Western Elmore County Recreation District Debacle
Offices of the WECRD in Mountain Home, Idaho
Nothing can excite the on-line residents of Mountain Home, Idaho more than talking about the Western Elmore County Recreation District’s (WECRD) plan to build a recreation center. For those of you who haven’t stepped into this mine field, you can cherry pick from a bunch of comments at the Mountain Home News website.
What’s the Problem?
During the November 2000 local elections 60% of “the people” of Mountain Home and Elmore County voted to be FAIRLY taxed so the organization called the Western Elmore County Recreation District (a.k.a. WECRD) could build a state-of-the-art recreation facility. The plans for this building were and may still be grand but “the people” still have nothing physical to show for the money except a 10 acre plot of land. But the local tax collector has been there for the last nine years expecting you to pay your fair share for this much delayed project.
Some of “The People” are Mad
There is now a serious movement in Mountain Home to have this whole project…at least the long planned recreation center killed completely. This small group of concerned citizens have been spending many hours of their time educating fellow citizens and asking them to sign a petition. I’m not sure exactly what they are trying to do with the petition but I suspect they are trying to kill the recreation center by putting the idea back on the ballot for the next election. I guess this is what happens when your government fails to live up to their end of a bargain.
"The People" are Speaking
My Thoughts
It seems to me the recreation facility project is psychologically bankrupt. When our local government collects taxes and doesn’t follow through, they need to be called out on the street. If the simple task of building a recreation center cannot be accomplished in 9 years, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG. This is your money they are playing with and it appears they don’t understand this simple fact. The WECRD staff needs to be fired today. The Mountain Home City government and Elmore County government need to explain how this money will be returned to “the people”. Bankruptcy means wiping the slate clean and starting over again.