Culture has a price for Henderson voters

Rachael Levy

Friday, May 30, 1997 | 11:44 a.m.

Henderson residents must put a price tag on culture and decide if symphonies, operas, lectures and dances are worth raising property taxes when they go to the polls Tuesday.

City officials want voters to approve a $20 million bond by increasing taxes by as much as $35.70 on a home valued at $100,000.

"We've been equating it to five theater tickets," said Janet Dobry, spokeswoman for Friends for a Performing Arts Center. "Thirty-five dollars a year is just $3 a month."

Currently, Henderson does not have a building suitable for cultural events, bond supporters said, so performances are forced into school auditoriums. There, the acoustics are poor and the scheduling is difficult because of the schools' own use.

Still, events are sold out.

A 1994 survey, conducted by the Allied Arts Council through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, found that Henderson residents were most likely to attend performing arts programs when compared to all of Clark County.

Based on such findings, supporters are confident the bond will pass and a 600- to 700-seat theater will be built. The estimated cost of maintenance is $1 million annually.

The location has not been decided yet, but supporters said three areas have been suggested: Green Valley, downtown Henderson or the proposed spring-training sports complex.

"People in Henderson do turn out for things," said Dobry, a Henderson elementary school principal who herself is an arts enthusiast and plays the piano, organ and sings in her church choir. "We have a real sense of community here. We see this as a focal point."

The bond would raise property taxes, now at 71 cents per $100 of assessed value, to between 77.5 cents and 81.2 cents on assessed value, city officials said. (Or from $22.75 and $35.70 annually on a house valued at $100,000.)

Currently, Henderson has the state's third-lowest property taxes, next to Sparks in Northern Nevada and Boulder City.

In the May 6 primary, voters passed a $54.6 million, tax-neutral bond for 28 new parks and recreation centers. Property taxes were not raised with the bond passage because the additional costs were offset by the city's growth.