To All Holiday Express Supporters, We recently met with the Richardson city manager’s office and the parks and recreation department, and I am sad to report that it is not feasible for the city to acquire the Holiday Express. However, they are fully on board with our continued efforts to preserve the Holiday Express for our area. The following is the relevant portion of their official response: “Thank you for your understanding as to why the City is unable to take ownership of this equipment and event to incorporate [it into] the annual Santa’s Village program. Outside of our state mandated legal requirements for purchasing equipment, it is unfortunate that capacity, site and staffing issues also do not allow us to consider this addition. "I would like to reiterate that the City stands ready to assist where it can to help the train transition to a new location in Richardson. If you should find a local buyer then we can work with that person or entity on variances or other requirements to help with the transition.” Since meeting with the city, I’ve been thinking about possible alternatives and what we can do next. If the Holiday Express is going to stay in our area, we will have to find a local buyer, whether an individual or an organization. However, there is the potential for the current situation to recur in the future if the next owner also decides to divest the train. Thinking about this led me to the idea of establishing a non-profit that would raise funds to purchase and then operate the train (with charitable intentions). This would ensure that the Holiday Express tradition, including Joel’s altruistic vision for it, would carry on as long as there is financial support for it. Over the next few weeks I will be doing some initial research into how this would work, and I will post updates on the petition website until there is a more appropriate place to do so. If anyone would like to be a part of this ongoing effort, please email me directly at jordannoret |AT| gmail.com. I would greatly appreciate any ideas, advice, or help that I can get to preserve the Holiday Express for our community. Best Regards, Jordan Noret