The Fayette Tribune, Oak Hill, W.Va.

Local News

September 10, 2012

Lawmakers to tour Summit Tuesday

By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter

GLEN JEAN — Months before they pass judgment, for the second time, on an expansion of the tax-exempt status of the Boy Scouts of America complex, some West Virginia lawmakers plan to do some scouting of their own.

Specifically, the sprawling layout in this Fayette County hamlet, just off U.S. 19.

Come Tuesday, members of an interims committee, Finance Subcommittee C, plan to descend on The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve to see the sprawling facility up close and learn more how it could be used for other functions without imperiling its tax-exempt status.

“The committee felt it would be beneficial to our discussion if we actually did a site visit so that we could better understand the scope of the project and its potential for the state of West Virginia,” says Sen. Bill Laird, D-Fayette, a co-chair of the panel, and in whose district the complex is located.

Thousands of visitors are expected to pour into this region next summer when the Boy Scouts host a National Jamboree.

Two vans filled with committee members and staffers will leave the governor’s driveway at the Capitol at noon, arriving in early afternoon, and meeting Steve McGowan, a past chairman, president and vice president of the Buckskin Council, Boy Scouts of America.

An attorney with the Charleston law firm of Steptoe & Johnson, McGowan renewed his effort last month for a proposed amendment to the West Virginia Constitution that would allow the complex to lend its facilities to other activities without risking its tax-exempt status.

The measure was put before the Legislature by Laird last winter and easily cleared the Senate, but stalled in the House of Delegates.

Any new legislation would originate with Laird’s committee before it is sent on to the full finance panel.

“We discuss things conceptually, but this is an opportunity to actually have an understanding of the facilities, location and potential impact on the economy of the state of West Virginia,” Laird said, explaining why he arranged for the tour.

McGowan told his committee in August interims that the scouts are seeking permission for only limited use by others while maintaining the tax-exempt status as a non-profit entity.

“We’re not looking to have an open exemption that would allow the Boy Scouts to run this facility as some kind of an amusement park year-round to generate revenues,” McGowan.

Laird said the law needs to be defined in no uncertain terms.

“Once you get beyond the strict scope of their purpose, there can be questions as it relates to its potential impact on their tax-exempt status,” the senator said.

“Really, it relates more to potential alternative uses of that facility in order to maximize its full economic potential.”

As the jamboree inches closer to reality, Laird said an excitement has begun to mount.

“We see it as not only a matter that will certainly impact our local economy, but its potential to impact the entire region and actually the state,” he said.

“It’s certainly important to our future. We just want to make sure from a public policy standpoint we understand what this project entails, what we can responsibly do to maximize the potential of this project.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com

 

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