Nonprofits gather 50,000 petition signatures to preserve State Fair funding - Detroit News and Information - Crain's Detroit Business.
A group of nonprofits plans to deliver over 50,000 petition signatures to the governor this afternoon in an effort to preserve state support of the Michigan State Fair. The Youth Connection (formerly known as Mayor’s Time), Eight Mile Boulevard Association, Woodward Avenue Action Association and ICARE have gathered the signatures over the past month in the hopes of saving the 106-year-old state fair, the oldest in the U.S. The Youth Connection, Eight Mile Boulevard Association and Joe Dumars Fieldhouse are the sole remaining tenants of the state fair grounds, said Jeff Griffith, communications director for the Youth Connection. “Obviously, there’s self-interest because we’re a tenant at the fairgrounds,” he said. “But if it’s just going to be boarded up while they try to get development deals done, we’re concerned about what’s going to happen to the fairgrounds…(and) another 162 acres of blight in the city of Detroit.” The group is pushing for more time for a viable use to be developed for the fairgrounds, Griffith said. “Our main concern is keeping the state fairgrounds open and viable,” he said. “And the state fair is an ancillary concern.” The Conference Committee on General Government, made up of members of both the House and Senate, on Tuesday approved $6.6 million in funding for the state fair in the coming year and $500,000 for creation of a regional authority. The issue is expected to go before a vote in both the house and senate today, said Amy Buttery, legislative assistant to Rep. Fred Durhal Jr., D-Detroit, chair of the house appropriations subcommittee on general government. “These signatures show that there is serious support for the State Fairgrounds and State Fair,” said Senate Democratic Floor Leader Buzz Thomas (D-Detroit), in a release. “The State Fair is profitable and to close, secure, and shutter the property will cost more than leaving it open with its current activities. We need to make sure there is a safe and economically secure plan for this valuable property before making any changes. I urge the governor to not veto the funding that the Michigan Legislature agreed to yesterday.”
