Letter: Rhodes project would be boon to area, tax base

Friday, May 9, 2003 | 5:17 a.m.

Senate Bill 358, a bill designed to restrict Jim Rhodes' development of the gypsum mine, is wrong. Mr. Rhodes' gypsum mine property is not in "Red Rock" and the property is totally decimated. Allowing a developer to pay for remaking this site into a community would be a great way to restore the area and save the governments a lot of money and add to the tax base of our community.

I am very familiar with the Red Rock area and this mountain the mine is on. The development proposal is a great way to enhance this property and it will not do any of the things the people against it are saying. This property is completely hidden by the mountains behind it and the developer proposes to construct a tunnel from Tropicana Avenue. This is a great idea. I do not believe that the difference in view from a few viewpoints in the Red Rock area are enough to stop a property owner from legally making good use of his property.

I feel the negative cloud over this is caused by certain persons in the county government, the state Legislature and the general media trying to get points with the voters by going against developers. This is an ongoing trend I am getting sick of: environmental extremism at the expense of property owners.

RUSSELL S. HILL