Wednesday’s grand opening of the Spaceport America’s Visitor Experience in Truth or Consequences is being met with some concern. The Lee Belle Johnson Senior Recreation Center was closed in order to house the interim Spaceport Visitor’s Center, and some residents are trying to get the building back.
In an effort to preserve the senior center, Citizens initiated a petition for an ordinance.
Ron Fenn, a member of the Ad Hoc Citizen’s committee that created the ordinance says he doesn’t want to see a public building used, especially when Spaceport America hasn’t proven their tourism potential.
“The history of what’s been going on for the past four or five years is that we’ve been getting very few tourists,” Fenn said. “They average about 1,200 a year. This is not a very large group and I believe that the reason that they chose our recreation building is that the city is using our money to support this operation. We’re paying for the utilities, we’re paying maintenance, we’re paying supposedly half the cost of the renovation which we could have used the renovation when it was a recreation center.”
The Commission voted 5-0 not to approve the citizen’s ordinance, in favor of keeping the interim Spaceport Visitor’s Center. Mayor Pro-Tem Steve Green says it will help to increase economic development while the Spaceport is trying to get funding to build the permanent visitor’s center.
“Given all those opportunities,” Green said. “And with the timeline ticking. We felt it was in the best interest of this community to do what we did. Some people view it as a takeaway we don’t view it as a takeaway we view it as just giving people another building to do the same activities that they have done at the Lee Belle Johnson.”
All of the activities at the senior center were moved to the civic center, and transportation was provided from one building to the other, but the group behind the ordinance says the civic center is in worse condition.
Business owners at the meeting spoke in favor of the Spaceport Visitor’s Center, and the potential to increase economic development downtown. Ariel Dougherty with the Ad Hoc Citizen’s Committee says that she agrees, but there are empty storefronts downtown.
“We don’t dispute that the visitor’s center should be downtown,” Dougherty said. “There are 5,6,7,8 other buildings that it could be in, so why not move it there instead of displacing the 4,500 people that they are. We don’t dispute that. That’s the problem with some of the opponents arguments they all say, oh it should be downtown, and we’re not disputing that. There are other locations, why this building.”
Mayor Sandra Whitehead says the ordinance will now go to the public for a vote, she says if they are going to bring back the senior center they need a majority from the entire community.
“I think it’s a waste of time,” Whitehead said. “I do understand that now it will have to go before an election that will cost us money, but let the people of the community vote on it. Not just a handful, or a small group of people. I mean we worked very hard to get where we’re at today, and we should be able to continue to move forward, and I feel that if the citizen’s would vote against it then they’re speaking up.”
A little over 200 people signed to petition to bring the ordinance to the commission. A special election is now scheduled for Tuesday, September 22nd.
