Neal’s Notes

Commonwealth Journal

February 26, 2006 February 27, 2006 10:26 am

— Most people in the City of Somerset would likely agree the SomerSplash Water Park is a welcome addition to our community.
Now tell them they might have to pay for it.
Many of those smiles would turn upside down in a big-time hurry.
Same thing with this proposed “second hospital” that Gov. Ernie Fletcher dangled in front of his political comrades in Pulaski County for the past couple of years.
Sure, Central Baptist would’ve loved to have opened a branch in Somerset.
The rest of the story is that the local taxpayers would have had to float $50 million — maybe more— to get the job done.
Many of those thousands of folks who signed petitions supporting a “second hospital” would do an about-face if they knew they would have to foot part of the bill.
Note to local politicians: Be up front. Be honest. Lay everything out on the table and see how it plays with the community.
That way it won’t bite you in the butt when the rest of the story shows its ugly teeth.
When Somerset Mayor JP Wiles first discussed bringing a water park to Pulaski County, it sounded wonderful. Why? Because he said all along that the local citizens wouldn’t have to pay a nickel to build it.
Sounds great, doesn’t it?
Well, we — along with at least a few Somerset City Council members — discovered late last week that there is at least a possibility that taxpayers might, indeed, have to pay for the park.
An ordinance will be voted on tomorrow that in effect says “if things go sour and we can’t pay for the park, we’ll tax your property.”
And what can we do about it now? The park is already under construction.
You see, local businessman Ward Correll’s generous gift to the city wasn’t really a gift after all. In essence, he is allowing the city to use the land — for as long as the water park is viable. If it falters, the land goes back to Correll’s interests, in this case Somerset Christian School, according to Wiles.
That doesn’t translate to a clean deed for the city — and that lack of a clean deed has forced the city to pass this ordinance, so it can get a bank loan secured to complete the project.
Why was this contingency not probed?
Why was city council not notified before late last week that this may be a possibility?
It just seems that too much stuff is being shuffled around behind closed doors, and then whizzed past everyone before we can take a good hard look at the facts.
Or, in some instances, we’re out and out misled.
I can see a similar circumstance with Pulaski Fiscal Court. When the whole Ten Commandments issue began, seemingly an eon or so ago, County Judge-Executive Darrell BeShears said Pulaski Countians, or fiscal court, would not have to pay legal fees for this epic case.
I bet you the ACLU has a different take on that — and so would Liberty Counsel, who has represented the county in the matter.
There will be legal fees to be paid. We’re guessing that at this point, the meter is ticking at about $500,000—about $10 for every man woman and child in Pulaski County—and still running on a case that’s aready been ruled against by the U.S. Supreme Court.
So what happens if a federal judge rules the county has to foot the bill?
Wouldn’t it have been better for BeShears to say, from the beginning, “You know, we might have to take money out of your pockets to pay for this ... Still wanna do it?”
On the flipside of this is the handling of the proposed National Laboratory in Pulaski County, a huge story that broke last week.
Congressman Hal Rogers and his consortium could’ve kept all of this under wraps, been very vague and then announced a year or so down the road: “Guess what? A lab is coming to Silicon Hollar and it’s bringing the bird flu.”
Yikes.
But since they were up front, there will likely be few flies in the ointment down the road.
Although it may be against a politician’s very makeup, honesty is still the best policy. Whether it relates to lawsuits, water parks, hunting accidents or anthrax.