Fair petition failure frees can-do spirit
Now that the attempt to put the Nebraska State Fair move on the ballot has failed, supporters should rev back up to full speed to make the move successful.
Organizers of the petition-gathering effort are muttering darkly about legal options.
We hope they conclude that such a move would not be in the state’s best interests. It’s time to move on.
If there truly were a groundswell of grass roots opposition to the move, organizers would have succeeded in gathering enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot.
Planning for a new fair in Grand Island and the creation of Innovation Park on the former 251-acre fairgrounds in Lincoln should be allowed to continue without concern that the effort would be wasted.
Unfortunately, the signature-gathering effort has revived bitter feelings and interfered with fundraising efforts in Grand Island.
Now the positive aspects of the move can be emphasized. The uncertainty of the past six weeks can quickly be put in the past.
The Grand Island Independent reports that most elected officials in the area recognize that the fair can be an economic boon for the area.
Grand Island Mayor Margaret Hornady should be commended for kicking off regular planning meetings earlier this month. The community faces a July 1, 2009, deadline to raise $8.5 million for moving the fair to Fonner Park in Grand Island.
The first $3 million is to be committed by Oct. 1 under the timetable set out in the legislative bill authorizing the move.
Meanwhile, the University of Nebraska has issued a “request for information” to stir up and flesh out ideas on how to develop Innovation Campus, the research and development campus that will take shape on the former fairgrounds adjacent to the UNL campus.
So far, the reaction to the planned campus is encouraging. UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman said last week that officials already have been contacted by several national firms.
One of those firms, he said, voiced a willingness to pay for some of the infrastructure that will be needed. An estimated $10 million worth of upgrades will be needed for roads, sidewalks, sewers and electrical systems.
The legislation calls for the state fair to move by 2010.
“We want to be ready on Jan. 1, 2010, to get things moving,” Perlman said last week.
That’s the sort of confidence and optimism that’s needed to accomplish ambitious things. We hope to see that can-do spirit spread in the coming months.
Organizers of the petition-gathering effort are muttering darkly about legal options.
We hope they conclude that such a move would not be in the state’s best interests. It’s time to move on.
If there truly were a groundswell of grass roots opposition to the move, organizers would have succeeded in gathering enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot.
Planning for a new fair in Grand Island and the creation of Innovation Park on the former 251-acre fairgrounds in Lincoln should be allowed to continue without concern that the effort would be wasted.
Unfortunately, the signature-gathering effort has revived bitter feelings and interfered with fundraising efforts in Grand Island.
Now the positive aspects of the move can be emphasized. The uncertainty of the past six weeks can quickly be put in the past.
The Grand Island Independent reports that most elected officials in the area recognize that the fair can be an economic boon for the area.
Grand Island Mayor Margaret Hornady should be commended for kicking off regular planning meetings earlier this month. The community faces a July 1, 2009, deadline to raise $8.5 million for moving the fair to Fonner Park in Grand Island.
The first $3 million is to be committed by Oct. 1 under the timetable set out in the legislative bill authorizing the move.
Meanwhile, the University of Nebraska has issued a “request for information” to stir up and flesh out ideas on how to develop Innovation Campus, the research and development campus that will take shape on the former fairgrounds adjacent to the UNL campus.
So far, the reaction to the planned campus is encouraging. UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman said last week that officials already have been contacted by several national firms.
One of those firms, he said, voiced a willingness to pay for some of the infrastructure that will be needed. An estimated $10 million worth of upgrades will be needed for roads, sidewalks, sewers and electrical systems.
The legislation calls for the state fair to move by 2010.
“We want to be ready on Jan. 1, 2010, to get things moving,” Perlman said last week.
That’s the sort of confidence and optimism that’s needed to accomplish ambitious things. We hope to see that can-do spirit spread in the coming months.
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