At least four from Ag Committee like Grand Island as fair site

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BY ART HOVEY / Lincoln Journal Star

At least four of the eight members of the Legislature’s Agriculture Committee regard Grand Island as the best site for the Nebraska State Fair if it moves from Lincoln’s State Fair Park.

Committee Chairman Phil Erdman of Bayard, still working Wednesday to broker a deal that could convert the fairgrounds to a research campus, was not willing to state a preference for a new location.

Only one senator, Norm Wallman of Cortland, wants to move the fair to near the Lancaster Event Center in northeast Lincoln.

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Sen. Don Preister of Omaha wants to keep the event in Lincoln, although, he said, “I can live with Grand Island.”

The eighth member, M.L. “Cap” Dierks of Ewing, is mostly worried about keeping the cost of any move in check.

Although committee members are starting to stake out personal positions, Erdman has yet to schedule the executive session needed to advance a bill to the floor.

“We are down to crunch time,” Dierks said. Nonetheless, “I want to give Sen. Erdman all the discretion I can because he’s the one who’s done all the groundwork on this.”

Erdman had tentatively scheduled an executive session for Wednesday. It didn’t happen, and his new forecast is “soon. That’s the new time and the new date is soon.”

The possibility of moving the fair from its century-old home made it to the Legislature’s agenda in 2007 after a group of Lincoln civic and business leaders proposed the University of Nebraska be allowed to develop a public and private research partnership at State Fair Park.

But the companion concept of moving the fair to near the Lancaster Event Center met with strong resistance from the State Fair Board.

 Disagreement over who would cover costs — estimated as low as $35 million and as high as $175 million for building a new fairgrounds, most likely in either Lincoln or Grand Island — also threatened to quash the idea entirely.

Erdman said he remained optimistic about reaching a negotiated agreement in continuing talks with the fair board, the university, Grand Island officials and a Lincoln group organized as Friends of Innovation Park.

“There’s still time to get this done and it’s still possible to get it done,” he said.

He’s also prepared for other options, “and one of the options is to kill all bills and leave the fair where it is.”

The committee’s current priority bill would require the university to offer $30 million in compensation for taking over State Fair Park, or its appraised value, whichever is higher.

Various amendments are also possible, including an alternative advanced earlier by Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln that would remove the fair by 2012 and sort out its destination and any financial implications later.

Along the way, Gov. Dave Heineman has been providing his perspective. Heineman reportedly told the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday the fair appears headed for Grand Island.

That fits with the preferences of several members of the Agriculture Committee, including Sen. Vickie McDonald of St. Paul.

“I say that, because as we’ve looked at all the proposals, I feel that Grand Island has the most to offer,” McDonald said in a brief interview Wednesday. “They have a considerable amount of infrastructure already in place.”

Also, according to McDonald, “they want it for all the right reasons, and that would be to bring back the agricultural focus that has always been the primary reason for the fair.”

Sens. Russ Karpisek of Wilber and Annette Dubas of Fullerton also favor Grand Island, although Dubas said, “My whole decision will be based on the financial picture and what we can afford to do.”

Even Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, who has never made any secret of his indifference to the fair, said putting it in Grand Island ranks right behind its abolishment in his personal inclinations.

“I think the state fair is an anachronism,” he said, “but if it is to have any relevance, it should be somewhere other than where it is now.”

Karpisek expressed some frustration with all the outside predictions on what the Legislature might do, including those coming from the governor.

“There’s been so much ‘foregone conclusion,’” he said.

If matters move to the floor, Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery has a notion of what he would do.

“If I am faced with a choice of keeping the fair in Lincoln or getting the research park for the university, I would go with the research park for the university,” Avery said.

Fellow Lincoln Sen. Danielle Nantkes said Grand Island would be her first choice of alternative sites. “In terms of governance and finance issues, I’m not sure the 84th Street location is the best fit.”

But Nantkes said it’s important for the Agriculture Committee to finish its work before the local legislative delegation weighs in strongly, either as individuals or collectively.

Committee member Preister said there’s some advantage to the tightening schedule in coming to some sort of resolution.

“I detect the pressure cooker getting hotter for all parties as the clock ticks away,” he said. “There’s more pressure to compromise and come to some agreement.”

Reach Art Hovey at 473-7223 or at ahovey@journalstar.com.