Dear editor:

Once again, the voters of Park County have a ballot initiative asking for a Specific Purpose Tax on the general ballot.

These special purpose tax initiatives are typically about fixing, buying, or making things for our communities. Sometimes it’s simply, to quote a former mayor in our community, “don’t you want nice things?”

Well yeah, I like nice things, but it shouldn’t be about government providing nice things.

So, now we have the City of Cody trying to get $9.9 million to renovate the Cody Auditorium, an 85-year-old building made to 1930s standards. Which most likely will require asbestos mitigation, lead paint mitigation, and lead removal from the old pistol range in the basement.

Let’s look at that for a moment. A $9.9 million tax investment to renovate a building originally made in 1941 through a bond initiative. It costs $650 a day to rent the auditorium and kitchen at today’s rate; it’s going to take 15,230 consecutive days or 41 years to see a return on the investment. And most likely another ballot initiative to keep it alive or rebuild it later.

Instead of rushing to drop almost $10 million on this project, at the taxpayers’ expense, perhaps conducting a study to tear down and replace the building would be in the better interest of the taxpayers. After all, we’ve gotten 85 years of use from the building. That was a good return on investment.

Building a facility with modern amenities and more functional capabilities with a bond initiative instead of another tax would most likely better serve the community in the future.

So, please look at the ballot initiative, your own budget, the cost of goods, and remember it’s only a penny when you purchase something for a dollar and tourists are only here during the summer. When you make a major purchase it’s no longer just a penny, it’s a 20% increase in sales tax. That $50,000 vehicle purchase at 4% sales tax is $2,000, if the ballot initiative passes it’ll be $2,500 at a 5% sales tax.

Vince Vanata

Cody