Clinton Library in Hot Water
By Kelly P. Kissel
Associated Press Writer
Saturday, July 29, 2000; 12:29 p.m. EDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. �� Even before the first shovelful of earth is
turned, the planned Bill Clinton Presidential Library has become
entangled in a dispute that threatens to embarrass city leaders.
There's little chance the $80 million-plus library won't be
built, but the Arkansas Supreme Court is considering a taxpayer's
lawsuit claiming the city illegally tapped tax accounts to buy
the land for the project. There's no word on when a ruling might
come from the court, which is on its annual summer recess until
September.
It's just one more dig at the president by his opponents, said
Clinton's library project leader, Skip Rutherford.
"They think, 'I can't vote against him any more, but I sure can
mess with his library,'" Rutherford said.
Although some people criticized any effort to honor the impeached
president, the city wanted the library so badly that it agreed to
buy a 27-acre site for $8.5 million.
Voters weren't asked. Other cities were vying for the library,
and Rutherford said there wasn't time for an election.
"We had offers in state and out of state that were ready to go,"
Rutherford said. "We didn't care what fund it was coming out of,
we just didn't want a contingent offer."
The dispute arose because Little Rock dedicated park revenues �
including fees from the zoo and golf courses � to pay off bonds
to fund the library land purchase.
However, those revenues often are supplemented by city general
fund revenues to pay for park operations. And part of the
general fund comes from taxes, which can't be used to pay off
bonds.
The city made a $470,000 bond payment at the beginning of July.
It used only parks revenue but city leaders said they would
likely have to tap the general fund later for park operations.
The lawsuit was filed by Nora Harris, a resident who has sued the
city on other tax issues and who calls the land purchase
arrangement a shell game.
"They can't look at anyone and say they're not using tax money to
pay off the bonds," said her lawyer, David Henry.
A local judge upheld the city's payment arrangement, and Harris
appealed directly to the state's highest court.
Harris supporters include Miles King, a real estate developer,
who said he would have liked to see the land acquired
differently.
"I'm not opposed to the library and its concept. It's the method
by which they went about trying to pull off the deal to get it
financed that I'm opposed to," he said.
Construction will be funded by donations. Rutherford said the
project will cost $80 million to $125 million.
No matter how the Arkansas Supreme Court rules, the city intends
to keep its commitment on the land but will have to find another
way to pay off the bonds.
The library site is in the city's booming River Market district,
overlooking the Arkansas River downtown. Long-mothballed
warehouses have been turned into bars, restaurants, shops and
apartments. An amphitheater presents concerts.
Even without a construction timetable, the Clinton Library
already has influenced other development in the area. Acxiom
Corp., a Conway-based data warehousing company, plans a $25
million, 12-story building there.
"Knowing that the library was going to be here was a key factor
in our decision because it demonstrated to us that there would be
continued development in this area," Acxiom chairman Charles
Morgan said.
The library would include a museum, a repository for Clinton's
official records and classrooms. An academic wing would offer
public policy degrees with the University of Arkansas.
"Scholars will travel to Little Rock whether they like Clinton or
don't like Clinton and they will stay in the city's hotels," said
Roger Hartley, an associate professor of public affairs at
Roanoke College in Salem, Va. "This presidency has had a lot of
attention � not all of it good attention � which should attract
more people to study." Among other presidential libraries, the
Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, Calif., had 144,500 visitors in
1998, and the Johnson Library near Austin, Texas, attracted
240,000 that year.
In the long run, Hartley said, Little Rock will be happy to turn
an old riverside warehouse district into a political attraction.
"It will be built somewhere," he said. "Why not Little Rock?"
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