To the editor:
I read with dismay Martha Vail’s letter to the editor (“Fairgrounds’ nonprofit to blame for lack of progress,” March 9, A4) about the fairgrounds nonprofit organization being to blame for lack of progress on the fairgrounds project and her dismay about $50,000 being spent and another $40,000 being owed.
For the record, the Hancock County Economic Complex Corporation (HCECC) was formed when the project was originally started because the Indiana State Board of Accounts said this was the best way to proceed.
With a grant through the tourism board for $40,000, Triad Corp. developed a very detailed plan which took into account not only the present but what could be developed in the future. That bill has been paid. I have no clue where the additional $50,000 figure came from, and I would venture to say Ms. Vail doesn’t, either.
Also, she was concerned about the taxpayer money that has been spent. This money so far has come from the tourism bureau through the innkeeper’s tax we collect from the motels in the county. I don’t assume she has contributed to that tax, but I could be wrong.
It’s unfortunate that so much disagreement has erupted around this very worthwhile project, but it has.
I hope it doesn’t die out like it did 10 years ago because of bickering about who would control what.
Right now, we have a great group in the HCECC that has the best interest of Hancock County at heart, and I would hope we could all work together without bashing each other and making up “facts” to push one’s own political agenda.
Bill Bolander
Hancock County Council president
