MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. — When voters in West Virginia go to the polls for the Nov. 4 general election, they’ll be deciding on a proposed amendment to the state’s Constitution that would clear the way for the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in Fayette County, which is owned by the Boy Scouts of America, to be used for private events.
“We would like to maximize use of the property,” said Gary Hartley, director of community and governmental relations for the Summit, on the proposed amendment.
He said it’s needed because, currently, the Boy Scouts of America stands to lose its tax-exempt status if the Summit is leased to outside groups.
“It’s good for the Boy Scouts to have major national events here. It gives us notoriety, but it’s also good for West Virginia because, when you host these big events, it increases tourism. It gives us exposure. It puts us on the national, if not the international map,” he said of the amendment’s potential benefits.
It’s called the West Virginia Nonprofit Youth Organization Tax Exemption. It will look like the following on the ballot:
“To amend the State Constitution to exempt from property tax certain properties in this state owned by nonprofit youth organizations and built at cost of at least $100 million whether or not the property is used for the nonprofit youth organization’s charitable or nonprofit purpose to help raise funds for the benefit of the nonprofit youth organization. If approved, the Legislature would be required to enact laws that would protect local and regional businesses from unfair competition and unreasonable loss of revenue caused by the nonprofit organization use of the tax exemption.”
Voting “FOR” means you are in favor of the amendment and would allow the nonprofit youth organization to use the property for other purposes without losing its currently available charitable use property tax exemption. Before taking effect, the Legislature would have to pass laws that define the types of use of the property and that protect non-tax-exempt businesses from unfair competition.
Voting “AGAINST” means that you are against the amendment and would not allow for the property tax exemption if the property is used for non-charitable purposes.
As of now, the Summit is the only West Virginia property that would fall within the parameters of the proposed Constitutional amendment. With it, the Legislature would still have control over what kinds of events are allowed on the Summit property.
Critics, though, have raised questions about the competition opening up the Summit to other events would create for privately-owned West Virginia outfitters. Local leaders have also said the playing field would not be level with such a move since those private businesses pay county, state and federal taxes while the Boy Scouts of America organization does not.
The Summit — located near Beckley — was the host site for the 2013 National Boy Scout Jamboree and will host the event again in 2017. The World Boy Scout Jamboree will be staged there in 2019. This summer, the high-adventure base hosted camps for Boy Scouts and Venturers from across the United States.
Even if the amendment is approved, Hartley said those Boy Scout programs will continue to be the main focus of operations at the Summit.
“This exemption would be just to do (other events) during the downtime, when we have these great venues and they’re sitting there. Like now, they’re sitting there vacant,” Hartley said on Tuesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.
“We’ve got a stadium that will seat 70,000 to 80,000 people. We’ve got a BMX track, skate park, mountain bike trails that are some of the best in the nation and they’re just sitting there.”