What to Do with $5.6 Million in Crook County?

Crook County commissioners will put most of the $5.6 million paid by Apple for its data center land into a savings account it hopes to use to pay off debt.

The rest of the money will go into the county’s general fund and a contingency account.

“There were things over these three, almost four years that honestly we haven’t had the money to do anything,” county Commissioner Ken Fahlgren said Monday.

Things such as build buildings and fix roads.

“Capital assets are always important to us to have us set back when those important things happen,” Fahlgren said.

Commissioner Seth Crawford says the money shouldn’t just be spent on day-to-day operations but to find ways to help improve safety for the community.

“I think some (helicopter) pads across the county could be a cheap way to really make this county a lot safer for residents — especially some of the outer areas, the upper country, places are far away from the hospital,” Crawford said.

It’s something he’s been hearing from residents ever since he was on the campaign trail.

“Since then, I’ve heard about it as well, but there just wasn’t the money,” Crawford said. “That’s one of the great things about this money. This money that we gotten we can do some of the things that we’ve been putting off.”

Prineville residents we talked to Monday said they are hopeful the money will be set aside for things wisely.

“I think anything that helps the economy is good,” Larry Musgrave said. “I think this will help the economy, and this makes it good.”

“I think it will be a good thing for the community,” Shannon Blasdell said. “I just hope it goes to really positive percentage back into our schools and back into the community that’s in dire need of the funds they need.”

For those wondering where the money went from when Facebook purchased its property: The county didn’t receive any, because that land was owned by a private party.