Center, IMAX theater to
close Nov. 15 unless ‘sizable’ bailout spares them
Janet Rorholm
The Gazette
October 18, 2006
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Struggling
under a $1.3 million debt, the Science Station and its McLeod/ Busse IMAX
Dome Theatre are set to close Nov. 15 without a communitywide bailout of
the 20-year-old non-profit organization.
‘‘The bottom line
is our debt over the last five years has accumulated and we’re at a point
that if we don’t get help, sizable help, immediately, we’re going to have
to close the doors,’’ said Dan Thies, who recently took over as Science
Station board president.
Officials plan to
announce the decision at 10 a.m. today at the Science Station, 427 First
St. SE.
They also plan to
offer a final appeal to governmental entities, corporations, community
organizations and the public for money to pay off its IMAX theater mortgage,
become current on its rent payments and pay outstanding bills to vendors.
The Science Station
is a hands-on science and technology center geared toward families.
‘‘This is no bluff,’’
Thies said.
The appeal comes
months after The Carl and Mary Koehler History Center, 615 First Ave. SE,
temporarily closed after accumulating $170,000 in debt. It, too, had faced
foreclosure in 2003, but was saved through an effort by the city and county
government, local donors and banks who donated $1.4 million to retire the
museum’s mortgage.
The Science Station
has run at an operational loss the last two years. It lost $350,000 in
fiscal 2004-05 and is closing the books Sept. 30 on fiscal 2005-06 with
a $150,000 loss, said Joe Hastings, Science Station executive director.
The losses stem largely from decreased admissions and donations. Its operational
budget is about $1.1 million.
Hastings said he
and board members have been trying to garner community support for months
and raise money to retire the debt with no success. The city of Cedar Rapids,
the Linn County Board of Supervisors and about 100 community leaders, including
private individuals and corporations, have been approached, Hastings said.
‘‘So far, everyone we’ve talked to says how valuable they think the Science
Station is and how much we need the Science Station in Cedar Rapids,’’
he said.
But that verbal support
has not translated into money.
The Science Station
has asked the giving arm of Rockwell Collins for a $250,000 gift over three
years to help pay off its debt. Cindy Dietz, assistant secretary for the
Rockwell Collins Charitable Corp., said the group wanted more information
before making such a sizable contribution.
‘‘At this point the
board expresses support for the Science Station and wants to be more supportive
financially. It just wants to see more details,’’ said Dietz, who also
sits on the Science Station’s board.
Rockwell Collins
already gives annually toward the Science Station’s operational expenses.
The Science Station
asked the city earlier this year for a one-time donation of $250,000 and
an increase in the amount it receives annually from the hotel/motel tax.
The Science Station will receive $25,000 from the tax this year. Cedar
Rapids Mayor Kay Halloran said the city wasn’t in a position to come up
with ‘‘cold, hard cash.’’ She also said the Science Station wasn’t the
only non-profit or organization asking for a bigger slice of the hotel/motel
tax.
‘‘Everybody seems
to think that money can work miracles. I just don’t know how to stretch
it,’’ she said.
Frustrated by the
lack of financial support, Hastings said he is resigning effective Oct.
31. He joined the Science Station nearly a year ago.
Thies said the board
has not determined who will replace Hastings. But it doesn’t know whether
it will need one.
‘‘Right now, it doesn’t
look good at keeping the door open, and when you add to it the loss of
leadership, that’s a double blow,’’ Thies said.
The Science Station’s
$1.3 million debt began accumulating with construction of the IMAX theater,
which opened in 2001.
Officials had hoped
to raise more than $6 million to build the theater, but came up $775,000
short in fundraising and failed pledges. The Science Station took out a
bank loan to cover the costs, which it has not been able to repay. It has
been on the verge of foreclosure all year.
Adding to the debt
are late rental payments on the Science Station building. The Science Station
rents the building, owned by Paxton Properties LLC & 419 LLC in California,
for $75,000 a year. It would like to buy the building, but doesn’t have
the funds and has not been able to agree on a price with the owners.
The $1.3 million
the Science Station must raise does not include purchase of that building.
The Science Station
has been further hurt by a theft case. Former office manager Nancy Listman
is accused of stealing more than $313,000 from the non-profit between May
2002 and July 2004.
Listman’s trial has
been delayed by the courts until later this year.
‘‘That had a direct
impact and an indirect impact that has been twice as large,’’ Hastings
said. ‘‘We’ve lost the trust of the community and we have been trying to
rebuild it over the last year.’’ Hastings said new financial controls have
been put in place in hopes of preventing that from happening again.
Thies stressed that
new blood on the board of directors has shifted the Science Station’s focus
toward running it as a business. The board has been working on a strategic
plan that would create an operational reserve to tide it over during the
seasonal fluctuations it experiences. Thies said Hastings has reenergized
the Science Station by bringing in traveling exhibits and grants. He said
Hastings also has helped renew partnerships with key educational organizations.
H a s t i n g s said
he hoped his resignation doesn’t hurt the Science Station further.
‘‘I’d hate if my
leaving becomes another excuse for people not to give,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m very proud
of what I’ve accomplished, what we’ve accomplished, but in the end it’s
not getting the job done,’’ Hastings said.
‘‘Operationally,
we’re doing some fantastic things, and I think (the Science Station) can
be viable once we clean up the mess.’’
Thies said there
is nothing significant about the Nov. 15 deadline, which comes right before
the holidays, the Science Station’s most profitable time of the year.
‘‘At some point you
have to pick a date. If we don’t define a timeline, we drift aimlessly
in the bay,’’ Thies said.