Don’t misrepresent Ark | Lexington Herald Leader

I was surprised to read such a sarcastic Aug. 31 letter from a scientist who is not very careful in his research. Regarding the Ark Encounter, he falsely claimed that Ark officials tried to “avoid having to pay for adequate fire and police protection.”

On the contrary, the Ark Encounter has stated many times that it was willing to pay its fair share into the city’s new safety fund and suggested a yearly cap of $500,000. It is a very generous amount, given the fact that the city has only 4,000 residents. From my research, I found that emergency-service calls to the Ark from both Williamstown and the city of Dry Ridge have averaged only about two per week for the first year.

Many of these emergency calls were for medical reasons, and Ark guests who were tended to were often covered by their own insurance. The cities were reimbursed. Unfortunately, Williamstown officials refused to accept the reasonable cap of $500,000. Regardless, the Ark has been paying into the safety fund, not avoiding it.

The writer is a longtime vocal opponent of the Ark who has misrepresented the theme park many times. However, the remarkable Ark has been a huge success, to his chagrin.