In December, a lame duck Northampton County Council voted 5-4 to support a $10 million grant for the $130 million DaVinci Science Center in Easton. At the time of this vote, DaVinci's main attraction was a 500,000 gallon salt-water aquarium with sharks. But that's been scrapped because it might compete with a private aquarium being considered in Monroe County. So instead of sharks with laser beams attached to their heads, DaVinci Exec Director Lin Erickson has proposed something that she thinks is way more cool - a "Nature Dome" that permits you to see the exact same things you'd see if you walked along the river. And a bug garden. And a 100' tall and XXL Vitruvian Man that looks just like Easton Mayor Sal Panto. There's even a little restaurant inside his head. Panto, who once promoted a High School Hall of Fame, is convinced this is way cooler than the fish tank. But Northampton County Council is having second thoughts about the wisdom of this $10 million grant.
"This is insane," is how Ken Kraft summed up the DaVinci Center when it was a mere aquarium. Imagine how he feels now that it's a bug garden.
At last night's Finance Committee, Council member John Cusick said he wants to revisit this grant. "What we voted for is not what's currently before us," he reasoned.
This $10 million grant comes from hotel taxes. It will take Northampton County several years to pay this sum, and other worthy projects will go unfunded. Erickson said she wants even more money from the county for this disaster. She's already attempted a private meeting with newly elected Council members, and wanted them to attend Tuesday's dog-and-pony show about this new design.
Cusick and Matt Dietz will be sponsoring legislation that reduces or eliminates the grant for this pipe dream. Cusick, Dietz and Kraft voted against this grant. Peg Ferraro and Bob Werner supported it. During the County Council debate, only Bill McGee supported the aquarium.
How in the world can a proposed aquarium that would involve major labor and material costs, come in at $130 million. Yet now this nature dome with some local critters is still pitched at the same $130 million price tag? Sounds like they have a number in their head regardless of what they do.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the new county council will be more skeptical than the last group. The last group were tea party conservatives and they supported this?
Wonder if council will support Dietz.
"How in the world can a proposed aquarium that would involve major labor and material costs, come in at $130 million. Yet now this nature dome with some local critters is still pitched at the same $130 million price tag"
ReplyDeleteright? exactly what i was thinking.
this thing is the damn monorail
Bernie,
ReplyDeleteYou forgot one tiny detail about this story. The sharks were on the outside of the tank.
"this thing is the damn monorail"
ReplyDeleteJanuary 18, 2018 at 6:39 AM
Or the Boston tunnel.
Ludicrous.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Nature Dome! To increase entertainment value, they should display real nature by having free reign by predators and prey. Throw some wolves in with the otters. Hawks soaring around and pouncing on squirrels. Local parking lot gulls fighting over a bag of french fries. Just makin' it REAL!
ReplyDeleteWhether an Aquarium or a Biodome, the objective is the same, I think. This is a way to make family visitors coming for Crayola stay in town longer. Still makes good sense to build something consistent with that same audience.
ReplyDeleteShould cost LESS to construct and maintain, however.
The whole idea bugs me. They otter reconsider the funding.
ReplyDeleteCrayola visions are day trippers. Remember, Weller Center built a science center with the idea that they would draw from Crayola. Never happened. People visited Crayola and left town. Weller closed. Whatever is built has to stand alone and attract its own visitor. That is why other projects like high school hall of fame never came to fruition.
ReplyDeleteEvery major financial undertaking has a fail safe. If it does not work, how is an investor made whole. Many times an investor may get title to real estate or have guarantees from third parties. Easton is investing thirty million into this project. What is the fail safe for Easton taxpayers. The project may be successful for five years, then close. Who pays the bill for the remaining twenty five years on the bonds? Easton taxpayers who are already overtaxed. I smell a bankruptcy coming. Our mayor is very experienced in these matters.
ReplyDeleteGreat graphic! How do you find such cool images so often, Bernie?
ReplyDeleteI am not opposed to the project. I am not a naysayer. I agree with the emotional sentiment, forward thinking, as well as the potential benefits of the proposed project, to the future of Northampton County. However, currently, this project is simply just a proposal. It is not fiscally responsible to commit monies, over 40 years, to a proposed project which is not even definitively coming to the county, nor knows what it wants to be. That's a hell of a lot of money and time to invest into a project such as this, which, at this time, is solely based on the, as of yet unproven, supposition that it will increase hotel tax revenue. $10 million over 40 years?! We should be about promoting the great outdoors, the "nature dome", we already have available in Northampton County. I think council and Northampton County can give the DaVinci proposed project the cache it is looking for within a more responsible and reasonable framework.
ReplyDeleteSal has come a long way since his days of slicing capicola on Cattell, he is a shot caller and king maker on the level of La Cosa Nostra. Bernie is still mad about Sal's clever use of pseudonyms on the ET website although we all know Clinton Oxford and a myriad of other posters were sock puppets.
ReplyDeleteI was falsely accused of posting under that name and in fact this was part of two libel suits. Clinton Oxford was a real person who is now in state prison. I post only as me and never anonymously. People like to accuse me of what they do. It makes them feel better about their own dishonesty.
ReplyDeleteCounty Council already approved this. It doesn't seem right to pull their support. Is that even legal? Easton has still committed thirty million to the project.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I doth protest too much. However, I'd no sooner praise the naked emperor Panto than vote for Lamont McClure. The nuns who tortured me could readily identify a phony Doh Biden by the impostor's run-on first sentence, improper comma placement, and incorrect usage of "mad" in lieu of the correct, "angry." I disagree with Bernie on most things, but would never question his forthrightness, or love of local hoops.
ReplyDelete@4:33
ReplyDeleteSure it is. Just ask Trump who pulled out of many prior commitments made by the previous administration.
Of course it is completely legal to pull out. What’s going to happen now is that the urban growth regime is going to exert incredible pressure on the new council. Panto, Boscola and people who see dollar signs will flatter and threaten the new Council. This will be a real test for them.
ReplyDeleteBernie, the picture heading is suitable for those takers supervised issues this importing of the bug factory for there slumlordian counterparts to imbibe in the purchasing venue.
ReplyDeleteI know Clinton and he is no sock puppet! You can label him as many other things but he exists and his warped missives live on.
ReplyDeleteEven the highly successful SteelStacks Campus of ArtsQuest and PBS only received $1M each...
ReplyDelete