Funny how these announcements always show up in the Saturday papers, so the outrage is muted. For those of us who have been watching this little drama with, shall we call it a “jaundiced eye”, can retreat into our “I knew he’d do that” mode.
Four years ago, the Montana legislature appropriated $7.5 million to purchase property for a new History Center. All discussion centered around locating the new building at the current Capitol Hill Mall – an aging retail complex a few short blocks from the capitol campus, right on Highway 12. The mall location has practically everything going for it: size, location, lots of convenient parking, a willing seller. Everything, that is except for one key element: Governor Schweitzer’s support. For some unknowable reason, the Gov has never liked the proposal and has used his considerable political skills to insure that the project would fail, all the while making it look like he was supporting the efforts of First Lady Betty Babcock to make it happen. He even allowed his wife, Nancy to join with Mrs. Babcock in promoting the fundraising efforts over the past few months. But the conditions he placed on the project were designed to guarantee it’s failure. And lo! – today, Janet Kelly announces with a heavy heart, that the fundraising efforts fell short and – alas! – the governor will have to give the go ahead to the counter proposal to build a new building on the parking lot across from the current museum. Heavy sigh.
For those of us who live in Helena, and especially those of us who live or work in or near the capitol complex, this is a serious economic and quality of life blow. For the people of Montana this is a politically motivated, short-sighted mugging that will rob us of our heritage.
I’ll have to respectfully disagree. It’s my understanding that the mall site would be substantially more expensive. For that alone I would be opposed, but I’m also not keen on taking such a big chuck of prime real estate off the tax roles. There’s quite an opportunity there for development, for someone who knows what they’re doing.
Doug ~ The numbers released by the Governor do show the mall site being more expensive. When was the last time you believed the projections for a government project – especially when the politician giving you the numbers has a personal preference? The governor’s proposal is for a building that will be too small before it is even built to contain all the artifacts and collections the Historical Society has now – it certainly won’t hold the stuff that should reflect the twenty-first century. And then you’ll find out that we have to build more, bigger, additional buildings around the state – which is what the good gov’s had in mind all along: A group of several regional museums, none of which will be big enough or important enough to be a major tourist attraction. So in the long term, the mall wouldn’t be the more expensive option.
As for taking the mall off the tax rolls. Good point – unless, of course, the current owner goes bankrupt when Dillard’s pulls out. And then we’re left with a big empty white elephant that isn’t big enough to be a profitable retail center, isn’t good for anything else, and is a disgusting blight on the community, so the state will have to buy it and convert it to office space.
We are broke thanks to Bush/Rehberg/Baucus/Tester/National and Montana Dems and Repubs. We don’t have the money to spend a nickel on a museum so it is foolish to even debate buying a shopping mall. Any one with any common sense in Montana anymore?
That will be how Schwitzer saves the day,… auction, you too can own a piece of MT history. Then he can save a bundle not storing all that junk.
/sarc
I suspect I know what that wily twit is up to. For those of you who don’t know, the CHM is a horribly ugly monstrosity that sits on an artificially flattened and piled stretch of dirt, tackily covered with the architectural malaise of 1956. It’s not only ugly, which could be forgiven if it was useful, but it’s not, having the amazingly stupid need to have ramps throughout to allow for any traffic to get from one end to the other. I suspect that hasn’t happened since I was in high school, and that’s approaching 20 years.
However, the majority of property between the Capitol building and the CHM is now part of the Capitol Complex, with various and sundry agencies having offices there, and making for what could be a great center of politics and policy. In fact, adding the CHM to it and just converting it to offices for the next decade until money could be raised to really do something great there would relieve a huge amount of pressure on the other structures.
And parking!! Holy balls, you could PARK!! During the session, it’s nearly impossible to find parking near the Capitol, but with the CHM incorporated, just having the parking spaces and a shuttle would improve things greatly.
Yes, Montana does need a museum. Yes, it is going to cost money but dammit, all things do, and if you forget your history, you are doomed to repeat it. Having a place where all of it can be displayed means there is a greater chance that some of it will be remembered. Too many people think that history is something best slept through. These are the same people who came up with the financial instruments of the current credit crisis. They learned math and manipulation, but didn’t learn the basics of ‘reap what you sow’ that history, yes, HISTORY, teaches.
But I digress. What’s really going on isn’t anything new, it’s just how Schweitzer does business. The governor wants the property to become bankruptcy pickings as then his friends in the building industry can pluck it and make something useful. It’s simply a pay-me-back scam. Nothing shocking about it. Politics as usual.
You bet we’ve been had! This Governor of ours has NO shame, he used a lovely former First Lady and his own wife to put up a false front to make himself look like he was for the mall for the museum site. Scheister never had any intention of making it go, does he think we’re all stupid? Some months back I had an opportunity to listen to the Director of the Historical Society give a talk to a group of local business leaders and he said then point blank that the site for the museum was the parking lot location and other ‘regional’ museums around the state. This has been in the works for well over a year and the good Gov. waits until after he gets re-elected to pull this stunt. Give me a break!
What everyone has shared lets me know that I need to do my research. Montana history is important to us all, yet we need to do more analyzing of what is NOT being reported instead of what is being reported. Not exactly transparency of the government.
The easiest way to tell if schwietzer supports something or not, or how important he thinks it is is simply to check out the face time.
If he thinks somebody somewhere cares about it, you will have his mug plastered over every kind of mainstream media available.
If he thinks it is an issue that only intrests people who probably won’t vote for him anyway, you won’t see him anywhere near it.
I actually don’t have a problem with the Historical Society setting up say regional museums that can share rotating exibits.
It wouldn’t help Helena’s economy any, but perhaps it would increase the availability of Montana History to more residents at least across the state.
For a stand alone site, the mall was by far the best choice, that is one reason it would never be allowed to happen.
schwietzer’s plan to take away more parking from the peons actually strikes me as part of a larger plan he has. If enough pressure is brought to bear on the legislature to finally build a parking garage, I bet one of schwietzers contractor friends and campaign donors will be first in line for the state contract…..
Probably union……
Chicago style politics anyone??