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Art museum may cut city ties

The museum board votes to explore breaking away, even with building plans on hold.

By JANET ZINK
Published October 20, 2005

TAMPA - The Tampa Museum of Art board members on Wednesday voted to explore the possibility of severing the museum's ties with the city.

A new operating agreement, which would allow the museum to function independently of the city, was negotiated as part of plans for construction of a new museum building.

But when plans for the new building died, the operating agreement was put on hold.

Board member Sara Richter on Wednesday said the operating agreement should be pursued even without building plans.

"We are going to be under the command of the city for everything we want to decide until that operating agreement is in place," she said. "That is very frustrating to me."

Board member Jan Platt agreed with Richter, saying the museum's relationship with the city makes fundraising difficult. Donors don't know if they are giving to a nonprofit or a governmental entity, she said.

Getting out from "under the thumb of the city" also would allow the museum to tap into other sources of financial backing, such as the county, she said.

The museum, Platt said, should be more like the Museum of Science and Industry and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, which get lump sums for operations from the city. The art museum gets about $961,000 a year from the city, which covers some employee salaries, including $97,000 for the museum director.

That makes museum employees accountable to the city, rather than the board.

Interim director Ken Rollins suggested putting off discussion of independence from the city.

"Our primary challenge right now is the financial stability of the institution," he said.

But the board voted to consider the issue in depth at a retreat in November.

Meanwhile, a museum site selection committee is considering 12 locations for a new museum. The committee expects to narrow the list to one or two by the end of November, said board member Hal Flowers.

The museum will end this fiscal year Oct. 1 with a $129,000 surplus, according to board member Ray Ifert. That contrasts with projections made midway through the year, which showed the museum ending the year with a $400,000 shortfall.

Janet Zink can be reached at 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com

[Last modified October 20, 2005, 01:19:18]