JAC $15M for PRCA wrong-headed

The PRCA Rodeo Hall of Fame may be going to Cheyenne. While we’re disappointed to learn that Cody’s proposal was not accepted by the PRCA board, we are nevertheless pleased by their decision to move the Hall of Fame to the Cowboy State.

Cheyenne’s proposal was attractive – 35 acres, easy interstate access, a large community of prospective employees and readily available housing. They played their hand well and went for what they wanted aggressively. We have to respect that and, indeed, we tip our hat to them.

But there is one part of the proposal – and the PRCA’s offer – that sticks in our craw. The offer is contingent upon the state legislature allocating $15 million to Cheyenne for the construction of the museum.

Given the recent tenor of conversations around our state’s budget and resources, including proposed austerity measures, it seems contradictory that the state should possibly find and allocate $15 million to the economic development of Cheyenne alone while slashing the statewide distribution of direct funds to all other communities by $30 million. In Cody, $450,000 will be removed from the budget.

We believe in the economic development of this state and its communities, but we reject the idea that one town should receive over half of the aid being lost by other, smaller communities spread throughout the state. The loss of $30 million has real, tangible consequences – the nearly half a million dollars lost limits our city’s ability to staff its police force, care for its parks, and maintain its roads. It has a direct impact on local organizations doing valuable community outreach, such as Crisis Intervention Services, which aids women and children who have been victims of violence, and the Park County Animal Shelter, which offers a safe haven and care to a number of small animals.

What’s more, given our position within the wider community, many of Cody’s resources serve smaller, more far-flung towns throughout not only Park, but also Big Horn County, including the local food pantry Cody Cupboard, which leases its building from the city for a nominal sum. The loss of funding in those small towns may have a cascading effect on our own city’s systems, and while we have no desire to turn those people away or to see these services cut, it does grate to know that we might carry more weight with less while another singular community enjoys the spoils of the state. 

It’s not sour grapes on our part to point out how incongruent this arrangement is compared to our state government’s intention of responsible and conservative spending. While we are pleased for our neighbors in Cheyenne, we also can and should question why the rest of our state – and especially our community – must do without.