Sounding Off:

The Orange County Fairgrounds is about to hit the auction block. At 10 a.m. today, we will finally know who is the highest bidder for this 150-acre site, 115-year tradition, and irreplaceable legacy that had been left for us to safeguard for our children.

We will know soon enough, but, by then, it may be too late.

The state Department of General Services has clearly stated that the fairgrounds needs to be sold to the highest bidder and that it will stop the sale, only if “the public bidding process does not result in an opportunity to realize the highest most certain return for the state.” Keeping this property as a “fairgrounds” does not help the state reach that goal.

In May, when the Fair Board paid Dick Ackerman $19,000 to “help” write the language to get this into the state budget, they didn’t insert language to protect this resource “as a fairgrounds.”

In June, Costa Mesa Planning Commissioner Jim Righeimer wrote in this paper that the citizens of this city “should consider calling the state’s bluff and buy the fairgrounds” (“Rigonomics: Questioning Fairgrounds,” June 13).

Unfortunately, his column ends with more questions being raised than actually answered. Those questions still linger but the sale is about to be completed.

As I write this, 50,000 postcards from residents opposing this sale were being delivered to the Sacramento state house.

To date, these cities, and civic organizations have come out with resolutions and letters opposing this sale: County of Orange, Brea, Buena Park, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Habra, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Orange, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Westminster, Villa Park, Yorba Linda, Coast Community College, Mesa Consolidated Water District.

The state legislators who have committed to oppose the sale are: state Sens. Lou Correa, Tom Harman and Mark Wyland, and Assemblymen Curt Hagman, Hector de la Torre, Diane Harkey, Jeff Miller, Pedro Nava, Jim Silva, Jose Solorio and Van Tran.

When the hammer falls today, one of the seven bidders will be the winner. What that means for the fairgrounds’ fate remains uncertain. What the winner can be certain of is this, more than 2 million Orange County residents opposed them “buying” it.

GREG RIDGE lives in Costa Mesa.