Let voters have a say on project

After hearing Mayor Bob Crowell and Supervisor Shelly Aldean defend the controversial Nugget Project at a recent Chamber of Commerce State of the City breakfast, I have a simple, straightforward question for our elected officials: "Given the precarious financial condition of our city, why would you put millions of taxpayer dollars at risk to build a big new library - excuse me, Knowledge + Discovery Center - that we don't want, don't need and can't afford?"

Because the $50 million Nugget Project (aka the City Center Project) includes $23.8 million worth of public funding, a group of civic-minded citizens is circulating a petition drive to put the dubious project on the November ballot. I commend them and endorse a recent Nevada Appeal editorial that called upon the mayor and the Board of Supervisors to abide by the will of the people.

"Why not let voters decide?" the Appeal asked. "If the (project's) potential benefits have been properly outlined and the many questions answered, its proponents shouldn't object to a citywide vote. And they should accept the outcome." The petition reads as follows: "No public funding shall be used for the Carson City Center Project ... without a majority vote of the people approving such funding."

In fairness to the mayor and Ms. Aldean, both of whom I like and respect, I readily acknowledge that they've downsized the project to more manageable proportions, eliminating a proposed sales tax increase along the way. Nevertheless, I think they should have followed the lead of Supervisor John McKenna, a veteran CPA, who voted "No" on the project last September on grounds that it's too expensive. "It doesn't pencil out," he said, and he's still right about that.

At the Chamber breakfast, Mayor Crowell called the Nugget Project "a gift to the city," but I think it's a "gift" that comes with a high price tag. Nugget President Steve Neighbors, a self-described "outsider from Idaho," has told us how much longtime Nugget owners Hop and Howard Adams cared about Carson City, but I question that premise. Although the Nugget has done some good things for our community during the years, such as providing free holiday meals to indigent citizens, the Adams brothers took most of their casino winnings back home to Boise, where Neighbors resides.

Although the mayor and Ms. Aldean argue that they were elected to make big decisions for us, I beg to differ. When they're considering whether to put nearly $24 million in taxpayer funds at risk in a shaky economy, the public should be deeply involved in the decision.

That's another straightforward proposition, and I think local voters should decide whether to authorize city officials to spend millions of our tax dollars on a project that would benefit a struggling downtown casino. As petition backer Dennis Johnson wrote in a recent Appeal column, "The taxpayers' voice (should) be heard on spending such a large sum of money." I agree, and that's why I support his petition. Let the people vote.

• Guy W. Farmer has been a Carson City voter since 1962.