The budget crisis might claim the Juneau-Douglas City Museum as a victim. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

The budget crisis might claim the Juneau-Douglas City Museum as a victim. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

City considering cutting City Museum to balance budget

With a need to find nearly $2 million to balance the budget for the 2018 Fiscal Year, the City and Borough of Juneau is considering closing facilities around town, including the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, Mount Jumbo Gym, the Eagle Valley Center and more.

Mount Jumbo Gym is a facility that formerly housed the Douglas High School, and the Eagle Valley Center is an outdoor excursion center.

City Manager Rorie Watt brought up the list of possible cuts this week, using CBJ’s Priority-Driven Budget (PDB) process as reasoning for the cuts. During the PDB process, where 90 locals ranked various services throughout town, the Juneau-Douglas City Museum ranked at the bottom.

“The reason it scored the lowest is, compared to other facilities, it serves fewer Juneau citizens and there is an available alternative in the brand-new State Museum,” Watt said Friday. “Granted, the State Museum doesn’t focus on local Juneau history and culture.”

This style of budget prioritization, which consisted of running focus groups and having CBJ residents rank the services around town, has not been used in Juneau before but is a widely used technique elsewhere, Watt said. The Jensen-Olson Arboretum is also low on that list. If the Arboretum were cut from the city’s budget, it would go up for sale. Arboretum Director Merrill Jensen said it’s unclear whether the Arboretum would be able to keep operating.

Those at the museum were notified about these proposed cuts at a Tuesday afternoon meeting, City Museum Director Jane Lindsay said. Lindsay, who has been at the museum for 15 years, said this is the first time she’s seen this kind of a proposal.

“Certainly it’s not a good feeling to hear something like that,” Lindsay said. “We work very hard to do the best job we can, to present local history.”

The museum recently has raised $72,000 from grants and the community to buy exhibit cases, and those at the museum are excited about new exhibits and the upcoming summer season. The museum’s 2016 Economic Impact Statement stated that 80 percent of the museum’s visitors come during the summer, and that about 17,000 people visit the museum every year.

Lindsay said she and her employees are aware of how difficult it is to reach the museum itself and how small it is, but they’ve made efforts in recent years to become what she calls a “museum without walls.” The museum curates more than 85,000 Juneau artifacts between the museum itself, local libraries, the Last Chance Mining Museum and elsewhere. It also has put a great deal of work into its website, which earned 24,000 web hits this year.

The Friends of the City Museum organization and others have already begun to express their support for the organization, Lindsay said.

“There’s definitely other groups that have been coming to me,” Lindsay said, “asking for more information or how they can help by sending letters of support to the Assembly or talking to the Assembly about this proposal.”

The budgeting process is far from over, however. The CBJ Assembly Finance Committee briefly discussed the list of priorities this week, and committee chair Jesse Kiehl and Finance Director Bob Bartholomew will now work together in discussing the next step.

Going into this budgetary process, the city faces a $1.9 million shortfall. Bartholomew has proposed taking $1.4 million from the city’s fund balance and reducing spending by $500,000. The Assembly Finance Committee meets every Wednesday through May 14 to figure out solutions to this issue.

Cutting the City Museum could end up netting the city $228,500 in reductions, according to a CBJ handout. Getting the Arboretum off the books could save the city nearly $75,000.

There are numerous other options in shaving costs, from cutting down on landscaping costs to having shorter hours for the Treadwell Ice Arena. Watt went through the PDB results and deemed that some services that ranked lowly on that list – such as the park ranger program, some aquatics programs and some youth programming – should be immune from budget cuts. The ranger program, for example, maintains campgrounds that are key to the community.

Basically, the PDB process is not there to make decisions for the Assembly, but it’s in place to advise the Assembly. Watt said he was merely presenting the findings of that process to the Finance Committee this week, and that no decisions have been made yet.

“I’m not saying it’s my priority to close the museum,” Watt said. “It’s my priority to do two things. It’s my priority that everything that the city does, we run well and we give adequate resources and we staff adequately and … we provide good programs.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article erroneously stated that if the Arboretum were cut from the budget, it would be returned to the family who donated it. If the Arboretum were cut from the budget, it would go up for sale. The Empire regrets the error.


 

Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com or 523-2271.

 


 

The budget crisis might claim the Juneau-Douglas City Museum as a victim. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

The budget crisis might claim the Juneau-Douglas City Museum as a victim. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Nov. 10

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

A map shows Alaska had the largest increase in drug overdose deaths among the five states reporting increases during the 12-month period ending in June. Overdoses nationally declined for a second straight year. (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention map)
Drug overdose deaths in Alaska jump 38.68% in a year as nationwide rate drops 14%

National experts see hope in second annual decline as Alaska officials worry about ongoing crisis.

Students arrive at Thunder Mountain Middle School on the first day of school Thursday, Aug. 15. The school now houses all students in grades 7-8, who were in two middle schools last year, and the students at Thunder Mountain last year when it was a high school have been consolidated into Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo)
Report: 11 high school fights during first quarter of school year, up from 3 each of past two years

Consolidation seen as possible factor; middle school incidents more typical compared to recent years

People gather outside Resurrection Lutheran Church as it hosts its weekly food pantry on Tuesday afternoon. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Resurrection Lutheran Church leadership dispute intensifies with accusations of assault, theft, sabotage

Pastor removed, lawsuit lingers as competing groups try to continue worship services, food pantry.

Nick Begich, center, the Republican candidate for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, talks with supporters during a meet-and-greet Oct. 12 at the Southeast Alaska Real Estate office near the Nugget Mall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Updated vote counts show Begich, repeal of ranked choice voting likely to prevail

Most ballots uncounted on Election Day have now been tallied, with final results due Nov. 20.

Letters of support are posted to the window of the Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, following a shooting incident on Monday, Nov. 11 at 5:45 a.m. in Homer. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Man arrested for three shooting incidents at reproductive clinic, recovery organization in Homer

Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic was targeted twice Monday, suspect cites “religious beliefs.”

A sign welcomes visitors to Hoonah on Aug. 7, 2021 just outside the Icy Strait cruise ship port. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
State commission approves new Xunaa Borough government in northern Southeast Alaska

Area would include Hoonah and much of Glacier Bay National Park, exclude three nearby small towns.

Juneau Assembly Member Ella Adkison (center) helps state Sen. Jesse Kiehl load donated groceries into a van on Saturday during a food drive at Super Bear IGA Supermarket hosted by the Juneau Central Labor Council. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Nonprofits say need is high as collections for annual Thanksgiving events approach

Food bank, other agencies say number of people seeking help is rising due to cost, other factors.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Saturday, Nov. 10, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Most Read