Theater rejected

Rachael Levy

Wednesday, June 4, 1997 | 10:33 a.m.

The curtain has not fallen on a Henderson performing arts theater, although voters overwhelmingly rejected it when they voted down a $20 million bond two to one.

Bond supporters, who canvassed neighborhoods in the days leading up to Tuesday's election, said their commitment to a theater and belief that Henderson would support one remains intact.

A 1994 survey found Henderson residents were most likely to attend symphonies, operas, lectures and dances when compared to the rest of Clark County. But Tuesday, voters soundly defeated the ballot question with 67 percent voting no.

Friends of the Henderson Performing Arts Theater board member Robin Greenspun pointed out it was not unusual for voters to defeat such issues on the first, even second round.

"Anytime you ask people for money ... it's an issue," said Greenspun, past president of the Nevada State Council on the Arts and a former board member of the Lied Discovery Museum. "We will regroup and go to Plan B. We don't know what that is yet, but we're determined to see a theater go in to the Henderson area."

Campaign coordinator Lynn Davis said she believed the bond was largely defeated by the low voter turnout and the passage of the tax-neutral parks bond in May. On Tuesday about 10,300 Henderson voters went to the polls.

The bond would have raised taxes by as much as $35.70 on a home valued at $100,000. Its defeat guarantees Henderson's position as the city with the third lowest property taxes (71 cents per $100 of assessed value.) Henderson trails Boulder City and Sparks in Northern Nevada.

Bond supporters contended Henderson did not have a building suitable for cultural events, forcing performances into school auditoriums, recreation centers and churches. Scheduling was difficult and the acoustics often poor.

The bond would have built a 600- to 700-seat theater at one of three proposed sites: Green Valley, downtown Henderson or the proposed spring-training sports complex. But apparently, school auditoriums, churches and rec halls will just have to make do.

Meanwhile, Friends of the Henderson Performing Arts Theater said supporters would explore the possibility of a second bond issue and the idea of a private company building the theater.

"The arts are here and the arts are strong. We're just trying to get them a better place to be seen," Greenspun said.

Davis said, "We're not going to let this die."