For the week of August 1 - 7, 2001

Be wary of gift horse

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The city of Ketchum should look the Bill Janss Community Center gift horse in the mouth.

The city should be wary of the $14 million recreation center.

Organizers have asked the city to donate property for the center, to assume ownership once it’s built, to contribute $658,000 a year for 20 years to cover the facility’s construction debt and to operate the center.

Whew!

Operating losses are projected in the first years of operation with no guarantee that the necessary subsidies would ever go away.

Given the numbers, the city should take all the time it needs to ask itself whether subsidizing public indoor recreation should be a top priority.

That’s a thorny question in a city that can’t seem to muster the funds for other basic public needs including downtown sidewalks, buried power lines, parking structures, restoration of an old community church, construction of affordable housing and expansion of KART bus service down valley.

With an array of offerings from an ice rink to hot pools, The Janss Center would be a jewel.

Before it commits any money, the city should make it clear to taxpayers where it would come from and what projects or city services might not be funded as a result, especially if operations lose money.

The council should make sure the city’s priorities are clear before it gives this project a green light.

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