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State emails revealed in lawsuit could derail Prescott rodeo's $15.3M allocation
State emails revealed in lawsuit could derail Prescott rodeo's $15.3M allocation
By HOWARD FISCHER, For the Courier Aug 26, 2024 Updated 13 hrs ago
The Prescott Rodeo Grounds. (Courier file photo)
PHOENIX — Some newly discovered emails could undermine the bid by state lawmakers to allocate $15.3 million for Prescott’s rodeo. ... Documents filed in court by those challenging the funding appear to show that the state Treasurer’s Office actually agreed to provide another $10 million to the International Dark Sky Discovery Center in Fountain Hills, even before it had requested proposals from others who might have qualified for the cash. Only later, after the money already was promised, did state officials follow what the law requires.
What makes that relevant is the two allocations were part of the same 2023 legislation that entitled state lawmakers to earmark some of the state’s surplus to pet projects. ... And while the pending lawsuit challenges only the funding for the “World’s Oldest Rodeo,” attorneys for those who sued show that the documents related to the dark sky project show that Treasurer’s Office was trying to “manufacture legal cover” once the lawsuit was filed to show they were following the law.
Attorneys for both sides cannot comment directly on the documents as the judge, at a Monday hearing, Aug. 26, ordered them sealed. ... But Capitol Media Services already had obtained copies. And attorneys for the plaintiffs, in new legal filings, show that they undermine the claims made by the state that there was nothing improper in the process — currently on hold — to get money to Prescott Frontier Days, the private organization that operates Prescott’s rodeo.
If the judge agrees, the funding for the rodeo could go away; it is too late to challenge the dark sky project as those dollars already have been distributed.
{snip}
By HOWARD FISCHER, For the Courier Aug 26, 2024 Updated 13 hrs ago
The Prescott Rodeo Grounds. (Courier file photo)
PHOENIX — Some newly discovered emails could undermine the bid by state lawmakers to allocate $15.3 million for Prescott’s rodeo. ... Documents filed in court by those challenging the funding appear to show that the state Treasurer’s Office actually agreed to provide another $10 million to the International Dark Sky Discovery Center in Fountain Hills, even before it had requested proposals from others who might have qualified for the cash. Only later, after the money already was promised, did state officials follow what the law requires.
What makes that relevant is the two allocations were part of the same 2023 legislation that entitled state lawmakers to earmark some of the state’s surplus to pet projects. ... And while the pending lawsuit challenges only the funding for the “World’s Oldest Rodeo,” attorneys for those who sued show that the documents related to the dark sky project show that Treasurer’s Office was trying to “manufacture legal cover” once the lawsuit was filed to show they were following the law.
Attorneys for both sides cannot comment directly on the documents as the judge, at a Monday hearing, Aug. 26, ordered them sealed. ... But Capitol Media Services already had obtained copies. And attorneys for the plaintiffs, in new legal filings, show that they undermine the claims made by the state that there was nothing improper in the process — currently on hold — to get money to Prescott Frontier Days, the private organization that operates Prescott’s rodeo.
If the judge agrees, the funding for the rodeo could go away; it is too late to challenge the dark sky project as those dollars already have been distributed.
{snip}