Below is a copy of the text of a letter from Kate Horner, HNA President, which was printed in the Cleveland Free Times in response to a previous Cleveland Free Times article.

HESSLER WILL RETURN

Although it is true that hosting the Hessler Street Fair is a costly venture for the Hessler Neighborhood Association, we feel the benefit of showcasing our community outweighs the cost ("Are You Going to Hessler Street Fair?", April 11). Hessler Road remains the only street in all of University Circle where housing is owned by people not corporations. This is why we resurrected the Hessler Street Fair in 1995. It never was about making a lot of money. In fact, in 1995 after all of our expenses were paid, the HNA netted $100 in profit.

What the fair does is unite the residents of the HNA with its supporting community. We are able to host this event only by the generosity of our many volunteers who donate thousands of hours of their time, labor and passion each year to make the HSF a reality. The HNA has applied for and has received in the past funds from the city of Cleveland's department of community development, division of neighborhood services. These block grants funds have helped the HNA host this event for many years.

The new board of the HNA was elected on April 3. Planning and executing a street fair takes months of time. The board decided that we would not have ample time to meet all of the necessary requirements to host a May street fair. Although we will be on hiatus this May, look for the Hessler Street Fair to return full force May of 2008. We would like to thank the Free Times staff and their readers for their support over the years.

Kate Horner

President, Hessler Neighborhood Association