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To Pool or Not to Pool; To Build or Not to Build; When...If Ever
A minor controversy...or major controversy depending on your viewpoint, seems to exist in Mountain Home about our local Western Elmore County Recreation District (WECRD). The controversy involves building a community center type building, a pool, taxpayer money and even a independent research report on this whole proposal.
Some History and News of the WECRD
The Western Elmore County Recreation District (WECRD) was formed by a vote during the general election in 2000. We, the people decided that Mountain Home needed a “community recreation and cultural facility” and the funding for this project would, at least in part, come from local taxpayers. By 2002, tax money from Mountain Home residents started flowing into this project. In 2004, ten acres of land was purchased for the purposes of building this facility.
An independent research company was hired to further study this project in 2008. This report was released to the WECRD Director in October 2008 and released to the public on or about “election day 2008”. Then on election day 2008, we had the opportunity to vote on one of two candidates for the WECRD Board of Directors. The incumbent, Mollie Marsh, won the volunteer position seat for the Western Elmore County Recreation District Board.
As of December XX the citizens of Mountain Home are not any closer to a real building one can walk into much less a hole filled with water one could swim in.
Two Way Involvement?
The Western Elmore County Recreation District hold a “Public Meeting” on the 4th Wednesday of each month. This public entity also maintains a website that contains “some” information that might be useful to the people who are funding this project.
I will be attending some of these meeting in the future as it is my taxes that will help fund this project. It is rather important to me to do my own research and in part oversee where and how my tax money is being spent.
But I also think it is important that WECRD do everything possible to keep the taxpayer and funder for this project informed. The WECRD website is a great way to spread this information but the current website doesn't really have any information that is useful to me. I will possibly address this issue at the first public meeting I attend.
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