- CIVIC CENTER
YES
BLDC BOARD ENDORSES
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR CIVIC CENTER
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- As the Butte Civic Center celebrates
its golden anniversary, Butte now has a golden opportunity to revitalize
the structure for the recreational use of several more generations.
That is the main reason for the BLDC board's decision to emphatically
endorse the bond issue to raise funds to refurbish the Civic Center.
On November 3, Butte residents will have a chance to vote yes to raise
$2.4 million dollars to upgrade the 50-year-old Civic Center. In 1948,
voters approved a bond issue to spend $1 million dollars to build
and operate a community recreational facility. In 1978 a federal grant
helped to finance a $1.7 million dollar upgrade. To replace the facility
today would cost an estimated $20 million dollars.
The Civic Center is one of the largest venues for public events in
the state. It hosts about 125 events with about 150,000 visitors each
year. What will the community get for its investment if the bond issue
is approved? The investment will be applied to bring the aging building
up to code by upgrading insulation, wiring, lighting, improve locker
rooms and concession areas, and expand the ticket area.
A new building will be added onto the back of the Center to allow
larger crowds for events and even allow for concurrent events to be
scheduled. Seating would be improved to add new portable bleachers,
yielding an overall increase of 200 seats and provide special handicap
seating.
The upgrade will also allow the complex to convert from wood floor
to ice for winter sports events in six hours. The same process now
takes six days.
Each year, the Civic Center brings an estimated $5 to $10 million
dollars into the community from money spent by visitors patronizing
restaurants, motels, gas stations and retail stores. Sports tournaments
especially provide major infusions to the local economy every time
they are held in Butte. The much needed modernization funded by the
bond issue will greatly improve recreational opportunities for the
residents of Butte.
Also, it will expand the ability of Butte to compete for statewide
and regional sports tournaments and trade shows to enhance the important
economic impact that these events bring to our local economy.
- R-113
YES
- SIX-MILL LEVY RENEWS PAST INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE
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- Many Montana citizens who vote this
year have already benefitted from past voter support for the six-mill
levy for higher education, the measure that will be labeled Legislative
Referendum 113 on ballots.
This is not a new tax; the issue has been approved by Montana voters
as an investment in our future every 10 years since 1920. The mill
level has remained at six mills since 1948. Any voters who attend
a Montana college, graduated from a college in Montana, or who have
seen their children or grandchildren attend college in their home
state, have already benefitted from the levy.
If the levy fails, the statewide university system stands to lose
14 percent of its total funding, a devastating loss that would require
immediate and drastic changes in Montana's higher education system.
Millions of revenue dollars now relied on to provide higher education
for Montana students would instantly disappear. Locally, the result
would be that Montana Tech in Butte could lose from 20 to 25 professors.
It would also threaten the broad access that Montana graduates now
enjoy to attend a college close to home in their home state. Right
now, any qualified Montana high school senior has the ability to attend
a college in the university system. This access could be restricted
if the levy fails and parents could see their children being denied
access to the Montana University system due to budget constraints.
- I-137
NO
CYANIDE BAN WOULD MEAN SAYONARA FOR AREA JOBS
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The Board of Directors of the BLDC strongly opposes Initiative 137,
the initiative to ban cyanide use in the Montana mining industry.
It is an attempt by initiative to eliminate the most proven and effective
gold mining technology now in use and an effort to impose severe restrictions
on an important industry that is already reeling from depressed market
prices for gold and increasing costs for project development.
While proponents claim that the ban would have no impact on operating
mines, it will affect at least three projects in the area and a fourth
that indirectly but dramatically could impact the local economy. If
passed, the ban would prevent the future expansion of the Golden Sunlight
Mine in Whitehall and jeopardize 208 high-paying jobs there.
It would curtail two planned gold operations now in development -
the Majesty Mining, Inc. mine near Norris and the Yellow Bird mine
near Dillon, both close enough for Butte to feel the economic pain
if they are lost. The initiative would certainly kill plans for a
large gold mine near Lincoln, too.
