Bryan L. Temmer, the main thrust behind the development of a unique alien theme park, (dubbed the Alien Apex Resort) and a past guest on Slice of SciFi contacted me with the sad news that his dream of the park in Roswell has stalled. It could be heading for nowhere. The reason? It appears that New Mexico State officials have pulled the plug on their $245,000 legislative appropriation bill that would have put the necessary seed money into the UFO park, money that was so needed to guarantee further investment from other sources.
“We hope to demonstrate the feasibility of the project and use that to entice private investment,” said Sam LaGrone, Roswell city Mayor.
According to State officials, giving those funds would have violated New Mexico’s anti-donation clause which specifically states that the State government cannot appropriate monies for individuals or entities. Roswell officials were hoping that since the money was being designated as use for Roswell city official business, the State sanction against such donations could be bypassed. However, since the proposed UFO theme park would be run by a private enterprise and not the city government itself, State legislators cut the funding.
Although the State cut off the proposed funding for the time being, Temmer and John Capps, the Roswell City Manager, haven’t totally given up and will continue to appeal to New Mexico State lawmakers for appropriations next year, if the Roswell city council agrees to it. Since Roswell has been looking for more ways to increase the tourist trade to the town, already famous for its alleged 1947 UFO crash site, the alien theme park would be like a gold mine for the city, and it is likely the city council will approve the manager’s request to seek State assistance again.
“We were headed down the road and DFA [Department of Finance and Administration] told us we couldn’t go there,” Capps said in a press conference. “The money is not necessarily lost, but as appropriated it could not be used for the purpose we intended.”
There is one other bone of contention that could end up throwing a monkey-wrench into the entire project even if the money is raised, and that is the name. Since the concept originated in the mind of Temmer, and it was he who made the proposal for the Alien Apex Resort park, then he feels that a royalty is due him in some financial form. Capps disagrees and thinks that even though Temmer came to them, if they do get funding and do decide to go with the idea of a UFO themed park, then it could easily come to life with an entirely different name of Roswell city’s or a private investor’s choosing, thus eliminating Temmer’s claim to any kind of payment.
“If we do find a private operator to come in,” stated Capps. “They may adopt a different theme or a different name.”
However, Temmer and Capps continue hopeful that a resolution to this situation and funding will become available and all involved are still looking to 2012 as a projected debut for the park.
I am planning an excursion to Roswell with my roommate. I have been looking for things to do out there and it’s too bad this theme park is not one of them. I hope it is built. That would give me a reason to go back.