ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 13, 1997 TAG: 9701130057
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NORFOLK
SOURCE: Associated Press
The directors of Nauticus have asked City Council to place the maritime attraction under city control.
The formal request was made Friday. If approved by City Council on Tuesday, Nauticus would become a city-managed facility, much of whose expenses are paid by taxpayers.
The change comes as Norfolk is building MacArthur Center, a $300 million downtown mall it believes will not require subsidies, and is lobbying for a $143 million arena to house an National Hockey League franchise that will require taxpayer support.
Switching Nauticus to direct control by the city would not mean an increase in the debts Norfolk residents are responsible for, Nauticus and city officials said.
It will, however, end the premise under which Nauticus was originally built, that it be an independent body not relying on the city for either funding or management.
``We can't board it up, and we have to use all the resources of the city to make this thing work,'' said council member Herbert M. Collins, who led an unsuccessful referendum campaign against the facility before joining the council. ``It's too much money to trust to anyone else.''
Mayor Paul D. Fraim said it was unrealistic for the city to have ever expected the museum to pay all its costs, including the cost of construction, without city help.
Making Nauticus a city agency would mean the 40 full-time and 57 part-time employees of Nauticus would become city employees. The president of Nauticus, David Guernsey, would answer to City Manager James B. Oliver.
The National Maritime Board, which now runs the center, would become an advisory panel.
LENGTH: Short : 42 linesby CNB