Letter to the Editor

Lauric to WECRD: Resign or face dissolution petition

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Dear editor:

Okay. I am not the smartest person on the face of the earth but I have enough sense to know when we are being sold a bill of goods by people who say over and over again that they are "going to fulfil a mandate."

What that really means is that "we are going to do what we want regardless of public opinion because we can and there is nothing anybody can do."

So, here it goes. The WECRD just introduced their new, $467,487 budget for 2009-2010. This is interesting because they have reported to have entered into some sort of working relationship with the YMCA and have further reported that ALL building plans are on hold pending the results of the CLDC and the YMCA findings.

Well, I have read the new budget and reviewed the YMCA/WECRD contract. I have to question why the WECRD needs $213,487 for a "Land Development/Building Fund" when there will be no building -- according to the WECRD anyway.

There are costs for the WECRD to "consult" with the YMCA and there should be! This is at least the second or third time the WECRD has "consulted" with the YMCA on this proposed facility. The WECRD/YMCA contract contains a list of costs which is GREATLY less than the $467,487 budgeted by the WECRD for 2009-2010.

So, what is really going on here?

When a person uses "Mollienomics" 2 + 2 does not add up to 4. Why is this?

In the Aug. 19 Mountain Home News, Section B, Page 2, it is stated that "WECRD Plans $27,000 Budget Hike." Why is there a budget hike, when in theory, the WECRD is supposed to have their hands (all six of them) tied? They are supposed to allow the YMCA process to work. Does that process work better with a $467,487 projected budget for a plan that is stated to be on hold?

The YMCA has fixed costs for consulting and travel and have stated what they believe the process will cost. The YMCA has provided costs for the surveys and reports that will be done. While they are approximate only, they do not even come close to nearly $500,000! So, what is really going on here?

Well, here is the "Tracy Theory." I believe that the WECRD has gone down the YMCA road to buy them some time. They hope that this "partnership" with the YMCA will change public opinion -- at least for a while. They are not acting in good faith!

This is all an attempt to buy more time and raise more money because the facility cannot be built for $67 per square foot. So, the WECRD will play the YMCA game for a while and then cancel the contract. Mollie cannot and will not be told what to do -- she has come too far.

The mayor of Caldwell was nice enough to come to Mountain Home and speak to a group of us about the YMCA and how much it has helped Caldwell. I cannot say that a YMCA is not a great idea/concept for Mountain Home. We need something!

However, there are some MAJOR differences between Mountain Home and Caldwell.

First, Caldwell is not taxed through property taxes for their YMCA. The people who use the facility pay for the facility. In other words, there are no property taxes on top of "membership" fees.

Second, Caldwell does not have a "recreation district." They just have the YMCA. So, they do not have three people with their hands in the cookie jar in a battle for "control." The WECRD only complicates things for us.

Third, Caldwell has a lot more people and a much larger membership base to support a facility.

Last, but not least, Caldwell was able to raise a lot of money through donations from corporate sponsors, which helped greatly to offset costs for the facility. Mountain Home does not have that ability and it has been proven. Simplot gave $1 million to the Caldwell project. Simplot has refused to give money, to date, for the WECRD (this is stated in the HUD documents and other documents).

So, our facility will be built from a very small amount of "donations." Most of the funding for our project will come from taxes and appropriations (which are also taxes but that is another story for another day).

YMCA memberships for a family can run $700-$800. This is a bit more than the projected $480 (family with military "discount") projected by the WECRD in their "plans."

Who can afford this? If the passes are not sold taxes will have to go up to run this facility and there is no way around that regardless of what we may be told. If you build it, it must be maintained right?

So, I have many questions. Why is a budget so large for a project that has just started and is pretty much at square one and under the control of the YMCA? The YMCA has provided fixed costs that do not even come close to what the WECRD has asked for in their budget. So, how long before this YMCA thing falls apart and the three stooges go off on their own again (because history does indeed repeat itself)?

Why is there not one single line item (dollar figure) for recreation?

This is a recreation district (or so we are told) that does NOT support any recreation or recreation projects in our community. Why is that?

Then, when the WECRD is asked for a donation for recreation, they refuse to donate. Why is that?

Not to leave anything out here. Mollie wants new furniture for the WECRD office because what they have is "old." Does the stuff function? Yes. Why purchase new furniture (desks, file cabinets, chairs, etc.) if in a few years you plan to be in a new building where the YMCA will want everything to match (so it is not once again a hodgepodge of "old" things)?

This is a HUGE waste of taxpayer money. Why not live with what you have and invest in the computers, copier and printers and leave the interior design until after the CLDC and YMCA have issued their findings? Makes more sense to me UNLESS you have your own plan, which is what I believe to be the case.

You three have an agenda and it is NOT to see this plan through with the YMCA and that is clear from your budget as well as your other, collective, actions.

So, to close. Your office (the WECRD office) has stated that we do not have the signatures required to put this to a vote. Well, I am here to report that we do. When the "naysayers" started this we obtained the list of voters from the election office. We plan to obtain signatures at the budget hearing on Aug. 26, and also at AFAD. The petition will then be turned in to the election office as required by law. We have reviewed our signatures and only had 4 percent that will not qualify to date.

I suggest you folks gear up for a fight because the voters will now have their say with no time limits. If the WECRD would have been honest (past, present and future) this entire thing could have been avoided.

So, I ask one last time for ALL of you to resign in an effort to save this project. All three of you state this is a community project and is very important to this community but it is really all about what the three of you want and think the community wants and will support.

So, I ask yet again that all three of you RESIGN to save this community project. Five, new people can be put in charge in an effort to get this project back on track. All three of you are tainted and this project needs a clean start. PLEASE RESIGN TO SAVE THIS PROJECT!

PLEASE RESIGN! Make things right for this community so that we can all come together and make this work. Without the support of the entire community, this will fail and with the current WECRD Board, people will NEVER believe in the plan.

PLEASE RESIGN. Please do the right thing to give this a chance. Please allow the YMCA process to work with new people.

PLEASE RESIGN!

Tracy Lauric