Summary of a 100 year blunder

This blog began on June 5, 2010, documenting the hostile takeover of the then successful and historic Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum.  Since then, 284 subsequent posts have explored various aspects of and related to this sad story.  Surely, it includes the dirtiest trick ever played by a handful of politicians, and the dumbest votes ever cast by a state legislature.

In 2009, the Arizona Historical Society imagined themselves to be in a crisis. The state legislature had just pulled the plug on their multi-million dollar Rio Nuevo boondoggle, and they were being required to wean themselves completely off of the taxpayers’ purse over a period of five years. The idea of supporting itself was truly fearsome, and the AHS therefore besieged various political connections for relief from this onerous dictate. In the summer of 2009, secret meeting began at the governor’s office.  Eventually, the governor championed their cause, and in early 2010 announced the development of yet another AHS museum, the 5C Arizona Centennial Museum (AKA the Arizona Experience Museum). Unfortunately, the building selected for the centennial museum was the Polly Rosenbaum Building, just east of the Capitol building.  It housed the mineral museum. In spite of considerable public opposition, political allies of the AHS pushed through a bill that gave the AHS control of not only the building, but also the complete state mineral collection.

Like other major AHS projects, the centennial museum failed. The failure mode was a crash on takeoff.  Funds for the museum were never raised, and the museum was never built. Inexplicably, that did not keep the AHS from closing and destroying the mineral museum. Large dumpsters behind the building were filled, and the building is apparently now empty. It seems the irreplaceable mineral collection, with scientific, historic, and monetary value, is being scattered about the state. Teachers and students are being deprived of the K – 12 science programs once provided by volunteers. During the last year of operation, over fifty thousand children visited the mineral museum. Depriving students of this resource, provide at no cost to taxpayers other than the use of the historic, state owned building, makes no sense whatsoever. It was a very dirty trick with no apparent motivation.

Having given the AHS the authority to implement this disaster, the legislature has steadfastly refused to correct their error. For two years in a row, bills to restore the mineral museum and its K-12 science education programs have been killed in committee.  Why?

Perhaps the only thing dumber than committing a hundred year mistake is refusing to correct it.

Where is the Arizona Mineral Collection?

Following the hostile takeover and abrupt closure and destruction of the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum, many have wondered where the Arizona mineral collection is. They cannot be comforted by recent developments.

The AHS recently published a three page Annual Report. It contains two letters, a membership list, and two small financial pie charts. The letter from the Director contains the following paragraph.

Less controversial, but equally appealing,

are traveling displays of Arizona’s geologic

past, mining history, and significant mineral

collections, as well as components of the

centennial “100 Years ~ 100 Quilts” exhibit,

both of which have reached communities

in all corners of the state.

So, apparently the answer is that the mineral collection is being scattered across the state. This, combined with finding of recent Auditor General reports, is worrisome.  As reported in the 9/13/2003 blog post and on page 29 of the Performance Review cited in the 10/11/13 blog post, the AHS has inventory control issues. Some collections have not been audited for over 14 years.

Reference:

Arizona Historical Society 2013 Annual Report   http://www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org/2013annualreport/

Kids and museums

The value of quality museums to education seems to be accepted common knowledge. Prior posts on this blog have cited references supporting the idea.  Below are two more such related references.

The second reference describes a new City of Phoenix program called Phoenix Great Start pilot program. It will provide free admission to selected quality museums in Phoenix for some low income school districts. In support of that program, Mayor Greg Stanton said; “A child’s earliest experiences in life are important for their long term wellbeing. We know that”.

Eight museums are approved for inclusion on the Great Start museum list.  Why is the Arizona Historical Society Museum not on the list? Arizona has spent tens of millions of dollars on that museum.  Why it is not a quality educational museum?

If it still existed, the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum would most probably be on the list. School buses used to appear daily at that museum and teachers considered it a vital resource. That museum already allowed free entry to children, but Great Start funds might have been used for transportation for low income schools that have no field trip budget.

Following a contentions public hearing, the Arizona Senate voted to transfer the mineral museum to the Arizona Historical Society. The AHS then closed it and destroyed it.  Funds were not an issue.

So, given tens of millions of tax dollars, the AHS has not produced a museum with recognized educational value.

Given a top rated museum with recognized educational value, the AHS destroyed it.

Yet, the AHS continues to receive millions of tax dollars each year

Madness.

References:

Ogintx, Eileen, Why museums trips pay off in more ways than just fun, http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2013/10/31/why-museums-trips-pay-off-way-more-than-just-in-fun/?intcmp=features

Scott, Eugene, Phoenix museum subsidy aids some low income kids, Arizona Republic, Monday, April 29, 2013, page B1

Ironic Monument at Arizona Capitol

A variety of monuments surround the Arizona Capitol building. Many feature Arizona rocks. Among them is an Arizona shaped monument made of copper ore bearing rock, and one displaying petrified wood (see below).  Copper bearing rock and petrified wood are both prominent features of Arizona’s unique geology.

However, the caption beneath the petrified wood display is, following the botched Arizona centennial, quite ironic. It reads:

     A nation that forgets its past has no future.

A significant part of Arizona’s past, the once top rated Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum, was not only forgotten but destroyed as part of misguided centennial celebration preparations. The destruction was done by the Arizona Historical Society.

Compounding the madness, the replacement, the Arizona Experience Museum, was to feature the future.  The result is an empty building where students once learned about Arizona’s unique past nearly every school day.

A hidden past and no future?

(Terry Dyer photos)

TBD committee to review Arizona Historical Society

As stated on the prior post, the JLAC oversees the audits and performance reviews conducted by the Office of the Arizona Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and the Sunset Review process as prescribed by Arizona Statutes. However, the JLAC does not conduct the performance reviews or public hearings. That is done by an assigned Committee of Reference (COR).

JLAC minutes show that, early in the year, the COR was identified for the various agencies being reviewed this year. The AHS is an exception. The COR for the AHS review was not selected at the time the others were.  According to the OAG, the COR for the AHS review will be selected from members of two existing committees: the Senate Government and Environment committee and the House Government committee. The members of those committees are as follows:

Government and Environment Senate Standing Committee
Members	Position	Staff
Carlyle Begay	Member	Republican Analyst:
Judy Burges	Vice-Chairman	Democratic Analyst:
Chester Crandell	Member	Republican Intern:
Steve Farley	Member	Democratic Intern:
Gail Griffin	Chairman
Katie Hobbs	Member
Kelli Ward	Member

 Government

House of Representatives Standing Committee
Members	Position	Staff
Sonny Borrelli	Member	Republican Analyst:
Doug Coleman	Member	Democratic Analyst:
Andrea Dalessandro	Member	Republican Intern:
Thomas Forese	Member	Democratic Intern:
Lydia Hernández	Member
John Kavanagh	Member
Warren Petersen	Vice-Chairman
Martín J. Quezada	Member
Michelle Ugenti	Chairman