Ladywildlifes News 24 title>  <script language="JavaScript">  </script>  </head> <body text="#000000" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" link="#808080" vlink="#8000FF" alink="#FF0000" background="lwlnewsbackground.gif"> <center>9<a href="http://ladywildlife.com/animals/NewsPages.html"><img SRC="lwlaroundtheworldnewstag.gif" BORDER=0 height=83 width=150></a> <br><b><font color="#000000"><font size=+2>News Page 24</font></font></b> <p><font size=+2>Museum expansion may be too costly</font> <br><applet CODE="Lake" WIDTH=301 HEIGHT=203><param NAME=image VALUE="dolphintank1.jpg"></applet> <br> <hr WIDTH="10%"> <br>Beach vice mayor o ask that project's funding be cut from city budget. <p>Virginia Beach, Economic reality, not dolphin welfare or secret police surveillance, likely will sink the proposed $55 million Virginia Marine Science Museum expansion, at least for now. Vice Mayor W.D. "Will" Sessoms Jr. is expected to formally request today that the projects local funding not be included in the city's upcoming budget. The move is expected to gain support from fellow council members who are considering a multimillion dollar wish list of civic projects. <p>"We acknowledge that we had a lot on the table," Sessoms said Monday. "And we had top see what we could afford. The bottom line is that we cannot afford the marine science museum expansion at this time." Sessoms is the latest councilman to remove the expansion from his top priorities list. Last week, Councilman Louis R. Jones said he could not support the "Luxury" with so many other looming municipal projects. <p>Concern about the animals and secret police work has dominated the expansion debate. Absent from the argument has been talk of the long term financial merits, and potential pitfalls of the museum's expansion, its second one in five years. Doubling the museum's size will generate debt that would not be paid off by taxpayers, or anyone who eats a meal in Virginia Beach, until 2026. City records show that the public would pay a minimum of $5.2 million to $7.4 million a year for the building itself, assuming that private donors to the Virginia Marine Science Museum Foundation remain generous and the museum breaks even on a day to day operations through ticket sales. Those costs do not include several financial risks that could force taxpayers to pay even more: <p>The original museum, opened in 1986, was projected to cost $6.7 million, but the final bill was $8.2 million. The last expansion, completed in 1996, was projected to cost $35 million buyout came in at $36.7 million. The location and price of land needed for the latest expansion has not been revealed. <p>Projections for the expanded museum's operating costs ate tied to it attendance. If yearly visitations drops below 1 million, the expensed museum would not cover its projected operating costs paid forby the city, according to a financial analysis prepared for the foundation. <p>If fund raising drops, the city could be forced to cover exhibit purchases and educational programs now paid for by the the foundation. Fund raising drops significantly in years when the museum is not raising money to expand. Foundation records show that annual private donations have ranged from a high $1.3 million in 1995, a planned expansion year, to a low of $181.9000 in 1998, a non expansion year. <p>City Councilwoman Reba S. McClanan acknowledges that she and others understand too little about the museum's finances and the project's potential long term costs. "They make the argument at the museum that they are going to pay for themselves. But they aren't paying for themselves." McClanan said recently. "The museum is wonderful, but I think there seems to be no concern about the costs in the future. "I think they feel they can always turn to the city," she said.. <p>Ten years ago, taxpayers annual contribution to pay down the debt on the museums original construction was $455,700, plus utilities and building up keep. By 2007, under the current proposal, taxpayers, annual contribution would be more than 13 times that amount. Expansion supporters argue that creating a "world- class" museum would further strengthen Hampton Roads as a tourist destination. It's a vision the museum by raising over million in private contributions over 18 years. The non profit foundation, which list $6.2 million in assets, has committed to raising $10 million by the next year to help pay for expanding ad transforming the already nationally respected museum. The foundation now has $2.25 million in pledges. <br> <hr WIDTH="10%"> <br>By Clint Riley / The Virginia Pilot <br>File photo <br> <hr WIDTH="10%"> <br><a href="http://member.linkexchange.com/cgi-bin/fc/fastcounter-login?380163" target="_top"><img SRC="fastcounter" BORDER=0 ></a> <br><font face="arial"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.fastcounter.com/fc-join" target="_top">LE Fast Counter</a></font></font> <br> <br><font color="#000000">Under Paid Copyright ©1996 - 2018 by Ladywildlife©. All Rights Reserved</font></center> </body> </html>