City Council should decline Gun Club check

Showing that they are men and women of their word, members of the McCook Gun Club stepped forward Monday night with a check for $27,000 to cover the cost of John Bingham's severance pay.

Their action is evidence of how business should be conducted. When you make a promise, you need to deliver.

However, because of possible conflict of interest, the McCook City Council should not accept the Gun Club's gift.

The reason the council should refuse is that the McCook Gun Club has a year-to-year lease on a tract of land west of the McCook Municipal Airport. The Gun Club has used the site for years, dating back to the days when the McCook Jaycees had their clubhouse at the location.

As a money-making project during the Jaycees' prime, a trap range was built. Through the years, the range has had frequent use for both practice and competition. It is an excellent site and has served shooting enthusiasts well as a place to sharpen shooting skills in advance of hunting season.

So what's the problem?

The cause for concern is that while the site is suitable for trapshooting, it has other potential uses as well. For example, one of the things that had upset the Gun Club was a letter sent to them by Bingham, the former city manager. In the letter he informed club members that their lease is year-to-year, and that other uses for the land are being considered, including use as a site for light airplane assembly and test flights.

Whether the airplane idea advances is not known. However, if that project or another similar venture were to develop, the City Council would be in an awkward position. Would the council terminate the Gun Club's lease to allow a possible job-creating venture? Or would the council turn the project down and, by so doing, raise questions about favoritism because of the Gun Club's gift?

In other words, by accepting the $27,000 check from the Gun Club, the City Council will create possible conflict of interest questions. That's not the way to conduct city business.

The McCook Gun Club deserves special recognition for their sincere and generous offer. However, the City Council should politely decline the gift, removing even the slightest hint of a possible conflict of interest.