Motocross project due for final design - funding questions remain

BY JEAN ORTIZ / Lincoln Journal Star
Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 - 12:35:18 am CST

The funding questions for a proposed motocross track at Abbott Sports
Complex have not been solved, but organizers say they are ready to dig into
preliminary work and hope that could lead to more solutions.

The Lower Platte South Natural Resources District is working to find an
engineering firm that will design the project, conduct noise tests and
secure permits, among other preliminary tasks.

The 1.5-mile track is envisioned for both public recreation and competitive
events.

A request for proposals began circulating last month. Proposals are due
March 14.

The Lower Platte South NRD board is expected to award a contract at its
April 16 meeting, said district general manager Glenn Johnson.

The process should pin down a better cost estimate for the project, Johnson
said. A preliminary design estimated the cost of building a basic track and
parking was just under $1 million.

Johnson hopes to have the design completed by mid-August as project
organizers prepare to take another run at securing more federal funding.

The federal Recreational Trails Program, administered locally by the state
Game and Parks Commission, has committed $405,100 to the project.

Project organizers expected to get another $300,000, paid over 2008 and
2009, but the committee that makes recommendations about grant awards
decided late last year to delay more funding until the project makes
progress.

The application for 2009 funding is due Oct. 1. The Game and Parks
Commission board will vote on the awards in January.

Though the project relies heavily on federal funding, it also has secured
support from the Lancaster County Board. Private donations are expected to
play a larger role in later phases of construction.

An application for a state tourism grant was denied.

Johnson is looking at a tentative timeline of starting construction a year
from now, meaning the site wouldn't be ready for riders until fall 2009 or
spring 2010 at the earliest.

If the project isn't approved for more funding, he believes work could still
get under way in the spring and they could re-apply for funding in the 2010
cycle.

But Del Lienemann, president of the Lincoln Sports Foundation, which is
slated to manage the track once built, said winning approval in 2009 could
make or break the project.

He's undecided whether completing the design counts as progress, he said as
he mulled the funding hurdles that remain.

"All we can do is design it," he said. "We can't build it."