ABC 15 continues investigation of mineral museum mess

ABC 15 is continuing there investigation into what happened to the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum and why. Their initial episode aired on February 14th, Arizona's Centennial. The second episode was broadcast on June 27, 2012.

ABC is seeking answers to the following questions:

Why was the mineral museum forcibly and abruptly closed when there was no funding for either a 5C Arizona Centennial Museum or an Arizona Experience Museum?

Why does the new Arizona Historical Society budget include nearly a half million taxpayer dollars for a museum that does not exist?

Why was staff hired for a museum that did not and does not exist?

Why are House bills to restore the mineral museum being killed?

Why will the Governor's office not answer questions?

The link to most recent ABC 15 broadcast is: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/museum-still-closed-after-a-year-fundraising-fails-for-governor-brewers-pet-project

Erasing Arizona’s mining heritage

In 2011, the historic and once top rated Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum was eliminated. Today, the building stands empty and unused. The closure was not motivated by budget cutting. No tax dollars were saved, because the entire mineral museum budget was transferred to the Arizona Historical Society.

According to a recent story in the Town Crier (Tucson), Arizona’s unique mining history is about to be further diminished. A statue of Barry Goldwater is being prepared to replace the statue of General John Greenway in the U.S. Capitol. While Senator Goldwater was a prominent political figure, John Greenway was a key figure in Arizona’s early history and a representative of the state’s mining heritage.  As noted by the Crier:

John Greenway is a fitting representative of Arizona, because as a mining engineer he developed the copper mine at Ajo which led to the building of the town there. The existence of the copper mines in Arizona was a significant factor in the admission of our state into the union. Copper was once very important to Arizona’s, and the nation’s, economy.

Is Arizona ashamed of its early history?

Reference:

The Wrong Statue? Or the Wrong Greenway? An Arizona History

By Susan Call

The Town Crier, Tucson, AZ

May 16, 2012

On Beyond Madness

This blog began two years ago, on June 5, 2010.  At that time, Arizona’s high school dropout governor had pushed through a bill to transfer the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum to the Arizona Historical Society.  The first blog post documented the underhanded tactics used to get the bill through the legislature. The AHS subsequently destroyed the mineral museum, but failed to produce the new museum that was to occupy the building for the centennial.

In response to public protests over the loss of the mineral museums K-12 earth science education problems, the governor apparently directed the AHS to provide science education. That foolishness is causing public funds to be spent in very curious and inefficient ways.  The most recent is the goofiest yet.

The AHS is now hosting a “Science Institute” in July.  As currently described on the AHS website, the “institute” includes the following:

 FREE Materials for Each Participant

Award-winning curriculum

Boxed lunches

Certificate for 25 Continuing Education Credits

Rock and Mineral Classroom Kits

Workshop Features:

FREE curriculum resources of history, water, geology, and conservation

Guided tour of Papago Park with geological perspective

Modeled lesson plans

Local community resource

The catch is, a $150  fee must be paid to access the "free" stuff.

As further reported on the AHS website, at least one of the presentations will be provided by a guest from the Phoenix Zoo.

How very appropriate.

Arizona Experience Museum staff grows

The formerly top rated Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum never had more than one state funded employee. After the AHS gained control of the building for the Arizona Experience Museum, they eliminated the mineral museum. The building is locked and empty.

Although the AHS has raised no funds for the experience museum and has no schedule, they did hire a curator for the nonexistent museum. That curator is paid by Arizona taxpayers.

Now, the Arizona legislature is funding  (with tax dollars) 2 additional full time positions for the nonexistent Arizona Experience Museum.  The FY 2013 budget for the Arizona Experience Museum includes $441,400 plus 3 FTE (full time equivalent) positions.

As reported in the very first blog post, the mineral museum was purportedly eliminated to save money.  However, tax dollars are now being spent for an experience museum that does not exist.

Reference:

Fiscal Year 2013 Baseline Book

January, 2012

Prepared by the JLBC Staff

Page 183

Available at www.az.gov

$4,000,000 for the Arizona Historical Society

from Senate Bill 1523, Second Regular Session, 2012:

 Sec. 46. ARIZONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY  2012-13

 FTE positions 51.9

 Operating lump sum appropriation $ 2,031,100

 Arizona experience museum 441,400

Field services and grants 65,000

 Papago park museum 1,613,600

Total appropriation - Arizona historical society $ 4,151,100

Fund sources: State general fund $ 4,151,100

Who is directing the Arizona Historical Society?

On May 7^th, 2012, the guest speaker at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society was Madison Barkley, newly hired curator for the AHS 5C Arizona Centennial Museum (AKA Arizona Experience Museum). Madison told the TGMS that there is no funding for building the centennial museum and no schedule for its completion.

On April 17, 2012, the AHS board of directors met at the Marley Center Museum in Tempe. Madison Barkley was present at the board meeting, but was not asked to participate.  In fact, not one word was said by anyone about the centennial museum.

How is it possible that a major new AHS museum project is foundering and is not even on the board of directors meeting agenda?

Who is really directing the AHS?

Does the AHS board of directors serve any useful purpose?

Free rent for the Arizona Historical Society

As reported in the original June 5^th, 2010 post on this blog, the Governor’s office claimed the top rated Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum was eliminated because of rent.  Although museum operations and K-12 education programs were self-supporting, the museum did not generate enough revenue to pay the artificially inflated rent on the state owned building.

The Arizona Historical Society’s Marley Center Museum in Tempe (AKA the History Museum at Papago Park) is over four times the size of the former mineral museum building and it has fewer visitors than the mineral museum did.  Near the end of the 2012 regular session, the Arizona Senate passed Senate Bill 1525.  The fact sheet for bill 1525 includes the following provision:

Exempts the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind and the Arizona Historical Society’s Papago Park Museum from paying Capital Outlay Stabilization Fund (COSF) rent to the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA), effective January 1, 2013.