay County’s event-permitting process requires organizers to provide details like anticipated attendance and other safety considerations. Appropriate resources needed for the event are based on the information provided.”