Dear editor:

I am writing to urge a YES vote on the special purpose 1-cent sales tax. Everyone connected to the Powell Senior Center agrees on the urgent need for a larger and more user-friendly facility after 51 years in a makeshift building.

What may be less well known by Park County residents is the added public value the penny tax would provide by funding a renovation of the Cody Auditorium. This 85-year-old facility not only serves as the venue for all kinds of entertainment events but it hosts countless nonprofit organizations engaged in humanitarian activities. For example, the Auditorium accommodates food drives, volunteer engagement activities and fundraising events.

Recently I attended a volunteer appreciation dinner at the Cody Auditorium, sponsored by the Wyoming Hunger Initiative, which made me appreciate what an asset this facility is to Park County. The Hunger Initiative, led by first lady Jennie Gordon, has a noble mission of ending hunger in Wyoming. The event in Cody brought together a network of charitable organizations that share this mission.

The Powell Senior Center, Cody Auditorium, Meeteese Community Center and Meeteese Senior Center have been mainstays in our communities. Through the upcoming vote we have an opportunity to secure their future and the wellbeing of all who benefit from them.

Rhonda Stevens

Powell