Requiem for a dream

Frustrated by a lack of funding support, five members of the Flathead County Museum Board have resigned since Jan. 1

It was the dream that kept them going.

A nice museum in a nice building … a chronological display of Flathead County's history … some place where the past would be honored and preserved.

Pretty simple, really.

But for some members of the Flathead County Museum Board, the dream is dead. So now they're leaving.

Since Jan. 1, five of the board's seven members have resigned or declined to seek reappointment. Most had volunteered for a decade or more, hoping to put the museum on a secure footing, but they finally threw in the towel, frustrated by what they see as a lack of support - or an inability to provide support - by the county commissioners.

"I am a firm believer that historical preservation is a soul mate to the growth and progress that the Flathead Valley is currently experiencing," longtime member Keith Robinson wrote in his resignation letter. "[But] I can no longer expend my time and effort towards historical preservation goals for which minimal support has been rendered."

The museum board is responsible for administering the Flathead County Museum - an increasingly worn and decrepit building on about 15 acres along U.S. 93 south of Four Corners.

The building and most of the property were donated to the county in the mid-1980s by Henry Siderius, specifically for a museum. The county also purchased some of the acreage.

The facility is reportedly in sad shape, with peeling paint, a leaky roof, substandard electrical wiring, weak flooring and other issues.

The museum board, which receives essentially no financial support from the county, has been unable or unwilling to raise private donations to take care of these problems. Its preferred solution is for the county to take care of the building, just as it does with other county facilities.

"We're at a point where you really need to bite the bullet and do something," board member Ed Gilliland said during a meeting with the commissioners last fall. "This asset is going to hell; it's getting worse and worse all the time. We're asking you to maintain it like you would any other county asset."

The problem is that bringing the building up to standards will take a substantial investment.

Cliff Collins, who was on the board for 11 years prior to resigning, estimated that it would cost about $200,000 a year for five years to fix everything.

"We have a lot of dreams, a lot of possibilities with that facility - but no money," he said during a recent interview. "I don't blame the commissioners. I hated to dump this on them, but there comes a time when you have to face facts. Some dreams can't be realized."

Collins said he was aware that some people have criticized the board, viewing it as an ineffective, "do nothing" group that's failed to secure alternative revenue sources to maintain and upgrade the museum.

However, until the commissioners scraped together $1,000 last fall, the board operated without a dime of county support. Its members had to chip in just to buy meeting supplies.

"As far as I know, no other county board had to do that," Collins said. "It's easy to say, 'Go get a grant, or do a fundraising drive,' but it's a lot harder to actually do it. I was a professional fundraiser for five years. It takes time and money just to get started. We weren't a do-nothing board. We did what we could."

Much of the museum's collection previously was loaned to the Museum at Central School. During its last meeting in December, the county board suggested that any remaining items could be transferred there as well.

The county commissioners, though, say they won't accept the demise of the county museum without a fight.

"We aren't going to abandon it," Commissioner Gary Hall said. "We still believe in this [U.S. 93] museum location, and we feel the board is important."

The commissioners are accepting letters of interest from any county residents who would like to serve on the museum board. Hall said they're hoping to hear from people who "love and care about the history of the valley and who have the ability to do some fundraising."

Commissioner Joe Brenneman said he's personally interested in the history of the Flathead and would love to see a museum dedicated to preserving that history.

However, "we're also responsible for the taxpayers' money," he said. "With the budget as tight as it is, when it's a question of hiring another sheriff's deputy or putting money towards the museum, public safety has to come first."

Rather than simply accept the resignations and let the museum board disband, Brenneman said wants the community as a whole to decide whether this dream should die.

"I'd like to see the board keep going," he said. "We have no intention of letting it go away - but if there's no community interest, if we can't find any new volunteers to serve on the board, maybe that will decide the issue for us."

Anyone who would like to serve on the board should send a letter of interest, including name, address, daytime phone number and qualifications, to the commissioners at 800 South Main, Kalispell, MT 59901. The deadline for applications is Feb. 13.

There are five board openings. Three of the terms will expire Dec. 31; two others expire Dec. 31, 2008.

Besides Collins and Robinson, the other board members who resigned were Rand Robbin and Jackie Adams. Gilliland, who has been on the board for more than a decade, did not seek reappointment after his term expired last December.

The two remaining board members are Delores Swanberg and Bruce Ruby.

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com.