Jefferson County’s elected leaders on Tuesday began the precarious task of threading a fiscal needle to keep its nearly 70-year-old county fairgrounds in operation, as the reality of a budget crunch crashed headlong into the impassioned pleas of dozens of residents who don’t want to see an important link to the area’s history erased. “These are sacred lands to us,” said Ariana Sharp, a Lakewood resident who started riding horses at age 3.