from The Lebanon Democrat::March 4, 2009
Bible Park organizers respond to City Council's actions
by: J.R. LIND

March 4, 2009 – “The park will bring 200 full-time and professional jobs and more than 1,000 part-time seasonal jobs to the region, along with millions of dollars in tax revenues as found by an economic impact study conducted by Dr. Mark Burton from the University of Tennessee,” said Robert Wyatt, Bible Park USA development and vice president of EDG Inc. of North Hollywood, Calif.

“Our guests will be largely tourists who require very little; in fact, they go on back home after they spend their money so you don’t even have to educate their children, which is the biggest drain on local budgets everywhere. The fact is, the park will cost the citizens of Wilson County not one cent from local tax coffers.

“It is puzzling that the Lebanon City Council, during a national economic crisis in which layoffs are a daily announcement and tax revenues are hard to find, would fail to support an international tourism development that will attract tourists who will spend their money in Wilson County restaurants, hotels and businesses, leaving behind millions in tax revenues annually, before they go back home,” said Wyatt.

“We have operated in good faith with the Lebanon City Council, and we have not been contacted by anyone on the council with a request for additional information at any time in the last weeks or months."

Wyatt added, “As is required by all developments that come to Wilson County, the park’s development team will provide a complete and detailed financial plan to the Industrial Development Board as soon as we get the legislative approval to develop that plan. Every development in Wilson County goes through a process that starts and ends with the Industrial Development Board.

"We started there with a unanimous vote of approval, and we want to end there with our financial plan as soon as possible, if we can be allowed to do so by the local legislative bodies.”