Callaghan on the Lemay's Threat To Leave (Again)
In last week’s City Council meeting, there was a discussion about emails sent by Lemay Museum President & CEO David Madeira to City staff that offended some by its threatening tone. The News Tribune’s Peter Callaghan explains a bit more of the story today and offers his take on the situation.
… city facilities, city staff and the city treasury have been opened to the museum. Taxpayers will give two Tacoma Dome parking lots plus other amenities for a total of $25 million. It will cap permit fees. It will continue to let the museum out of obligations to begin construction by certain dates, leading to even more unmet groundbreaking dates.
Yet each time the museum needs something more – usually following another fundraising setback – it trots out the threat. It happened in 2007 when the museum wanted to reverse construction timetables by building secondary elements first and the museum itself second.
And it happened last week when the city released e-mails from museum President and CEO David Madeira. Because the city was insisting that the donated land not be used to secure loans, at least not in a way that would risk losing the land in foreclosure, Madeira said the museum might have to go elsewhere.
One possible solution, according to Callaghan – listen to David Boe.
Any predictions? Where do we go from here?
Link to The News Tribune
Previously on Exit133: Tacoma City Council Meeting – Dec 8th, 2009
Filed under: General
33 comments
R RR Anderson December 15, 2009
Maybe it’s time to call Santa and tell him to skip David Madeira’s house this year.
C crenshaw sepulveda December 15, 2009
Maybe they should just be less ambitious and create the international sausage grinder museum instead. Seriously, let these clowns build their fancy car museum in Lakewood.
R RR Anderson December 15, 2009
the International LeMay Sausage Grinder Museum could even fit inside the old UPS store…. or maybe Pacific Plaza!
B Brent December 15, 2009
who cares, last thing we need is another museum. fix hilltop and brewery district first. $25 million spent in other places would be more beneficial to tacoma and the keep progress moving in the right direction. lets help people and the community first. i would never ever go to lemays museum.
B Brent December 15, 2009
correction: upon googling the museum it could be good for the city. haha. i can dig it.
S subterranean December 15, 2009
I agree with your first sentiment Brent, however, it isn’t like the City was contributing 25M in cash that could be transferred to projects in the Brewery District, that value is primarily tied to fixed assets… unless we want to relocate the Brewery District to the Dome parking lots? hmmm
M Mortey December 15, 2009
I agree with RR @3. Let the Auto Museum move into Pacific Plaza, the parking lines have already been painted and the ground floor only needs a little paving. No more private public partnerships; sell them the land and reinvest in the community or let them walk.
D Douglas Tooley December 15, 2009
Frustration with delay is understandable and even with the current economy one has to wonder about this ever furthering target.
Let’s hope that the design continues to improve as these discussions go on. When the time is right, it will be built.
Anyone say ‘shovel ready’?
J Jesse December 16, 2009
The board needs to have an emergency vote to fire Madeira. You don’t make threats to a $25 million dollar donor in the non-profit world. Who does this guy think he is?
R RR Anderson December 16, 2009
thoughtful perspective of my CLAW brother the JinxMedic:
“No one listens, few on this forum seems to care, and no one seems to understand that the Le May group is having a Luzon pulled on it, time after time again. The LeMay fondation is getting fed up, and can not afford any more delays. They have no more “let’s redesign it again because the city wants more changes” money. Each redesign of the basic plan costs a fortune in donation money, and there is less and less of that all the time.
The convention center is not an appropriate forum for the Le May plan. It could make a nice public display space for a few examples, but in no way could support the actual museum plan. Let’s disregard the fact that the museum complex is designed for the specific geographic location at the Dome site, and let’s ignore the restoration bays and the non-display environmentally controlled storage areas for the moment- and look at just one element of the Le May plan- the show field. The Show Field is a REALLY BIG part of what makes the museum plan attractive to the international automotive community, and that requires the kind of open acerage that the Dome lots provide – and the view of downtown and city waterway from there are part of the package. The sad thing is, few will realize what a jewel we are about to lose here.
This is why I don’t post on certain threads. It’s pointless.”
N Norma December 16, 2009
Please do not spend a nickle of public money on a private museum. Make those bozos put up the car collection as collateral for a bank loan.
C crenshaw sepulveda December 16, 2009
Surely the cars are worth at least 25 million bucks, great idea Norma. Let them get a little skin in the game and see how all this feels to the taxpayers.
