BRUCE MOUND RESOLUTION HEADS TO COUNTY BOARD
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 -- 1:45 PM
The Clark County Finance Committee met this morning and approved a resolution that would authorize $300,000 for Bruce Mound Winter Sports Area.$200,000 of the total would be put toward the construction of a new chairlift and would leverage an additional $200,000 from the Friends of Bruce Mound and the Lunda Charitable Trust.
The remainder would be combined with future donations to complete additional runs.
Finance Committee Chair Charles Harwick successfully argued to take money from a $1-million fund created by a statutory payment from American Transmission Line. It's earmarked for recreational use.
The resolution will also note that any future profits from Bruce Mound will go into the general fund, not just to park improvements?
"Let's say it makes $25,000 to $30,000 profit, that's money that the county has to spend for anything the county wants to spend," Harwick reasoned, "Because it went for recreation and now you're going to pay it back. It goes into a separate fund, not to be spent (just for recreation)."
The committee hopes this spending will "prime the pump" and bring more visitors to the hill, which broke even last calendar year, and could turn a profit this year; however, the resolution will make it clear that the spigot is now off, and future improvements will need to be completed with private donations.
"Whatever we do today, (it) will be the final money the county puts into Bruce Mound," Harwick said, "So we don't come back three months from now and say we need another $100,000 or we're going to take the timber money that came off that hill."
"The timber money that comes to this county belongs to all the taxpayers, and is not, in my opinion, money for forestry and parks to spend wherever they want to spend it."
The motion passed unanimously.
Because the resolution would amend the '08 budget, it will require a 2/3-majority?or 20 of 29 supervisors--when it comes before the full board on June 18th.
A straw poll at a meeting last week found 18 supervisors in support of the measure, with two absent.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.