Peoria County paid for a survey by this company in early 2010. A summation of this survey was given to County Board members on 2/16/10, stating, "Riverfron Museum (page 31) 65% somewhat or strongly oppose a sales tax increase".
On 7/5/04, the JS reported "Kids getting own museum", and I quote from this article written by Carrie Kepple. "the first phase of work on the Peoria Zoo and Gardens is scheduled to break ground in September. The plan is to open the zoo and gardens in 2006, with the PlayHouse to open in 2007. The PlayHouse will be located in the Glen Oak Pavilion now occupied by the Peoria Park District Headquarters. Museum officials are making plans to move into the 110 year old pavilion as soon as park district officials make definite plans to move to another location. Park District President
Tim Cassidy gave the former IDOT building on Knoxville as an example of locations in consideration".(No mention made of Lakeview).
Some have stated that Lakeview Museum was always intended to be the park administration building. That is not true. The downtown museum was certainly not a "done deal" at the time this article was written in 2004. In fact, it took a $600,000 "educational advertising campaign to get the tax referendum to support a new museum, passed on April 7, 2009. The vote in favor of the tax was 15,305 with 14, 895 voting in opposition.
Until this date, April 7, 2009, there was no guarantee that a museum would be built down town (it is NOT on the riverfront. It is near the riverfront.) at mainly taxpayer expense; here again false promises were made to the public and the Peoria County Board who issued the referendum. Three major ones were the size of this museum would only cost $65 million, it was to be a Regional Museum, would for sure include an IMAX Theatre and would be funded "only with 33% taxpayer funds" now 70%+ and counting.
So, as the Peoria Illinoisan wrote me that it was ALWAYS the plan for the park district to locate in the presumed empty Lakeview Museum, is not a true statement. It was the elite including Caterpillar who assumed that funds would easily flow in from private source. $13,000,000+ did flow in and quickly out, much from Caterpillar or its Foundation, but was spent by December 31, 2010 before a shovel of dirt was turned. Unfortunately, easy money from the state, feds, and the private sector was not the case for the museum that was to open in 2009. Nor have sufficient funds flowed in for the playhouse that was to open in 2007.
As a member of the Peoria County and as an opponent to the museum I would ask at every discussion of this new museum, "show me the money".The museum backers "hemmed and hawed", failed to land an IMAX and to this date are still talking about an unnamed large screen theatre and have failed to come up with valid funding figures and the recent source of funds for an endowment, still short of funding.. I was first in favor of the museum as my blogs will testify but I changed against it when the private monied elite failed to come up with their 66% of the funds and to this date there is no indication from the PRM Committee and the PlayHouse promoters that the money has been fully raised as promised. I became more disenchanted with the whole proposition when our previous county administrator sold the board on owning the building. It is highly possible that 5-10 years down the road, there will be second major white elephant downtown, the first one still; in the making.
All appear now to be counting on the draw success of Pro Bass, the expanded Civic Center and now the taxpayer backed new Marriot Courtside. And Caterpillar.
As I have often stated in my blogs, most predictions of the past decade have been missed. Some badly. I hope this decade proves me wrong but don't count on that happening.
It is now almost the middle of 2012 amid a series of falsehoods and missed projections, with 2007 and 2009 long gone. Dreamsville, as one wag called Peoria. Big ideas confronted with tight wallets and purses from the monied set and a lot of dubious little guys.
Some will say, "well it's the economy". Myself and other gave plenty of unheeded warning about the dangers of this economy. It may get worse as there appear to be a lot of nervous spenders these days. Read my blogs, "Wake up, Peoria" easily found on my search bar.
No comments:
Post a Comment