Tom Gorman sees a life of luxury in his future with a move to Boulder City

Friday, April 7, 2006 | 7:26 a.m.

I read the paper Thursday and told Jeanne to call Bekins because we're moving to Boulder City!

I love the place - its dam history, its ban on gambling, its quaint, small-town feel, its family values, its vision to give every resident a million dollars ...

Who needs Megabucks when we've got Boulder Bucks?

I'm reluctant to even write about this windfall because others will want to move to Boulder City and get in on the action. And that will dilute how much money the rest of us are going to get.

But here's the deal, just so you know.

Some folks in Boulder City suggest that the city sell 107,000 acres it owns in undeveloped Eldorado Valley. If the land goes for $500,000 an acre, this adds up to more than $50 billion.

And here's the rich part: Rather than allowing City Hall to put the money in the city coffers for bureaucrats to squander away later, the proceeds would be divvied up among the 15,000 - er, 15,002 - residents.

Property to the People!

A petition drive will be launched next week to place the brilliant idea on the November ballot. Organizers need 692 signatures. Heck, you can put us down for three or four!

There's concern that this proposal violates the city's charter, which requires that when the city sells property, the proceeds are earmarked for municipal projects.

Charter schmarter. Giving $1 million or so to each resident is a marvelous municipal project.

Boulder City is the kind of values-based town that Gormans from all over would be proud to call home.

In fact, I'm telling my brothers and sister and all of their kids to not wait until the June family reunion to come see us; get your butts out here ASAP and buy a place in Boulder City.

Cha-ching.

In fact, we're telling our own two kids and their spouses that it's OK to move back home. We never really wanted to have the house to ourselves. We love boomerang kids! The more the merrier!

Cha-ching.

I value extended family. We should ask my mother and Jeanne's mother to move in with us. It would be our pleasure and joy to care for them.

Cha-ching.

Clark County needs more foster parents and now that I think about it, we would love to open our home to, say, three or four foster children. We love kids.

Cha-ching.

Once we move to Boulder City, we will campaign vigorously on behalf of this initiative, and for very altruistic reasons.

The wind can really blow through Eldorado Valley and carry dust into Boulder City. Paving Eldorado Valley with asphalt and concrete is the straightforward solution .

Even after giving about 90 percent of the proceeds to residents, as the initiative calls for, the balance of the land profits would pay off the city's debt (we've always told the kids to not live on plastic), pay for a freeway bypass around town (which I support as a soon-to-be Boulder City resident), and establish a trust fund to pay for government operations (which may be one of the few times we can say "trust" and "government" in the same sentence).

Ideally, the housing they'd build in Eldorado Valley would be affordable for the teachers, cops and firefighters who work and live in Las Vegas. (Boulder City teachers, on the other hand, will now be able to buy getaway condos on the Strip.)

Some people might think we'd be voting for the initiative just because we want the money. That is so hurtful and untrue. We would never let the promise of money influence how we vote. What, do we look like Clark County commissioners?