Reno, Nev., Mar 3, 2009 / 01:57 am
Carson City, Nevada’s decision to fund sidewalks, landscaping and roof repairs for a church that Mark Twain helped build has prompted protests and the threat of a lawsuit from a group that advocates strict separation of church and state.
Last month, Carson City supervisors voted to give the city’s First Presbyterian Church $78,800 for the sidewalks, landscaping and roof repairs, the Associated Press reports. In 2006, the city gave the church $67,700 to help with design costs for a new church building adjacent to the old one.
City and church officials say the money addresses additional costs resulting from an agreement that the congregation would not raze the original church but instead build a new one.
The Washington, D.C.-based group Americans United for Separation of Church and State protested the decision. If the supervisors do not rescind their votes, the group will consider a lawsuit, Americans United attorney Alex Luchenitser said.