Fair board made the right decision

Considering all that has transpired, the decision the Orange County

Fair board made to deny the bids of Tel Phil Enterprises and American

Park ‘n Swap to run the swap meet at the Orange County Fairgrounds

and reopen the bid process was indeed a good one.

Too much had been said and too many knots have been tangled that

it is best just to cut the losses and start all over.

We would also like to take this moment to commend fair board

member Frank Barbaro for seeing the apparent conflict he has by

owning a 51% share in a swap meet vendor and abstaining from his

vote.

With all that done, we now urge fair board members to weigh the

new bids evenly and do what’s best for the taxpayers who support the

fairgrounds and for the local community and local businesses, least

of which is Tel Phil Enterprises, whose founder, Bob Teller, created

the market place that is well loved by many today.

As we said before, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And so far,

the market place doesn’t look broke to us.

Still, American Park ‘n Swap officials see it differently, and we

agree they deserve a chance to make their case.

They think that if fair board members are able to see their bid

side by side with Tel Phil’s, it will be clear that they are offering

a better deal. They say they can give the taxpayers back more money

and still keep vendor rents and entrance prices the same.

American Park ‘n Swap and its parent company, Delaware North, have

a good reputation. They run the Boston Bruins hockey team and

concession venues at Kennedy Space Center and Yosemite National Park.

We have no doubt they are a fine company and would do a fine job

running the swap meet if the fair board were to choose them.

But in our mind, American Park ‘n Swap would have to come up with

an extraordinary offer to convince fair board members to unseat Tel

Phil Enterprises, with its equally impressive track record and local

connections.

So, let the bidding begin, and let the best company win.