Gambling on becoming rich

Saturday, April 22, 2006 | 7:26 a.m.

It's Boulder City's version of Lotto fever.

But instead of plunking down $1 for a ticket, residents are hoping to parlay their signatures - and their Boulder City addresses - into a million-dollar payoff.

A petition drive kicked off Friday to place an initiative on the November ballot that would sell 107,000 city-owned acres in Eldorado Valley. Ninety percent of the proceeds would go to Boulder City's 15,000 residents.

If the measure passed - and legalities make its chances of even making the ballot slim - it could mean a seven-figure windfall for many residents.

"I would like to buy a new car immediately," said 34-year-old Laura Shaffer, whose household would get four "shares" of the property sale price because of her husband and two children. "If you play your cards right, you don't have to work anymore."

Memo to Mrs. Shaffer: Don't start pricing the Ferraris - or quit your day job - just yet.

The proposal is part of an effort by an anti-development group to draw attention to its attempt to defeat a city-sponsored ballot measure for a three-way land swap involving the city, a developer and the federal government and having residents decide now whether they want to preserve Eldorado Valley.

There were no shortage of registered voters willing to sign the petition Friday despite the long-shot odds of them ever getting a penny.

Boulder City officials, arguing that the initiative is illegal, have vowed to take the group behind the ballot measure to court to prevent residents from voting on it in November. And even if it were approved by voters, Clark County is prepared to go to court to block any land sale involving 85,000 acres set aside as a desert tortoise preserve on which it has an easement.

But for now, some residents aren't letting legalities get in the way of their dreams of becoming instant millionaires.

Petition organizers estimate the potential proceeds at between $750,000 and $3 million per person.

That made it fitting that the petition drive kicked off Friday in a local diner, where some patrons were salivating over the prospect of the windfall.

Even out-of-towners were looking for investment opportunities in Boulder City through inquiries to real estate agents. But it's too late for those who have not bought homes already or moved to Boulder City, because the initiative set March 31 as the deadline for establishing residency.

"It tells me that a lot of people have wishful thinking," Mayor Robert Ferraro said. "They see maybe there is a pot at the end of the rainbow, and they need to capture it."

Among those who signed the petition Friday, the common refrain to the mayor's observation was, Yeah, and what's wrong with that?

Despite the city's insistence to the contrary, some residents say the city-owned property will be developed someday. Better for them to get a cut now, many say, than nothing later.

Chris Sisney, 43, a 22-year resident, said he would use any money the ballot issue might send his way to buy a home in the New Mexico mountains, where he could spend his summers away from the heat. He said he would have no problem making the money last the rest of his life, freeing him from earning a living as a handyman.

"There are a lot of people who retired here who already have their millions," Sisney said. "What about the rest of us?"

But if Skogie Lenon has his way, there won't be any newfound millions for Boulder City residents.

Lenon, a 64-year resident who worked for the Bureau of Reclamation, held out a sign at the Boulder Dam Credit Union urging people not to sign the petition. Many signed anyway.

Calling Boulder City a perfect place to raise children, Lenon said he fears that opening it up to development - at any price - would destroy the community.

Despite his opposition, Lenon said he already knows what he would do with the money if the measure passed and was found to be legal. He would give it to his two sons.

"I am 85. What am I going to do with a million dollars?" Lenon said. "Half of it would go to the federal government in taxes anyway."

Lucille Cordes is only seven years younger than Lenon, but doesn't consider herself too old to put the money to good use - fixing up her mobile home.

Not only did Cordes sign the petition, but she also plans to vote for it. Boulder City could use more millionaires, she said - even though she joked that she is not sure how long she might be one.

"By the time we get anything, a tank of gas would take it all," she said.

Even before Friday's initiative petition kickoff, residents had started calling City Hall to inquire about the ballot proposal, City Clerk Pam Malmstrom said. More than six months ahead of the election, there also has been an influx of people registering to vote, she said.

Although he once joked about the ballot initiative and how he and his family would benefit, City Attorney Dave Olsen is no longer in a laughing mood.

Olsen, a one-man staff, said the city needs to hire an outside law firm to file a case in District Court to keep the measure off the ballot. Not only is much of the land not eligible for sale or large-scale development, but citizens cannot legally profit from the land sale proceeds in any event, he said.

"I don't think it is funny at all," Olsen said. "I had fun with it in the beginning, but we can't treat this as if it was a big joke."

Sherman Rattner, whose group - the Coalition to Protect the Future of Boulder City - is behind the initiative, accused Boulder City and Clark County of trying to keep residents from getting any money.

Rattner, who despite pushing for the measure to go on the ballot, said he has not decided how he would vote. He added that he does not have any special plans for the money - except that it would make him independent.

"If it turns 15,000 people into millionaires, I would be proud," Rattner said.

"I hope the people who find those riches use that freedom that comes with money. Money doesn't buy you happiness, but I hope they do something to help others realize theirs."