Joint Legislative Audit
Committee: Senator Chester Crandell,
Senator
Judy Burges, Senator David Farnsworth, Senator Steve Gallardo, Senator Katie
Hobbs, Senator Andy Biggs, Representative John Allen, Representative Paul Boyer,
Representative Andrea Dalessandro, Representative Martin Quezada, Representative
Kelly Townsend, Representative Andy Tobin
Arizona State Senate
Capitol Complex
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007-2890
Arizona House of Representatives
Capitol Complex
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007-2890
Subject: Arizona Historical
Society Sunset Review
Dear Chairman Crandall and
Committee Members,
The previous Performance Audit and Sunset Review Report for the
Arizona Historical Society (AHS) was quite thorough and identified major
problems within the society. The current report (number 13-13 dated September
2013) addresses procedural problems, but does not explore major problems. The
AHS report is the last of the reports prepared in 2013, and there may not have
been adequate time for the auditors to explore major issues. Before
reauthorizing the AHS for another ten years, the Legislature should explore
more serious problems not documented in the report. Only then can a proper
allocation of public funds be made.
One major problem documented in the prior report is the
Marley Center Museum. The AHS failed to
raise the funds for the history displays, and had to be bailed out with public
funds (county and municipal). Given those funds, the AHS did build interactive
displays in the Marley. However, over the years, they have not maintained those
displays and few of them are operational today. As shown in the current audit
report, the Marley (AKA History Museum at Papago Park) only attracted 6,867
visitors in 2012. Therefore, the state subsidy for this museum is hundreds of
dollars per visitor. The funds shown in the AHS budget are only a fraction of
the cost to taxpayers, because the AHS does not pay rent on the huge state
owned building. A cocktail bar is a more prominently displayed (and apparently
more frequently used) feature in the Marley than the history displays. Is the
Marley really a serious history museum, or is it more of a taxpayer subsidized
party house?
Another major AHS problem is the History Museum at Rio Nuevo
(Tucson). The AHS spent over a million dollars of state funds on this museum.
With those funds, they contracted for the design of a new museum so
exorbitantly expensive that it will never be built. The AHS raised no funding
for this project. The current report does not even address this issue. Surely
such a waste of tax dollars should be investigated in a serious Sunset Review.
The current audit report does address the issue of the
Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum, but does not explore it critically. Whatever
the failures of the 5C Arizona Centennial Commission may have been, the AHS had
no right (legal or moral) to close the existing
mineral museum. In response to a legal challenge over this closure, the Arizona
Attorney General replied that the AHS would continue to operate the mineral
museum in the existing building as required by state statute. They did not. As
a result, they are depriving about 50,000 students per year of field trips that
supported the state mandated earth science education curriculum. This loss to
teachers and students should be an even greater concern than the significant monetary
waste.
The current report presumes that the AHS would be more
successful at raising private funds if a full time staff person were assigned
that responsibility. A though Sunset Review should explore the validity of that
assumption. Is the fundraising failure due to lack of effort, or does an
unfavorable reputation hamper fundraising efforts? The hostile takeover and
destruction of the once top rated mineral museum alienated a large portion of
the community. What was the AHS reputation in the museum community prior to
that ugly incident? A thorough Sunset Review should include a survey to
evaluate the potential for community support. A peer evaluation by member of
the Museum Association would also be very helpful.
Finally, a complete Sunset Review should examine redundancy
with other government agencies. As shown by the current report, few people visit
AHS museums. Therefore, the major value of the AHS appears to be as a facility
to store and preserve historic documents. That function may be redundant to the
Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records. Would their large new
facility provide a more economical way of preserving historic documents than
AHS libraries?
As defined in the Arizona statutes, the Sunset Review is a very
good process. Please gather additional information for the AHS review to assure
that the process is effective.
