News
July 13, 2009 - Museum putting off repairs: Won't ask for a bigger county tax levy
Despite needing $120 million in critical building repairs, the Cincinnati Museum Center will not seek a larger levy in November.
Instead, it plans to ask for the same amount that its current tax issues generate.
Because of the economy, the Museum Center will put off the bulk of the massive construction project, which is needed to repair decades of structural leak damage. It will seek a roughly $38 million, five-year levy that "will not increase the burden on taxpayers" but will still allow the "most critical" parts of the renovation of the 76-year-old building to move forward, according Museum Center documents.
The Tax Levy Review Committee, a county-appointed group that vets county tax levies, will discuss the Museum Center's plans at a 4:30 p.m. meeting today. The committee will make recommendations on the levy to the Hamilton County Commissioners by July 21. The three commissioners must approve putting the levy on the ballot.
The Museum Center had initially hoped to tackle the entire project at once to avoid construction inflation costs and further damage. That would have required a levy of $70 million to $90 million and significant private fundraising. But the recession has hurt both private donations, and the public's ability to pay more taxes. The Museum Center is among four county-wide levies that are expected to be on the November ballot.
"While it had been our sincere intent to try to address immediately the nearly $120 million in repairs and renovations identified within the Master Plan ... we agree with TLRC that the current economic environment makes our original strategy impractical at this time," the Museum Center wrote in a report to the levy review committee.
The Museum Center plans to ask for a levy that would generate $37.6 million over five years, or around $7.6 million annually. The levy would combine the current 2004 levy and a 1987 bond issue. It is unclear whether the levy would equate to exactly the same amount on property tax bills. The Hamilton County Auditor's Office has not yet made that calculation. The current levies cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $10 a year.
Of the $37.6 million, $16.3 million would go toward operating expenses and $21.3 million will go toward the restoration project. The Museum Center plans to raise another $3.7 million in private money. The money will allow the "most critical" parts of the renovation project to proceed, said Museum Center officials. Private fundraising toward the $120 million goal will continue.
Because of a flawed but common construction method used when the building was built in 1933 - masonry packed around a steel frame - rainwater seeped through the building's aging brick exterior to the steel frame. The steel rusted and expanded, causing the masonry to crack and water to leak throughout the building. Last year, center staff had to temporarily shut down areas of the Cincinnati History Museum, inside the center, after pieces of plaster fell from the ceiling above exhibits.
The levy dollars would fund repairs to the exterior of the north and south sides of the building, continuation of a 'green roof' project, installation of air handling units in the north and south towers of the building and restoration of areas such as rental dining rooms that generate revenue. Parts of the project have already begun using previous levy dollars and private donations.
The projects will account for 90 percent of the exterior and 20 percent of the interior work that is needed, according Museum Center report. Ultimately another $100 million will be needed to overhaul mechanical systems and fix the remainder of the rusted steel.