LOWCOUNTRY FOREVER – August 30, 2026
GUEST: Buzz Buske, Exchange Club President, Carl Shultz, Save the Fair
Committee Co-Chair, Mike Jernigen, Save the Fair Committee Co-Chair
ISSUE: Transportation
There is an on-going legal battle between The Exchange Club of
Charleston, who own the Ladson Fairgrounds, the site of the Coastal Carolina
Fair, and CARTA, the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority. At
issue is a six-acre parcel of land on the Fairground that CARTA wants to use
as a lot for the Lowcountry Regional Rapid Transit Project. The Exchange
Club does not want to give up those six acres and has offered alternative
solutions. CARTA has now moved forward, through Charleston County
Council, to claim this land through eminent domain. On Wednesday, August
26, 2026, the Exchange Club of Charleston held a press conference to lay
out their side of the dispute, asking County Council to vote against CARTA
and pledged to continue exploring legal options if the Council did not.