Downeast Heritage Museum grapples with possible closure

For the Downeast Heritage Museum in Calais, time and money are running out, stated Executive Director James Thompson a few minutes before the February 20 meeting of the museum's board of directors. The meeting was not open to the public or the press. Thompson said he did not want board members to feel inhibited in any way in expressing their views.

The hour of decision concerning what can be done to save the museum is fast approaching. According to Thompson, there may be some "long shots" out there, but he acknowledged they are definitely long shots. The meeting was held in hopes that perhaps some board members might have some last-minute ideas.

Jim Porter, president of the board of directors, says, "We started a million dollars short when we opened in 2004. It is very hard in this area to make up a million dollars. It is a wonderful building, but its usage hasn't been what we anticipated, and how do we market it?"

Thompson says the million dollars was a line item in the federal budget and, when the federal government removed the item, the museum lost the money that was to help with operating costs over a five-year period. He says operating costs to run the museum are at about $200,000 a year, and a marketing program would run up the costs substantially. Thompson sees a marketing program as an essential item in developing the museum.

The museum opened in May 2004 to commemorate the French settlement on St. Croix Island 400 years earlier. It was anticipated that large numbers of tourists would participate in the opening of the museum and in the observance of the event. It turned out that very few tourists showed up for the event. Porter says, "We were under the gun to get the museum open. We might have done something different when we didn't have the funding."

Thompson says the museum has never been able to develop because of debt. Two years ago, a decision was made to file for bankruptcy protection to relieve the $3.2 million debt. Last year a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge signed off on a plan of reorganization, which enabled the museum to get out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Under the agreement, the federal government agreed to rewrite the museum's debt, reducing the debt from $3.2 million to $600,000. This reduced the mortgage payment from over $218,000 to $30,000 a year. The state provided a $300,000 grant two years ago to enable the museum to open last spring. That money is gone now.

A portion of the heritage museum building is being leased to Maine Indian Education, and that lease is paying the cost of heating the building this winter.

Thompson says, "A critical factor is that there isn't sufficient money for a marketing budget, which means we are not able to go after foundations to support programs."

Sue Crawford, a board member, says the "original vision of the museum was to be an educational source for the area and a celebration of that heritage." Crawford says the heritage is not only that of Calais. "It is the heritage of the region, including the tribes and Charlotte County, New Brunswick. I have tried to get people involved from both sides of the border."

At a special meeting of the stakeholders held on February 6, it was announced that the museum is seeking a partner to purchase the building. Thompson says a nonprofit corporation could purchase the museum and could assume the $600,000 mortgage. There is a million-dollar grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) that could be used as a loan over a 10-year period. If a for-profit group purchased the building, the buyer could not assume the EDA loan.

At the February 20 meeting, the board was to be told about the stakeholders’ meeting, according to Crawford. She expects that the board “will move to a decision about what’s happening shortly.”

Prior to the meeting, Thompson said, "We may just have to turn the key in."