Now let's have a standing O for Walton county's premier tree hugger. BTW, does he even live in Walton County?
Biophilia Center says " Thanks" for the offer but "No Thanks"
- Thread starter Bob Hudson
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Btw, are you a concerned citizen or just against trees?
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Regardless of what happens with the Biophilia center in the future, I will always remember the wonderful staff and the amazing animals they introduced me to. Gopher Tortoise, snake, Mississippi Kite, an owl.....
I consider any money we've spent subsidising the center well spent. That is something I rarely say about TDC and county expenditures.
I consider any money we've spent subsidising the center well spent. That is something I rarely say about TDC and county expenditures.
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Are 50,000 acres of tax exempt, privately owned land really needed for such an "educational" facility?
Yes! If it is preserved, then absolutely! Please visit their site to find out what their mission is and why: conservation, education, research and preservation/restoration, ecosystems, animals, nature trails, wide open spaces and natural environments for learning and so much more.. Fascinating project right here in our area. How fortunate are we? http://www.eowilsoncenter.org/about-us/
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Public information requests were made of the Biophilia Center for its records on how the TDC funds were used. Principal for the Bio Center maintained it was not subject to the Public Records Act, then tried to exact a non-disclosure agreement. No records were produced. Then the letters from Biophilia withdrawing requests for TDC money were issued. Perhaps someone with authority thought doing so would obviate the statutory requirements for retention and disclosure. If so, that someone is mistaken. Perhaps there was another reason. You decide.
I will miss taking my kids and others to the Biophilia Center. I went with my daughter's class the first time, then started going when they opened to the public on weekends. The minimum staff to open the center is relatively large since the center and its grounds are so spacious, so while I imagine the TDC funds helped out considerably, they probably did not cover all the expenses. I doubt too that the exemption from property tax produces any revenue, since it is tax relief and not cash. I assume that Nokuse receives grants and other monies to cover the expenses of maintaining the acreage, buildings and other structures. The tax break is a but a token for the benefit given by the county, in return it benefits the people of the county, the state and the country.
Tax exemption for things preserved for the public good is meant to encourage exactly that, i.e. donors to preserve the land for the benefit of all. With such harsh criticism as I have read on this thread, I would be surprised if any future person in a position to give such a wonderful gift to the people of Walton County, would NOT do so after such a demonstration of ungratefulness. Which may give insight as to why Biophilia refused the funds and will no longer be an ecotourism destination.
No one made him set aside 50,000 acres. No one made him open it to the public. No one made him invite students to visit and learn. No one made him allow public hiking trails through his land. I do not really know much about the person that made these gifts. The person who could have sold off the land or stripped it of timber, or plowed it in to a golf course, to choose instead to tie up that valuable land into perpetual conservation. I do, however, know what my daughter and her class learned from their week spent there, and that is value beyond money. I also know that the weekends where I took friends and family there were special.
I am going to miss that place.
Tax exemption for things preserved for the public good is meant to encourage exactly that, i.e. donors to preserve the land for the benefit of all. With such harsh criticism as I have read on this thread, I would be surprised if any future person in a position to give such a wonderful gift to the people of Walton County, would NOT do so after such a demonstration of ungratefulness. Which may give insight as to why Biophilia refused the funds and will no longer be an ecotourism destination.
No one made him set aside 50,000 acres. No one made him open it to the public. No one made him invite students to visit and learn. No one made him allow public hiking trails through his land. I do not really know much about the person that made these gifts. The person who could have sold off the land or stripped it of timber, or plowed it in to a golf course, to choose instead to tie up that valuable land into perpetual conservation. I do, however, know what my daughter and her class learned from their week spent there, and that is value beyond money. I also know that the weekends where I took friends and family there were special.
I am going to miss that place.