The Pendulum
NEWS
Thursday, November 6, 2003 • Page 7
Board debates endorsing bill
Steve Earley
News Editor
Once World Series-winning manager Jack
McKeon - and the entourage of citizens and
media which he attracted - left the Town of
Elon’s Board of Alderman agenda-setting
meeting Monday, it was a discussion on sales
tax that drew the most attention.
McKeon, 72, an Elon resident and 1966
Elon graduate, was presented with the key to
the town at the beginning of the regularly-
scheduled meeting.
Following a 15-minute reception, the
board resumed normal business.
In the most lengthy discussion of the
evening, the board debated the merits of tax
ing Internet, telephone and mail-order sales -
collectively known as remote sales.
The board was asked by the North
('arolina League of Municipalities to endorse
a federal bill which would facilitate state tax
ation on such sales.
Cunenily, Suprenu- Court rulings prevent
slates from collecting sales lax on remote
sales. Due to widely varying lax structures
among the 50 states, the high court ruled it
would be too complicated and burdensome
for vendors to collect the tax.
The bill, known as the Simplified Sales
and Use Tax Act, would create more uniform
state sales tax structures and lift the restric
tions created by the court rulings.
Under the proposal, consumers would pay
sales tax to their home state regardless of a
vendor’s location.
Alderman Ed Swing said the proposal
would be burdensome on tax collectors and
Mayor Pro Tem Richard Keziah criticized the
measure as counterproductive and said it
would probably reduce Internet commerce.
Town manager Mike Dula cautioned his
colleagues: “The tax is owed. It’s just too
hard to collect. I would encourage you not to
walk away from valid sources of revenue.”
According to the North Carolina League
of Municipalities, more than $593 million in
state and local taxes go uncollected because
of the restrictions on taxing remote sales.
The board will decide whether to endorse
the bill at its regular meeting Tuesday.
In other business, the board approved to
give Duke Power a 50-foot right-of-way on
the Elon Park property along Cook Road.
Because of projected development in the
area, additional power lines were already
needed. Thus, in exchange for the right-of-
way, the power company agreed to install
power liiio: on the park properly at no cost to
the town.
Dula lid B&H Grading and Charles
Jones Construction '-tarted work on the park's
community center site about two weeks ago
and were expected to have the site ready for
construction by yesterday.
Russell Swartz, the contractor who won
the bid to build the park’s disc golf course is
also ready to begin construction, Dula said.
Swartz’s bid of $ 16.000 was $9,000 less than
the town’s estimate for construction of the
course.
Contact Steve Earley at pendu-
lnm@elon.edu or 278-7247.
Cannon room now art gallery
From page 1
of weeks, it was incredibly stimulating,”
House said. “It is what the liberal arts and sci
ences are all about.”
As part of the resulting decision, the
Isabella Cannon room is now designated as
an art gallery, House said. The room, located
adjacent to the Ward Gallery in the Center for
the Arts, is already a frequently-used exhibi
tion space, as well as a site for university
meetings and banquets. House said all other
areas in the Center for the Arts are designat
ed as multi-purpose art spaces.
The use of these spaces will be determined
by a committee to be organized by Hassell.
He said he will meet with other art depart
ment faculty to decide some basic parameters
concerning the committee, such as the num
ber of members, who can be a member and
how members will be selected.
Ha.ssell said he endorsed the idea of hav
ing students as well as faculty on the commit
tee. Discussions regarding the committee
may begin as soon as today during the depart
ment’s regular meeting.
We ve been given this freedom and
responsibility and we need to start working
on it right away,” Hassell said.
The Tack-Tiles exhibition should also
restart promptly. Amy Trageser, president of
Blueprints, the student art organization run
ning the exhibit, said she plans to start the
second phase of the project with the posting
of digital art in the Ward Galleiy Monday
Trageser, one of three students who had
nude works m the October exhibit, prised
the resolution.
“I’m thrilled,” she said. “It may have been
a long process, but I don’t think any of us can
complain.”
House said that the committee is a tempo
rary solution until the art department can
have a building of its own, acknowledging
that the three departments in the Center for
the Arts - art, music and performing arts -
have outgrown the 20-year-old facility.
Contact Steve Earley at
pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
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