It’s time for the Mower County Board of Commissioners to clear the air on the multipurpose building project.

Thursday, September 28, 2000

It’s time for the Mower County Board of Commissioners to clear the air on the multipurpose building project.

Will it be built or not?

That’s the question taxpayers want answered.

For far too long there has been no definitive response from the county board.

We hear tantalizing tidbits, such as "We’re waiting on the architects" or "We’re waiting on the city of Austin’s zoning administrator to decide if we need as many off-street parking spots as they said we needed" or "The committee overseeing the project is too large and it’s becoming a political decision and not a practical one."

The city of Austin is waiting. It cannot proceed with its plans to turn Riverside Arena into a community recreation center until it knows whether the new multipurpose building will, indeed, be built and that it will include ice skating facilities.

The Mower County Agricultural Society’s Fair Board wants to know whether the building will supplant existing structures that are in bad need of repair or replacement.

The National Barrow Show’s sponsors would like to know if they can market a new facility for its "World Series of Swine Show" to the nation’s pork producers.

The Austin Youth Hockey Association and Riverside Figure Skating Club want to know what and where their future will be. Austin High School’s varsity coed hockey program will be considered, too.

The Austin Area Convention and Visitors Bureau also needs to know in order to market the facility among the attractions we have to offer.

Help us, Mower County Board of Commissioners.

Give us some hard facts.

Inquiring taxpayers’ minds want to know.