On August 13th, 2008, the Grand Island is now $1 million closer to hosting the Nebraska State Fair to town. The Hall County Board of Supervisors committed the first $1 million in public funds toward the community's total share of $8.5 million in the expense of moving the State Fair to Grand Island.
Jay Vavricek, a member of the local State Fair committee who attended the county board budget session on Wednesday said that it is a really big amount and that they could start building on this. County supervisors, who have been laboring on the county's yearly budget, agreed to raise the $1 million needed for the State Fair from two main sources. The 1st half million will be raise through an increased in the property tax levy for the Hall County Agricultural Society, which manages the Hall County Fair.
The 2nd half-million will be coming from county keno dollars. The ag society had petitioned for its existing property tax levy to be increased by 0.6 of a cent. That would raise an additional $240,000 yearly for improvements to the Fonner Park, which is the location of the Hall County Fair and the State Fair when it moves to Grand Island in 2010. Supervisor Scott Arnold moved to pushed for a full tax increase during budget discussion on Wednesday, but his motion failed to pass because of lack of support.
He bought up the issue during Wednesday morning's budget work and pushed for an ag society property tax increase on only half of the original size. The proposal passed with a four to three vote, with Supervisors Pam Lancaster, Jim Eriksen and Bob Rye voting no.
Lancaster said that it is not the $100,000, it is where it comes from that makes the difference to him. He said that the ag society was founded almost thirty-three years ago and has never before petitioned for property tax dollars for improvements.
The fair has a yearly operating levy, which would produce about $152,000 annually for the fair. But Fonner Park has absorbed all the operating costs for the fair buildings and grounds. Lancaster said that even if the State Fair will not come to Grand Island, the money that will be raised will be allocated in maintaining existing buildings in the fair area.
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John Sullivan
