Letters to the Editor

Vote no. City has funds for maintenance if spent wisely

Woe are we. We were told our Boulder City leaders paid our debts only to learn we don’t have money for the most routine of expenses. The ballot question will determine whether you retain a voice in a very small portion of our city finances.

The city budget is divided between a general fund and a capital improvement fund. The general fund takes in more than $30 million of your taxes each and every year. This city council has total control over how this money is spent. In addition to this yearly income, the utility fund has a $15 million surplus. These amounts provide ample funds for the city to maintain itself if the money is spent competently.

The capital improvement fund only receives money from land sales and leases. The total this year was $2 million. This fund has been regularly depleted to pay for the golf course so it only has $4 million total. The capital improvement fund is intended to pay for large improvements and not for maintenance issues the city claims can’t be met.

The city employs the standard scare tactics to encourage you in giving up your voice to determine the future of Boulder City. Don’t buy it. There is money rolling in the doors of City Hall that the council has available to run the city. The capital improvement fund is not for these purposes.

The council (members) may need these additional millions to fuel the explosive growth they have planned but you should retain your voice by voting no on the ballot question.

Kiernan McManus

Passing ballot question would violate city’s charter

Mr. Bruce Thomsen’s letter to the editor of May 21 is correct. Ballot Question 1 would violate the city’s charter. All expenditures from the capital improvement fund must go before the voters. The city council cannot have a slush fund that would go on in perpetuity, but this is exactly what would happen.

Oh, the unfettered power this would give the council. Can they be trusted with that power?

However, the people of this city can seek a remedy if this question passes. We can go to the attorney general to have the vote vacated by the court, and any council members and/or city employees that reviewed this question and OK’d it may be open to prosecution for perjury.

For as their oath of office states, “and I will well and faithfully perform all the duties of the office of … on which I am about to enter; (if any oath) so help me God; (if any affirmation) under the pains and penalties of perjury.”

The city council and its employees are to follow the charter, not to knowingly violate it. The words are too plain for them not to know what they are doing.

Del Kidd

Memorial Day in Boulder City is special

This Saturday, as often, I walked my dog in Bella Vista. And, as other years, the park as you enter Bella Vista is decorated with many flags to commemorate Memorial Day. It is lovely, and always brings tears to my eyes. And so does (Southern Nevada) Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

Thousands of towns decorate for Memorial Day, however, none more beautiful than Boulder City.

Thank you to all of the volunteers and individuals for the hours and effort to make Boulder City very special!

Melanie Love

Yes vote on Question 1 needed to maintain city facilities

I urge Boulder City residents to vote yes on Ballot Question No. 1. It may have been responsible to postpone much-needed repairs and improvements to city facilities during economic hard times, but it would be irresponsible to postpone them indefinitely.

The list of facilities in need of repair and upgrades is a long one and includes parks, playgrounds, roofs, restrooms, life-safety and security systems, ball fields, boilers, emergency training facilities, plumbing, electrical, mechanical and pool equipment, resurfacing, stucco and paint, backup power, fuel tanks, gazebos and shade structures, and many others. If not properly maintained, every facility and system has a remaining useful life beyond which salvaging costs become more expensive than it’s worth.

Regular maintenance extends longevity, minimizes expensive replacements, conserves valuable resources, saves tax dollars, helps stimulate the economy, attracts businesses and visitors, and fosters our exceptional quality of life here in Boulder City. We should be wise stewards and preserve these valuable city assets for future generations.

Question No. 1 frees up funds for this purpose as they become available. Please join me next Tuesday, June 2, by voting yes on No. 1.

Mayor-Elect Rod Woodbury

Honoring veterans on Memorial Day important for community

American Legion and the Ladies Auxiliary, I compliment you on the memorial presentation at our Boulder City Cemetery, specifically the historical perspective presented by Linda Graham and Legion Chaplain Jerry Sparks. Now, please tell me what happened to our tradition?

Monday, there were veteran graves with American flags and white crosses, there were graves with just an American flag and then there were graves with just a white cross. The tradition here at the Boulder City Cemetery, where much of the history of our city rests in peace, has been to mark every known grave of a veteran with both for Memorial Day. I, side by side with my late wife, Goldie, became an eager volunteer, and joined a number of fellow citizens years ago when Frannie Knauss was leading the charge.

In order to accomplish the honoring of the servicemen and servicewomen who had gone before us, each small section of the cemetery was detailed in a blowup large enough to read on a separate page of a book maintained by the Legion. Volunteers would take a carefully preserved page, a handful of flags and crosses and set out to place a flag and a cross on each of the yellow highlighted gravesites identified as a veteran’s grave on that particular page.

True, some graves were inadvertently overlooked, but most were not. As volunteers placed the flags and crosses they conversed with other volunteers, noted where graves were not identified and also noted when a grave of a known-to-be veteran was not highlighted.

I believe that placing of the American flag at the site of a deceased veteran recognizes the sacrifice that individual made in the pursuit and preservation of freedom here and around the world. It is also my opinion that the freestanding cross symbolizes deep respect and, most importantly, that the deceased veteran is revered.

Let us never forget our veterans and that our cemeteries are considered by most Americans to be hallowed ground.

If more volunteers, more crosses or more American flags are needed, please identify the need to the community. This cemetery is highly valued by many of us; our families are there. A sincere thanks for starting our Memorial Day with a from-the-heart tribute to our deceased servicemen and servicewomen.

Harold Begley