I I'm for Change (for tacoma) December 16, 2009
Will this museum be so great it will interest (& bring over) the Top Gear guys? if yes, I’m in…
E Eric LeMay December 16, 2009
Two issues:
This latest is not a “LeMay Family” project at this point. It’s really hard to believe to some, but it’s true. That was the whole point of the endeavor in the first place. We followed the rules and you are witnessing the actions of an independent non-profit that owns a rather remarkable and sizeable collection of artifacts. Kudos to Peter for seeming to understand that. (Hell, it was Ray Corpuz and Brian Ebersole that approached HEL with the whole idea for Tacoma in the first place. Look it up or ask them.)
Second, no history museum should ever, EVER borrow against its artifacts. Period. I am, personally, bothered by any such notion.
I’ll even throw in a bonus third…this had a great plan nearly 10 years ago that was nearly shovel ready if Tacoma people had gotten out of the way at the time. Some of those things are still haunting the whole project.
There. My wooden nickel’s worth of opinion on it.
E Eric LeMay December 16, 2009
p.s. No relation to the Tacoma Giants pitching great Dick LeMay.
C crenshaw sepulveda December 16, 2009
I say put their artifacts where their mouth is and be done with it. Are they afraid that this venture will go belly up and they’ll lose these cars. Surely they believe this is the opportunity of a lifetime and nothing, and I mean nothing, can go wrong. The money will roll in, the visitors will storm the gates. It is one thing to tell the city of Tacoma this will be a financial boon, another to actually believe it and put your money on the table. Personally I’d rather have the city take its chances on the roulette wheel at the Emerald Queen. I think our chances of a better outcome is greater.
S Squid December 16, 2009
“No history museum should ever EVER borrow against its collection.”
Now you know how we feel about borrowing against public property.
E Eric LeMay December 17, 2009
“Now you know how we feel about borrowing against public property.”
Technically, all of their cars ARE public property. They CAN go anywhere and still be public property. It’s an interesting conundrum to watch.
p.s. I’m still not related to Dick LeMay for all of those San Francisco fans.
C crenshaw sepulveda December 17, 2009
For the record I am unrelated to Daniel Sepulveda, punter for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
J Jesse December 17, 2009
p.s. I’m unrelated to Jesse “The Traveler” Hill or stalker fame.
E Eric LeMay December 17, 2009
The coincidences make you think, don’t they?
R RR Anderson December 17, 2009
Julie Anderson is my step mom. Julie Anderson is NOT MY REAL MOM!
S Stuart December 17, 2009
<3 you guys.
E Eric LeMay December 17, 2009
Somebody did point out to me that Dick LeMay ended his career, basically, as a Tacoma Cub. We were laughing about it. The obvious “coming to Tacoma a Giant and leaving a Cub” jokes were just the start…silly good fun. He also faced one batter in 1960…he walked him.
Happy to report I am still not related to him. But if you Google his name, this is the first place that pops up.
:-)
M Mofo from the Hood December 17, 2009
Dick LeMay IS NOT the former pre-op Rosemary LeMay.
N Norma December 17, 2009
I would like to meet this Rosemary LeMay.
A Altered Chords December 17, 2009
altered chords (dominant 7#9b13) is related to the dominant 7b9#11. The dominant 7b9#11 is not as hip as the altered chord however.
Being a dominant 7 chord, one could argue that it is related to the tonic of the key. This brings up further claims of relation to the minor 7 2 chord of the key (ii) I’m not going to dispute those claims.
S Squid December 18, 2009
I AM related to all the other squids out there. Every single tentacle.
Y You're Welcome December 18, 2009
I’m not related to any welcome mats.
T Thorax O'Tool December 18, 2009
I am however, distantly related (24th cousin, 18 times removed) to the justifiably famous British Nobleman Sir Abdomen O’Tool.
J Jesse December 19, 2009
I am however, related (11 generations up) to Sir Thomas More who originally coined the word “utopia”.
L Les December 28, 2009
Harold was a personal friend, and I know he’s doing a slow roll at the moment – He gave his all to ensure (he thought) that his prize collection would be held intact, to be displayed and shared for all the world to see. This will be a GIANT draw for Tacoma, and would be a shame to lose it to another community – get it together folks!!
C crenshaw sepulveda December 29, 2009
I’m sure that Harold LeMay would be thoroughly ashamed by the behavior of David Madeira. He does this fine collection and the memory of a titan of industry, Harold LeMay, a huge disservice.