Local minds meet to discuss State Fair funding

Grand Island Mayor Margaret Hornady wants answers regarding Grand Island's participation in the relocation of the Nebraska State Fair to Fonner Park.

"It's high time we get off dead center and figure out where we're going," Hornady said from City Hall Monday afternoon.

To that end, a 5 p.m. Monday meeting was called to discuss the State Fair.

Invited to the meeting were representatives from Fonner Park, Hall County, the City of Grand Island and the local State Fair committee comprising Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce President Cindy Johnson, chamber board Chairman Don Dunn and former Mayor Jay Vavricek.

A quorum of elected representatives was not invited, nor was to attend. Such a quorum would have enacted the Nebraska Open Meetings laws and the meeting would have had to been advertised and open to the public.

As it was held Monday, it was not a open meeting and neither the public nor the media was allowed to attend.

The Nebraska Legislature passed LB1116 this spring authorizing the State Fair to move from Lincoln to Grand Island. The land in Lincoln would then be used by the University of Nebraska for a research and innovation park.

The legislation requires that $42 million be raised for the move. Of that, $8.5 million is to come from the community of Grand Island.

Hornady said the city council seems supportive of issuing a $5 million bond to help toward the $8.5 million.

"They are still favorable toward that … but no progress has been made, to my knowledge, on the additional $3.5," million," Hornady said.

She said that $3.5 million "needs to be" the focus of the Monday meeting. The first $3 million of Grand Island's money needs to be committed by Oct. 1 as per the state legislation.

"I think we jolly well better be getting on with it," Hornady said of deciding where the money will come from.

Hornady said every option is on the table -- including the possibility of a special election.

"I don't want a special election, because I don't want to spend the money on it, but we'll see," Hornady said. "If Grand Island is going to commit to doing this, the public needs to be a part of it and needs to enjoy it and be enthusiastic about it."

Hall County Election Commission Dale Baker said a special election would need to be held by Sept. 1. Anything after that would automatically go to the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

But time is tight.

There must be 50 days prep time for a special election , Baker said, which could be a mail-in ballot sent directly to Grand Island homes.

With that timeline it appears a special election ballot would need to be decided this week -- and it's currently not part of the published agenda for the city council's Tuesday night regular meeting.

"The whole thing is very complex and that's part of the problem," Hornady said. "It's pretty discouraging to try and figure it all out and I don't know that you can figure it out as a whole piece of cloth -- or if you just chip off one little obstacle after another."

"I've offered to throw my body across the door until we can figure out what we're doing here and not let anybody leave," Hornady said. "I don't' think that's going to be very useful."