MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. — The state’s Constitution could soon be changing. Voters throughout West Virginia will decide Tuesday whether the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in Fayette County, the permanent home of the National Boy Scout Jamboree, is opened up to private events beyond the Boy Scouts.
“What we thought was going to be a good site turned out to be a great site and we’re getting interest from other organizations to use some of the venues on a limited basis for special events,” said Gary Hartley, director of community and governmental relations for the Summit.
As proposed, Amendment One would let the nonprofit Boy Scouts of America organization retain its tax-exempt status when it comes to property taxes for the 10,600-acre site, located between Beckley and Fayetteville, while leasing the property, or parts of it, to outside groups.
“It’s a great opportunity for West Virginia,” said Hartley of the potential benefits of bringing more events to the New River Gorge Area when the Boy Scouts are not using the Summit.
Among many other features, Hartley said the site has a stadium with space for 80,000 people, the largest skate park in the country and miles of mountain biking trails.
Critics of the proposal, though, have argued a constitutional amendment should be far-reaching and benefit all West Virginians equally, while Amendment One, as they see it, would solely benefit the Boy Scouts of America.
As of now, the Summit is the only West Virginia property that would fall within the parameters of the proposed amendment.
With it, the Legislature would still have control over what kinds of events are allowed on the Summit property. However, questions have been raised about the competition for-profit events at the Summit would create for businesses and existing facilities in Mount Hope and surrounding areas.
“This amendment does not become effective until the state passes rules and regulations, guidelines as to what kind of events we could hold, number of times of the year, the size, etc. that would protect local businesses from any unfair competition,” Hartley noted.
A forum on the proposed Amendment One was held in Fayette County on Saturday.
During that forum, Matthew Wender, a Fayette County commissioner, said he thought there should have been more discussions with the local community before the matter was placed on the statewide ballot.
The Boy Scouts of America and the Summit Bechtel Reserve are not mentioned specifically on the ballots voters will see Tuesday. Instead, the proposed amendment is called the West Virginia Nonprofit Youth Organization Tax Exemption and it looks like this:
“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.
The Summit is one of the Boy Scouts of America’s four high adventure bases nationwide. The National Boy Scout Jamboree was first held there in 2013 and will return in 2017. In 2019, the Summit will be the host site for the 24th World Scout Jamboree.
On Tuesday’s Election Day, polls will be open across West Virginia from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.
MetroNews coverage of Decision 2014 begins at 7:06 p.m. on the MetroNews Radio Network and here online.