WECRD launches capital campaign

"The rec district has $4.5 million set aside in reserves or funds committed by the federal department of Housing and Urban Development to assist with the project."

I have to wonder what has happened to all the tax dollars collected in the past years?

So we wait another 10-15 years for more funds to be gathered and spent on a whim. Yea !!!!!!!!

I like Teddy Roosevelt's train of thought: "Do what you can with what you have, where you are". This "entity" known as the WECRD has been stagnant long enough. As a stagnant pond gathers scum, so goes the WECRD.

Infinite studies with no breaking of ground grows tiresome. Coupling this with the fact that any time there is "news" regarding this project of doom it is ALWAYS in reference to more money, one can understand the disenchantment of the community.

It's time to put up, or Shut Up, WECRD. No more tear tugging for more $$$. Requests for more money are falling on deaf ears. The majority of this community has become jaded to your frequent semblance of a panhandler. You're at bat and the count is 3 balls and 2 strikes--and you have one pitch left.

I thought someone was hired last year for this at around $80K per year what results has she had?

What a joke, they've collected $7 million, not counting interest accrued. Only $4.5 left??

Plus a HUD grant and still no pool.

The way I read it the $4.5 million was committed by the Feds and HUD. Is that in addition to what has been collected over the past years? If so I am in the wrong line of WERC!

Where is the official capital report. How much has been raised, what has been spent? Is there an oversight committee for this much money?

You have got to be kidding if you think anybody is going to voluntarily offer money to a group tat has burned through money for 14 years now without any accountability. I see the budgets for the past 3 years, but I haven't seen anything as far as where they ENDED the year compared to what was budgeted. In 2013 and 2014, they averaged $451,000 worth of income in the form of our taxes. Do the math over 10 years (although I believe it has actually been more like 12 or 14)and they have already been given $4.5 million by tax payers ON TOP of HUD money and grants. We have zero to show for it, and can expect the same if we offer up $850,000. I find it odd that each of the past 3 years shows expenses in the exact same amount as the income. Correct me if I am wrong, but a BALANCE SHEET needs to balance, not an income statement. If they are STILL needing money after being established 14 years ago, it is obvious that someone was under the impression that they must spend everything they receive in order to "balance" their income statement. They have averaged $21,500 per year paid out to community involvement and outreach- how about using the money you were given to build the building you were supposed to be building with the money. You role (14 years ago) was to build a Rec Center as your part in the community outreach. I have no qualms in admitting that I don't plan on offering a dime of support, I have zero confidence in them using the money for what it would be intended for. This whole fiasco/mismanagement/embezzlement of funds ranks right up there in biggest jokes or embarrassments.

OUTSTANDING!!! It is about time that we have a place for the youth of this community to go to...when I was growing up, I lived at the Boys/Girls Club. Right now, there is NOTHING here in Mtn Home for kids to go to...

Stop it already about your TAX dollars...my god, talk about about being cheap...that is all I ever hear around here is people complaining about TAXES...maybe that's why all the schools here are falling apart, streets are in dismay...my god stop already!!

I fully support anything that enhances and benefits the youth of our community...I for one would LOVE to donate $$$, where do I sign up!

I just hope and pray that WECRD gets the funds to get this project build before my kids are grown...

Dumbfounded,

Between the MHSD and WECRD my giving tree has given up. You go though, they "need" people like you!

On a side note, I have zero issues with taxes and I am comfortable in knowing that we should all pay our fair share if we want to live in the United States. The problem that I have is in voluntarily handing any other money over to an organization that has been reaping money in for the past 14 years without any accountability or reporting on where those funds have gone and how we can still be that short. Like I said, I could find the last 3 years worth of "proposed budgets." What I can't find is where the ACTUAL expenses came in compared to what was budgeted, and the same for any of the other 14 years. I know that we have conducted study after study as far as feasibility goes (even found news about the first one back in 2001 or 2002). My assumption is that a great deal of the money was spent in the countless feasibility studies (that all showed we are good to go) in addition to the countless architecture renderings over 14 years, as well as reports that construction costs seem to increase over 14 years just like everything else. For whatever reason, they have been perfectly comfortable with treading water for 14 years and we kept pumping money their way. Yet we are all left to guess at where the past funds have gone while hoping that our new donations would be in good hands. And we are fed heaping spoonfuls of crap about how a pool would cost $5 million alone to build and would also cost $700,000 yearly to maintain. That seems more like a sell out to what I assume would be influential Mountain Home people that didn't want a pool, so some freaky numbers were inserted to pacify those wishes. Long story short, I can't trust any of the numbers, or the reports, coming from the WECRD. Since we have no clue what the actual finances over 14 years looks like, or any reason the be confident in their stewardship of our money, I refuse to voluntarily pony up more money on top of my taxed fair share. Especially since the biggest draw to this whole thing in the first place was having an indoor pool.