Fonner Park, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
At issue was a 50-year lease agreement between the city of Grand Island and the Hall County Livestock Improvement Authority (Fonner Park) for a 1,100-parking-stall parking lot at the northwest edge of Fonner Park, north of State Fair Boulevard. Fonner Park has agreed to pay for construction of the concrete parking lot and ongoing maintenance. City Administrator Laura McAloon said she did not know how much the parking lot would cost.
Concerns expressed included the length of the lease, the absence in the council packet of letters from involved organizations, and the absence of representatives of any of the involved organizations at the Feb. 25 meeting.
First, a motion to table the issue for a month failed by a 4-6 vote. Council members Jason Conley, Doug Brown, Chuck Haase, and Mike Paulick voted for the motion. Council members Jack Sheard, Mitch Nickerson, Maggie Mendoza, Ryan O’Neill, Doug Lanfear and Mark Stelk voted against the motion.
Then, a motion to approve the lease was passed by a 6-4 vote. Council members Sheard, Nickerson, Mendoza, O’Neill, Lanfear, and Stelk voted for the motion. Council members Conley, Brown, Haase, and Paulick voted against the motion.
City Council member Mitch Nickerson said he asked that the item be pulled from the consent agenda because it was a pretty big project. He said that if all of the stakeholders have had input, he was not sure what would be gained by delaying the decision until March.
Council member Mark Stelk said approval of the parking lot needed to be done in the “right way.”
“I’m not sure if this is the right way or not.”
Council member Mike Paulick said he would like to see letters of support from the entities that are involved with use of the parking lot.
Council member Chuck Haase said he supported tabling the motion. He noted that a 50-year lease “is a long time.” Haase said “I feel like I’m looking at half of a ball. I’m not seeing the whole picture.”
Nickerson asked why the lease was 50 years long. McAloon responded that the cost to Fonner Park led to the 50-year lease.
In a memo to City Council, City Administrator Laura McAloon wrote that vacant city land located between Island Oasis Waterpark, Fire Station No. 1, and State Fair Boulevard has been historically used for parking by Nebraska State Fair patrons and overflow parking by attendees/exhibitors during Fonner Park and Grand Island Livestock Complex Authority (GILCA) shows.
In 2006 and 2007, the City Council dedicated a 350 foot by 350 foot area in the southeast corner of the land for future memorials for Fire and Rescue and Law Enforcement officers.
McAloon wrote that during the construction of the Elite Casino and Hotel, “the planned construction of an adjacent parking garage was deleted from the building plans with the intent to utilize the existing improved surface parking lots on the Fonner Park campus.”
“City staff worked with Fonner, NSF (Nebraska State Fair), and Elite Casino and Hotels to develop a win-win solution to the parking shortage,” McAloon wrote.
Parking will continue to be provided to the Nebraska State Fair during its operation. The lease will begin Sept. 15 and is for an initial term of 50 years, with the option for five-year renewals by the parties.
“Members of the public will continue to be able to park on the lots at no cost, and any future parking fees for the use of the parking spaces would have to be approved first by the City Council,” McAloon wrote.
Former Grand Island Mayor Jay Vavricek raised a number of concerns about the parking lot. He wondered, for instance, why there were no representatives from involved parties including the Nebraska State Fair, Fonner Park, and Elite Casino and Hotel at the meeting.
He suggested that if any City Council members had 1 percent doubt about the proposed parking lot, they should vote to table the proposal.
Vavricek said that the parking lot would “impair” growth of the Nebraska State Fair.
“We need flexibility to accommodate future needs,” Vavricek said. Vavricek wondered what the harm was of delaying a vote until after the City Council had more time to study the issue.
McAloon told Vavricek that all of the involved stakeholders were involved in discussions with the city.
A rendering of the 1,100 parking lot, (Courtesy)
