Continued funding for Arizona Centennial Mueum

The recommended FY 2013 Arizona state budget (http://www.azgovernor.gov/documents/AZBudget/2013/FY2013_ExecBudget_BudgetBook.pdf) still includes a separate line item of $410,500 for the non-existent Arizona Centennial Museum.  Continued funding, at the same level, is even recommended for FY 2014. Taxpayers may be used to getting little in return for their tax dollars, but will they accept nothing?

The $410,500 is apparently for rent payments on the empty building at 1502 W. Washington in Phoenix. The budget recommendation also includes continuation of the Arizona Historical Societies $1.5 million taxpayer funded payroll. Therefore, it appears that the AHS plans to continue paying the staff of three Centennial Museum employees  for the empty building that was once the nationally recognized and top rated Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum.

If so, then Arizona taxpayers will be providing the AHS over a half million dollars a year for -------nothing!

Free rent for private parties?

As reported in prior posts, the Arizona Historical Society has two facilities in metropolitan Phoenix. One is the former mineral museum building at 1502 West Washington Street. It now stands empty, providing no service whatever to Arizona taxpayers.

The other is the Marley Center Museum in Tempe. The AHS prefers to call it the Papago Park Museum, even though they accepted one million dollars from Kemper Marley for naming rights. The museum displays are not maintained, and attendance is so embarrassingly low the AHS will not release the attendance numbers.  The most prominent feature is a cocktail bar, and the primary use of the property appears to be a venue for private parties.

In spite of the AHS providing little value to taxpayers in return for millions of dollars of state funding, they managed to elicit a big reward from the 2012 legislature: free rent for the huge Marley Center "Museum".  

Reference:
2012 Legislative Summary

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fiftieth Legislature, Second Regular Session, Page 7

S.B. 1525 makes statutory and session law changes relating to state budget procedures in order to reconcile the FY 2013 state budget. State Buildings/Rent – Effective January 1, 2013, the bill exempts the Arizona State Schoolsfor 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).

Photo obituary for the Arizona mineral museum

Mindat.org is the largest mineral database and mineralogy reference website on the internet. This site contains worldwide data on minerals, mineral collecting, mineral localities and other mineralogical data. (quoted from homepage)

A  recent (November 18, 2012) post provides a partial photo documentary of the once top rated Arizona mineral museum:  http://www.mindat.org/article.php/1599/Arizona+Mineral+Museum%2C+Phoenix%2C+Arizona

Where are these beautiful mineral specimens now?

Mesa Mineral Show

The annual Flagg Mineral Foundation show and sale is being held Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Mesa Community College (January 4th through 6th).

Proceeds from the show were used to support the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum prior to the hostile takeover by the Arizona Historical Society. They are now being used to support alternate  earth science education projects.

Can Arizona’s mining heritage be saved?

Prior posts on this blog have detailed how significant pieces of Arizona’s unique mining heritage are being erased. The historic statue of an early Arizona mining engineer is being removed from the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington DC, and the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum has been eliminated.

Perhaps these actions are driven by a currently popular bias against mining. Public opposition is currently blocking a number of major mining projects in Arizona. This is a self-inflicted wound damaging to the economy, but the foolishness will probably persist until a future generation finally recognizes the essential role of minerals in a successful modern economy.

In the meantime, a small group of dedicated volunteers has been and is tirelessly working to preserve some fragment of Arizona’s mining heritage for future generations. Over a period of 20 years, with tens of thousands of volunteer hours, they relocated, preserved, and restored significant mining artifacts. Those included the head frame and stamp mill at the former mineral museum at 1502 W. Washington St. in Phoenix.  Arizona thanked them by having the capitol police lock them out of the building in 2011.

Unbelievably, this small group of volunteers is continuing to preserve something of Arizona’s mining heritage for future generations. They are currently restoring another stamp mill in Cave Creek, AZ. Examples of this groups incredible historical preservation efforts can be seen at: www.stampmillman.blogspot.com

Will any of their work survive the destructive forces of those trying to rewrite Arizona history?

Museum economics and the Arizona Historical Society

The Phoenix newspaper recently had some articles and letters lamenting the loss of the $30 million Barry Goldwater Museum to Mesa.. The referenced article states that every dollar spent on a museum brings another seven dollars into the community.

Unless perhaps the museum is operated by the Arizona Historical Society. Does the huge and costly Marley Center Museum in Tempe draw any visitors?  The AHS is unwilling to release any attendance figures. The parking lot seems to always be empty, except for the dozen or so cars driven by staff members.

The 5C Arizona Centennial Museum (AKA Arizona Experience Museum) is even worse.  Separate line items in the AHS budget show the taxpayers are forking over nearly a half million dollars a year for this museum, but the building continues to stand locked and empty.

If museums can benefit a local economy, why are Arizona taxpayers supporting ones that do not?

Reference:

Did city blow its shot at museum?
Eugen Scott
The Arizona Republic, Oct 29, 2012, page B1

Arizona Historical Society living large in public trough?

On November 3, 2012, the AHS held their annual meeting at their extravagant Marley Center building (taxpayer supported) in Tempe.  There were approximately 50 cars in the lot.  There are usually about a dozen cars in the lot (staff), and the AHS has 32 board members.

 

A few students and parents attended the meeting to ask for the return of the mineral museum. An AHS staff member told them the mineral museum would be "restored next year."

As revealed in prior AHS board meeting minutes, the board votes themselves free lunches.  During the annual meeting, there was a catering truck in the Marley parking lot. Did the AHS feed themselves with public funds?

 

Some cars bore AHS specialty license plates.  The numbers do not seem to go much over 100.  Did the AHS ever sell enough plates to allow taxpayers to recover the cost of designing and producing the special plates?