Downeast Heritage Museum struggling

CALAIS – The Downeast Heritage Museum is broke and bleeding.

Museum officials discussed the facility’s financial woes at a press conference Friday.

The $6.6 million center opened with great fanfare as an interpretive center and museum in 2004. More than 400 people braved cold and rainy weather to get a peek at the exhibits that celebrate the historical significance of the Down East area.

Although there was a lot of hype and fanfare in the beginning, the museum has been sputtering and now is “operating on fumes,” officials said Friday.

In November, the board of directors realized they were unable to make payments on their $3 million loan. The money was borrowed from the USDA’s Rural Development and four Washington County banks.

That was the doom and gloom picture painted Friday by Jim Porter, president of the museum’s board of directors, and Executive Director Jim Thompson.

“The board of directors … decided to conserve cash by laying off the staff of the museum and reducing the executive director’s salary,” Thompson said.

Thompson’s $40,000 salary was cut in half and three people – including the office manager, program director, and development and marketing director – have been laid off. The total savings, including Thompson’s half salary, is $2,500 a week, effective Feb. 3. Thompson was hired in December 2004.

It was just 18 months ago that city, state and federal officials were touting the facility as a magnet for tourism. The city hired experts out of Cambridge, Mass., who predicted 90,000 people would visit annually.

Shortly after the museum opened, those figures proved to be inaccurate. Between Oct. 1, 2004, and mid-January 2005, only 450 people visited the museum.

The balance sheet had more red than black ink when a $1 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service did not materialize. The museum opened without an operating budget and that shortfall hurt.

“Consequently, the museum incurred new debt in an attempt to offer community cultural programs and to attract financial resources,” Thompson said. “The situation also prevented the museum from performing critical distant marketing and development efforts needed to create awareness of Washington County [for] larger audiences.”

Porter said he did not hold the federal agency responsible. “We felt quite sure we had a verbal commitment, but it never made the [agency’s] budget. They had cuts at the time,” he explained. “They had every intention of following through on that, but as with any federal budget these commitments don’t often materialize.”

Although the museum faces large financial problems, the city is not liable, Porter said. The museum is a nonprofit entity under the auspices of the Downeast Heritage Museum board of directors.

To help attract visitors, the directors floated the idea of moving the nearby visitor information center on site. The idea was to attract tourists looking for information who would then stay and tour the museum. Although the center moved last year, only a little ripple effect was felt. The center will remain open.

There have been other problems. Although the museum has four exhibits that celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the area, the $8 admission fee has rubbed a whole bunch of Washington County people the wrong way.

The museum president said the board planned to re-examine that fee. “It may have merit because we realize we will never fund this on admissions,” Porter said.

Museum funding problems aren’t the only bad news for the city. Porter, who is also the city’s community development director, said they learned recently that federal funding for a trail from South Street to the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge has been placed on hold. It appears that more federal dollars are now needed for the war in Iraq.

Although the museum’s future is murky, officials are not giving up the ghost.

Thompson said they have appealed to both state and federal government for help. He said the board has requested $1.5 million from the state.

“It sounds like a lot of money, but during those five years tourism will provide Maine with nearly $2 billion in tax revenues, so $1.5 million isn’t that significant, but it can make a significant impact here in Washington County,” he said.

But museum officials realize that that’s a long-term solution. Right now more immediate solutions are needed. Porter said he hoped there was a private or public benefactor out there who would help.

Porter, who has been with the project from day one, admitted he was disappointed. “I want to say we haven’t given up,” he said. “We hope these layoffs are temporary and we will be open again in the spring.”

Although disappointed, Porter said he was encouraged with a dialogue the board has had with the governor’s office. He also said that they have contacted the state’s Washington, D.C., delegation.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins was instrumental in obtaining the original $3.75 million for the heritage museum. Because of her efforts, the museum’s theater was named after her.

Although the museum will be closed to the public, it will be open to groups by appointment. And while Thompson is looking for funding sources, the exhibits are being tweaked and improved for the grand reopening in May.