Although not physically very close to Butte, the loss would include
$60 million in lost revenues to Montana Tech from the site being permitted
on Montana School Trust Lands. From an economic standpoint, at a time
when Montana ranks 47th in the nation for per-capita income, it makes
little sense to take steps to eliminate an industry that generates
high paying jobs using a proven, effective technology that is already
stringently regulated by federal and state environmental laws.
- CI-75
NO
BLDC URGES CLEAR ACTION
AGAINST DRACONIAN CI-75
CI-75 is a re-run of CI-66 that Montanans rejected just four years
ago. Now it's on the ballot again, but in a more complex and likely
unconstitutional reincarnation.
In 1994, Montana voters rejected CI-66 because it didn't cut taxes,
didn't cut government spending and didn't offer fair taxation. And
like the failed CI-66, CI-75 requires Montanans to vote on an endless
list of ballot issues -- whether those taxes and fees directly apply
to them, or not.
CI-75 is wrong for several reasons. At a time when we need to reform
property and income taxes, a constitutional change like CI-75 creates
a system where "politically acceptable" becomes the issue
for any change --up or down -- in fees and taxes.
CI-75 unfairly puts the power to tax in the hands of those living
in the most populated areas of the state, pitting urban against rural
interests. CI-75 could reduce Montana's bond rating and end up costing
taxpayers millions of dollars in interest. If the bond rating goes
down because CI-75 endangers financial stability for bond repayment,
then the interest rate goes up.
CI-75 would require Montanans to vote on hundreds of ballot issues.
CI-75 could endanger the equal educational opportunities for school
children. Montanans cannot afford to lose local control and state
support for school funding.
CI-75 would prevent cities, counties and otherdistricts from responding
to emergencies while waiting for three-quarters of both the State
House and Senate to vote for emergency funding. CI-75 would give the
governor the power to stop tax issues from going to a vote of Montanans.
This initiative would lock into the constitution the capability of
the governor to veto legislatively referred tax measures from going
to the people for a vote.
CI-75 would hurt Montana's farms, ranches and other businesses. The
tax and fee measures that are likely to be put on the ballot and passed
by voters could be discriminatory taxes aimed at certain businesses
-- large and small -- that can't defend themselves, further hurting
Montana's business climate and costing us jobs.
CI-75 is another example of voters saying "NO" and then
it's back on the ballot again. It's time to stop these costly and
unnecessary statewide votes on issues we've already said "NO"
to, like CI-75.
USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOAN BOOSTS BLDC BUSINESS
LOAN FUND
A low-interest loan from the USDA's Rural Development Program for
$815,835 will strengthen the BLDC's goal of providing low-interest
loans to new and expanding Butte businesses.
Butte businesses seeking to find loan funds to start or expand manufacturing
and other businesses will be hard-pressed to find better rates than
the 6 percent interest offered by the BLDC loan fund. One stipulation
is that not more than 50 percent of funds can come from the BLDC.
Already, nine Butte businesses have taken advantage of low-interest
loans available from the BLDC and are repaying their loans on schedule.
This most recent addition to the fund will allow the BLDC to help
other interested businesses take advantage of the low-interest loans
and other financing assistance that they can offer.The BLDC will repay
its own loan to the federal government over the next 30 years.
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Photo by Gregg Edelen
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The check is in hand.
BLDC's revolving loan funds have grown by almost a million dollars
thanks to a low-interest loan from the USDA's Rural Development
Program for $815,835. Pictured are Evan Barrett, BLDC Executive
Director, Kim Krueger, field staff for Senator Max Baucus, Anthony
J. Preite, State Director, USDA Rural Development, John Guthmiller
and Debbie Zelman, USDA Rural Development, Cindy Perdue Dolan, field
staff for Senator Conrad Burns, and Pam Haxby-Cote, BLDC Deputy
Director.
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