Well, look who’s on the federal earmark bandwagon: Lakeview Museum.
Peoria’s Lakeview Museum has big plans for the empty Sears block in the heart of Downtown, but a museum official says they will be impossible without a federal earmark.
“It couldn’t be done,” Kathleen Woith said of trying to reach private fundraising goals to build the nearly $130 million Peoria Riverfront Museum, which officials hope to open in 2012. About $1.4 million for the project — which still faces a $24 million shortfall — is coming from federal earmarks that the museum received over the years.
It can’t be done without federal earmarks … and evidently it can’t be done with them, either. The truth is that federal earmarks are, as the article says, “nothing more than budget-bloating spending that amount to political pork.” And the museum is a perfect example of why earmarks should be eliminated.
First of all, one could argue whether federal dollars should be spent on local museums at all. But assuming the case could be made, federal money for local projects like this should be put into a grant fund to which cities could apply. Grants would be awarded based on criteria set by Congress — presumably awarding more money to projects with the most national interest. This would be a fairer, merit-based approach, and it would limit federal spending on these types of projects.
Secondly, one could make the case that earmarks are the reason this project is as bloated as it is, and why it’s failing to win popular support. The project started out as several smaller projects, each with its own plans and fundraising goals. They only combined efforts at the prompting of Rep. Ray LaHood. Why? According to a March 25, 2001, Journal Star article, “U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood has organized a Museum Collaboration Committee to encourage arts leaders to present a united front in the struggle to get federal dollars for a museum complex on the riverfront.” So because of the promise of federal pork, all our eggs are in one basket. If not enough money for the übermuseum is raised, all the individual projects fail along with it.
Finally, are we really supposed to believe that this project is impossible without federal earmarks? The earmarks amount to only $1.4 million, or one percent of the total cost of the project. I think if you took the Lakeview relocation portion out of the project, and came up with a smaller, urban design, you would have plenty of money for a history and achievement museum without having to take any federal money at all.
What I want to know is what is “plan B” for the Sears block? Cat has already stated that if the museum isn’t built then they aren’t building their visitors center.
You should always have a plan B and plan C. I don’t think the city or community has given it much thought as everyone has always figured this would somehow be a go(the museum) no matter what.
I really like the idea to at least consider not turning the whole block over to Cat and Lakeview. Do a scaled down version of The Riverfront Museum and include the IMAX and let Cat do their thing and then fill the rest of the block with some residential and mixed use. The biggest fear I have is ending up with another big suburban campus with lots of concrete patios. It needs to be a densely populated block.
If the museum folks can’t pull it off then the city should put out RFP’s to private developers to create a mixed use development with a residential component.
I guess that’s my plan B and C.
I agree. Let the citizens of Peoria decide for themselves what they would like to see there instead. Something maybe all of us could enjoy after 5PM.
As someone once blogged, “Cat always has a Plan B”…
I think Cat’s plan B doesn’t involve downtown Peoria.
At least one council member has a “Plan B.” Unfortunately, we may not be able to hear that plan for a long time — it looks like there may be a referendum in Feb. 2009 on whether or not Peoria County taxpayers want to finance the remaining $24 million on the project.
I, for one, think the museum would be great for Peoria. My concern is that we are being hit up for Peoria Promise, a new museum, reorganization of District 150, etc., etc. all at one time. If they raise taxes any higher it will truly add a HUGE burden to the citizens of Peoria.
Even if the present museum plan is scaled back and a Peoria History museum is built, who will control this project?The same group of know-it-alls who took the last museum project and ran with it…right into a brick wall! Plenty of older, existing structures already downtown. Renovation! That is the key. Take an historical building and turn it into an historical museum. Of course, by the time that happens, Lakeview and friends will have pawned off all of our history…
Great. Put it to bed for now and we’ll revisit once we’ve cured cancer and fixed the sidewalks.
Would be a shame to use the GAR building, for example.
Earmarks… pork… unvoted and undebated spending… I love it! As long it is my pork and not some other person’s pork… right?
What is keeping that council person from speaking up now before it’s too late?
If someone knows who that council person is, let it be known so contact can be made. I really don’t think anyone except two persons on the council want the museum as presently drawn, and that would be Montelongo and Spain.
Because it’s not time yet. The City has a contract with the museum people that is still in force, and it would not be prudent to be talking about the museum’s demise (as inevitable as it may seem) while the contract is still in force. Now, when it gets close to the expiration date and the museum folks come back to renegotiate… then you’ll likely hear Plan B.
My problem with the museum from day 1 is what it will include. Every great museum focuses on one thing only. It could be specific history, science, kids, etc. This has sounded like a hodgepodge from get go and no, a lot of people won’t go to that. I have a problem throwing money at a venture that will not bring people to it. I’m all for a museum that will kick butt and have people coming here.
“Every great museum focuses on one thing only.”
Yes, that Field Museum in Chicago is way specific in its focus. 😛
(Not that I don’t wonder why this museum ended up quite so discursive, but still.)
That would be the Field Museum of Natural History, “natural history” being its specific focus (it’s not a combination science/industry/planetarium/Chicago history/Chicago Bulls Hall of Fame museum, for instance). And despite this narrow(er) focus, the building is over 400,000 square feet, including ample space for research and collections.
Evidently they don’t use the “Delta concept.”
Oh, you know it’s still a catch-all at Field. An interesting, well-curated catch-all that’s awesome to visit, but it’s pretty unfocused. It’s a pretty darned broad definition of “natural history.”
The problem with current Lakeview [and the new “Lakeview” downtown] is that neither is or will ever be a history museum. Current Lakeview doesn’t even begin to touch on Peoria’s history.
Peoria has a history?
You’re joking, right?
I have not been overly impressed by Lakeview over the years. The kids seems to be ‘ok’ with it for the first 30 minutes and then it is, ‘can we go to the gift shop?’.
I am very skeptical that anything built downtown is going to result in an improvement in its displays. I don’t see anything about the current location that cries out, ‘we don’t have the space’. To me it is more ‘we don’t really know how to do this’.
With that in mind, whatever is built needs to be built with a hedge for possible failure. Thus build a building that can be used for something else, like the original concept for that block called for, the more authentic new urbanist design.
If you want to spend millions of dollars on a top notch museum then I need to see some top notch curating with the space they have. It just isn’t there.
Well, the old Mayor, (Ransburg), and the old City Council gave millions to vonachen to help build a new ballpark. They sell enough season tickets to pay themselves and employees (but nothing to the investors who saved the franchise,(not Vonachen), no one goes to the games except on special beer nights, just drive by there most nights.
I hate statement like wacko’s. Stupid and uninformed. Right, I am sure NO ONE goes to the ballpark.
Hey Peoriafan: uninformed? name me one investor who has received a penny from Vonachen; I probably should not have said “no one”, should have said no more than 500 except on beer nights. The point is that taxpayers should not be expected to finance a museum like they did this ballpark for the benefit of one family or a very select few people (the artistic). Give us something for our money please. Have a good season, you won’t have any trouble getting good seats.
You might also have trouble getting into the museum, it will close at 5:00pm! Will they have special beer nights!!!!! The tax payers might go for that.