By Meredith Gardner
meredith.gardner@theindependent.com

The amended version of LB1116, the committee's priority bill for this session, states that the fair will move to Fonner Park in Grand Island by 2010.

The bill has now been forwarded on to the speaker of the Legislature and is expected to be debated before the last day of the session, April 17.

Representatives from the University of Nebraska, the Grand Island community and the State Fair board came together to negotiate the solution, said Sen. Philip Erdman of Bayard, chairman of the committee.

"This isn't my doing," Erdman said. "This is their doing. I am behind what they're proposing. I will work to make this happen on the floor."

If passed, the plan would make way for a university research and innovation park on the current state fair grounds, which neighbor the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's campus.

According to the bill, the move would be funded through four entities: $21.5 million from the university, $8.5 million from fundraising efforts in Grand Island, $7 million from the State Fair board and $5 million from the state's cash reserve.

An estimated $27.5 million of the total $42 million cost would go toward new construction, including buildings for livestock, exhibition halls, two equine barns, a maintenance building and dirt work. The remaining $14.5 million would be used to pay for lights, drainage, sidewalks, parking, landscaping, irrigation, stalls and furnishings.

Don Dunn, chairman of the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors, said he couldn't say "with any precision" where Grand Island would find its $8.5 million contribution, but the money would likely come from a variety of sources.

"It's a general consensus that we will come up with $8.5 million, and that's not going to be a stumbling block," Dunn said.

Construction on the new buildings could begin as early as fall of this year, said Cindy Johnson, president of the Grand Island chamber.

In addition to raising the money for the initial move, Grand Island would also be responsible for coming up with a 10-percent match to the Nebraska Lottery funds the fair receives annually.

That amount varies from year to year, said Jerry Fitzgerald chairman of the State Fair board. Typically, the fair receives about $2 million in funding, meaning its host city would be responsible for matching that money with about $200,000 annually.

Grand Island Mayor Margaret Hornady said it would likely take a community effort to provide those matching funds.

"I don't know the absolute answer to that," she said when asked where Grand Island would find the money. "I think we'll find a way to make it work."

As for the governance of the Grand Island site, the buildings at Fonner Park would be owned by the Hall County Livestock Improvement Association, which would be in charge of maintaining, improving and managing both Fonner Park and the Heartland Events Center. The State Fair board would lease the facilities at a cost of $1 per year.

Tentatively, the fair board would be in charge of the land and buildings during the period of the fair, said Jerry Fitzgerald, chairman of the fair board. It would receive the income from and pay the expenses of State Fair events. Throughout the rest of the year, the Hall County Livestock Improvement Association would be in charge of the buildings and programming.

"It's still got to be ironed out a little bit," Fitzgerald said of the new site's governance. "It's probably going to be not as much of a problem that I thought it may have been to begin with."

The future dates and duration of the fair will also be decided on when and if the Legislature gives the final approval to move the fair to Grand Island, Fitzgerald said.

The provision requiring the state to provide providing $5 million in funding for the move is expected to be a point of strong debate among the other senators.

"It's still about the money," Fitzgerald said. "Cost will decide whether the Legislature will proceed with giving money to move the fair."

However, Erdman said he has always believed the state needed to be part of the solution, and he had planned to make state funding a part of whatever decision was reached.

State Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton, an ag committee member, said while she has gone on the record saying the state's reserve fund needs to be protected, she supported the provision because state would've needed to provide funding for the fair no matter what.

Once LB1116 hits the floor for debate, it will take at least 25 votes to pass the bill.

More amendments to the bill could be made on the floor. But if senators try to tinker with it too much, the whole plan may unravel, Johnson said.

The fact that the ag committee and the parties involved have put so much work into reaching an agreement could help the bill pass with a little more ease, Johnson said.

"My gut sense is that there is a strong desire to get it done this year by the body (of the Legislature)," she said.