WECRD's former lawyer urged against cancelling recreation center contract

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Photo from Jan. 22, 2016. As of Feb. 10, 2016 the portable office is gone and plot of land is empty.

The Western Elmore County board of directors cancelled plans to build a community recreation center in Mountain Home despite concerns raised by its former legal counsel.

However, the district's newly sworn-in board contends the project was financially doomed from the start and cancelled the project to avoid incurring additional debt on a project that was significantly scaled back just weeks before an election in which two long-time board members were replaced.

Brian Peterson, who served as the district's attorney the past several years, addressed the issues and possible ...

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I would like to address the vision of a recreation complex for our county, our town, our people and our business community.

Consider the benefits of a new complex right in the heart of Elmore County.

Property and home owners-consider your real estate. Sure, at times we want to represent our property worth as low as possible, for instance, to incur a lower tax. However, I will argue that we benefit more, individually and as a community, by representing ourselves, our property and our community in the best possible way. When we get an opportunity to improve our worth, improve our community, don't we grasp that opportunity?

If you refuse to understand this reasoning, you should stop reading this now.

Can our community find a way to see past short-sighted concepts like "I want to keep our small town small"? That argument doesn't hold very much water. As I see it, our community either goes forward or goes backward, it gets better or gets worse. And doing nothing, like "keeping our small town small" is not a way of keeping things as they are, but a sinister way of going backward.

Finally, I heard a disturbing account the other day. The story goes, that the new directors of the WECRD have squandered one million dollars since they have been in office (one month?). And now I am wondering what business skills the new directors have in governing millions of taxpayer dollars?

-- Posted by James E Smith on Wed, Feb 10, 2016, at 12:40 PM
Mr Smith, your post reminds of a saying. Something about a pot/kettle/black.....

-- Posted by joe_smoe on Wed, Feb 10, 2016, at 3:00 PM
This "lawyer" is the same one that advises the past board to enter into a contract 20 days before an election. As for the so called "squandering" of tax dollars by the current board, they are only trying to stop the bleeding left by the past board and the contract they entered into. The past board admitting to having little skills in managing a district and brought in the YMCA with no public input. I suggest, Mr. Smith that you do research and gather facts rather than fiction.

I am not going to buy the paper as any article written about the WECRD has been one sided and slanted.

-- Posted by B Mullen on Wed, Feb 10, 2016, at 4:49 PM
Mr. Peterson,

Shame on you. Advising the past board to enter into a construction contract just days before an election, knowing the opposing candidates opposed the building. You have shamed one of Mountain Homes oldest and most respected Law Firms. I feel at least, you owe the citizens of Mountain Home an apology. Your judgment truly lacked any wisdom, common sense, or integrity.

-- Posted by dudewheresmycar on Wed, Feb 10, 2016, at 10:46 PM
The current lawyer for the WECRD suggests tennis courts and soccer fields.

We do not need more tennis courts and soccer fields. They will not improve my community or increase my property value.

I question his advice to improve my community, increase my property value or provide quality recreation.

-- Posted by James E Smith on Fri, Feb 12, 2016, at 11:26 AM

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