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January 8, 2007

Manager, artisans defend Tamarack

Close to 100 defend facility to committee

Mannix Porterfield

CHARLESTON — Turnpike Manager Greg Barr joined artisans Monday in defense of Tamarack in the wake of a scorching audit, saying the Beckley facility creates jobs and positively impacts many islands in the larger tourism ocean.

Tamarack came under fire in a report issued by Legislative Auditor Aaron Allred over its annual need to siphon some $2 million from concessions at Turnpike facilities to keep it afloat.

Over its 10-year life, Tamarack has been given support cash that amounts to one-half of what the Turnpike exacts in tolls in a single year, Allred told the Joint Committee on Government Operations. The audit insisted this money could have been applied to road upkeep and that that an “alternative use” should be found for Tamarack.

“Government does a poor job of running a business,” he said.

“And that’s what Tamarack is — a business. They need to stop and think outside the box.”

Allred disputed what he said was a press release issued by the artisans claiming that his office was attempting to shut down the facility, which has operated in the red in all 10 years of its existence.

“We’re not politically stupid,” he said. “Politically, Tamarack is going to stay open.”

Barr said Tamarack creates about 150 jobs a year and has some 1,000 artisans with products on display at any given time. The facility has a ripple effect, bringing positive results to the whitewater and skiing business, he said.

One part of the audit faulted the West Virginia Parkways Authority for dishing out “donations” to a variety of local tourism projects for which there was no return directly to it.

“We don’t look upon those projects as donations,” Barr said. “We look upon those as tourism promotions.”

Close to 100 artisans, all wearing colorful Tamarack buttons, filled the committee room, and two of them arose to defend the facility as a positive means of helping them capture a side income of money.

“Tamarack is potent force in the tourism industry,” Barr said.

In his critique of the audit, Barr said it failed to consider how Tamarack enhances a positive image of West Virginia beyond its borders, didn’t consider the impact on tourism, and failed to see how it helps the artisans.

Allred’s audit suggested Tamarack has become “an expensive endeavor” and is draining off money away from routine maintenance of the 88-mile toll road at a time when the authority is feeling the financial heat to raise tolls. Only a year ago, tolls went up to $2 per car and $7 for five-axle trucks, until a lawsuit prompted a Kanawha County circuit judge to rescind them.

But Barr said the $2 million dedicated to Tamarack pales alongside the yearly $30 million needed for Turnpike maintenance.

Again, Barr went on the positive, saying Tamarack attracts half a million visitors a year and has generated $70 million in sales since it opened. In December, it welcomed its 5 millionth visitor, he noted.

Sales this year are projected to soar to $7.8 million, and if that trend holds up, Barr said, within nine years, the subsidy needed to prop up Tamarack could disappear.

Sen. Billy Wayne Bailey, D-Wyoming, shared the remarks of a man he met in Virginia, “My wife says it’s not Christmas until we blow $2,000 over at Tamarack.”

Afterward, Barr said he felt the large turnout by artisans — including Sally Barton of the Tamarack Foundation and St. Albans jeweler Judy Belcher — had an impact on the legislative panel.

“That’s the group that will change minds,” he said.

“It’s one thing for the parkways authority to talk about what we’re doing, but when you have the citizens and the artisan community step forward and confirm the benefits, it has a lot more meaning.”

Barr disputed Allred’s complaint that government simply cannot operate a business.

“Tamarack is not just a business,” he said. “That’s where they’re missing the mark. It’s there to support and nurture the artisan industry in the country. It’s a benefit that should not be solely determined by what the bottom line of that bricks and mortar facility is.”

— E-mail:

mannix@register-herald.com

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