West Chester Township taxpayers shouldered legal fees to chase overdue bills from the VOA Country Music Festival's organizer in both 2024 and 2025, and the event drove hotel occupancy down rather than up, according to hundreds of pages of public records the township released Friday, Aug. 21.

The documents, which include emails and text messages between township staff and Further Concepts and Investors, LLC, lay out the township's case for ending its four-year partnership with the company that staged the country music festival at Voice of America MetroPark. The organizer also operates under the name Further Festivals.

Public safety costs for the festival totaled nearly $250,000, with $200,000 covered by a grant, according to records reported by WLWT. The township said Further Festivals was late paying its share for both the 2024 and 2025 festivals, forcing officials to hire attorneys to collect. The 2025 payment did not arrive until earlier this year, township spokesperson Brianna Wooten told WVXU on Aug. 6.

The late payment for 2025 was severe enough that West Chester threatened in April to cancel the August 2026 event entirely, Local 12 reported.

Text messages released by the township also showed some festival vendors were not paid or received payments late.

Beyond the billing disputes, the township said the festival failed to deliver the economic boost organizers promised. Cell phone mobility data showed fewer than 1% of observed attendees stayed in area hotels. The township gets no tax revenue from the festival.

"We do pull hotel data. We have partners that track that information, and overall occupancy rates have not changed since the festival started," Wooten told WVXU on Aug. 6, before the final festival weekend. She added that occupancy rates were "the same or lower" compared to the year before the festival arrived.

Businesses near the park reported reduced foot traffic and lower sales, which officials attributed to festival-related road congestion.

In its Aug. 21 statement, the township said Further Festivals creates financial risk by not paying bills on time, failing to meet contractual obligations and failing to repair public property in a timely manner, according to WCPO.

The township notified Further Festivals CEO Tyler Wogenstahl of the non-renewal in June, giving the organizer time to secure a new site for 2027. Wogenstahl has said a new venue is already chosen but has not named it publicly.

Court records add context to the financial picture. Wright-Patt Credit Union is suing Wogenstahl for breach of contract on a $300,000 loan taken in 2024, alleging he still owes $262,074.10. His attorney has asked the court to dismiss the case. A separate Butler County suit last year accused Wogenstahl of failing to pay a business for festival setup services; that case was voluntarily dismissed weeks later.

West Chester said it remains open to hosting large events at VOA MetroPark with a future organizer that can meet financial and contractual obligations. Residents can contact the township through its website or attend the next Board of Trustees meeting, typically held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at Township Hall.