IMAX Bashing by the PRM Committee and Putnam Museum.

Read Sunday article by Karen McDonald on the "fading" allure of IMAX. Then check today's stock market down 177 points and you will note IMAX stock is trading at $22+ a share compared to $10+ a year ago.

Explain that, Ransburg and Beasley and you Putnam Museum folks.

Also explain why IMAX is seeking the private sector to expand rather than the incompetent public sector.

Face it, folks, the PRM is not going to have a Class I IMAX and Davenport (Putnam)evidently cannot afford to continue to bring in Class I shows.

I asked Ransburg, by the way, if you are not familiar, Ransburg inherited his business, how he was coming in raising the minimum of $10 million short on the new PRM. He said "they were working on it", same as CEO Roundtable then President Mike McCord said confidently 2+ years ago. I asked Ransburg if they were getting this money from the taxpayers. He turned and walked away without answering.

We know, don't we?

I asked our County Administrator, who, if you recall, said that NO construction of any kind would start on the County owned PRM and surroundings until ALL the money was raised, the same question. He said he didn't know because he was playing phone tag with Ransburg.

Hmmm.

I note that a plea has been sent out to the people who owe somewhere around $15 million in pledges, to pay up now. If you recall, $1.2 million in pledges were deemed noncollectable for the fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Figures on noncollectibles for fiscal year 2010 ended June 30, 2010, were not available to myself, a County Board member on the body that owns the building, etc., or the public.

My projection, as good as any body's projections, remains that once the PRM reaches "stable" attendance, it will lose close to $2 million a year.

You may ask why I make that claim. You don't need to look to far. Try almost all our governmental bodies run by the "best and the brightest". they must be> They got elected.

My projections on the African Zoo are close. I said it would lose $1 million a year. A board member said that $750,000 was put in the 2011 budget to cover losses on the expanded zoo. As with Peoria County's BelWood Nursing Home and the PPD RiverPlex, many costs such as maintenance, pensions, insurance, SS, etc are transferred to other PPD Funds, so it become difficult to determine actual losses to these expensive expansions.

Ye, I know, that public amenities do not need to show a profit but I remind you that the PPD budget is over $42 million with approximately $14 million coming from property taxes for the year 2011.

And that was before the Republicans agreed (or so they say) to stop earmarks.

Anyway, I refer you back to my blog of August 11, 2010, titled "Noooooooooo IMAX.

And they didn't even put in the promised new parking lot nor the the new entrance to the zoo, projected to cost $5,000,000+.