DATE: Wednesday, November 26, 1997          TAG: 9711260653

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: MANTEO                            LENGTH:   73 lines

DARE DENIES REQUEST FOR NEW MUSEUM FUNDS OFFICIALS CITE LOAN REGULATIONS, VOICE CONCERN ABOUT PROJECT'S RISK

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, facing financing woes after 13 years of planning, will not get a $1 million loan from Dare County - at least for now.

County officials told museum representatives Tuesday that their hands are tied by loan and bonding regulations. And, unless the county was willing to grant the money outright, it would be complicated, if not impossible, to find a way to ensure that the county would be paid back.

``A $1 million grant right now isn't going to get through the board - that's the reality of it,'' Dare County Commissioner Cheryl Byrd said. ``If it did, our necks would all be on the chopping block.''

Byrd, along with commissioners Douglas Langford and Stan White, was appointed by board Chairman Geneva Perry to discuss the funding request, which the museum board made at the Nov. 17 commission meeting.

Both Byrd and White said that many citizens have voiced concern that the museum could become a permanent dependent, requiring constant financial assistance. White said several callers compared it to Southern Shores' Blue Sky project: well-intended, but burdensome to taxpayers. Blue Sky, a program to explore better ways to stormproof homes, needed money from the town when it ran into financial difficulty.

Museum board members said their project, to be located at the Hatteras Island ferry docks, would succeed on the strength of tourism and historic attractions on the Outer Banks, and would be an asset to Dare County.

``Does the county believe in us or not?,'' asked Belinda Pla-Willis, a museum board member. ``We've done this in a professional manner, and I don't think we can be compared to Blue Sky.''

Added museum board member Dale Burrus: ``This is a way of telling our history and using our tourism to pay for it. . . . But we're giving the tourists something in return.''

The proposed 18,768-square-foot facility will house artifacts from some of the estimated 1,000 vessels that have sunk in the treacherous waters off the Outer Banks in the past 400 years. Much of the architectural work and engineering plans have been completed, and the National Park Service has agreed to allow the museum to use 7 acres of its land for 30 years.

The park service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration entered into a memorandum of understanding in 1991 that established guidelines for construction and operation of the public, nonprofit educational institution.

Since 1990, the museum has received $50,000 from the Albemarle Commission, $100,000 from the county, $10,000 from the Dare County Tourist Bureau and $800,000 from the state. The museum board has about $400,000 in thebank, and NOAA will release $760,000 in federal funds when the board can show it has enough for construction.

Costs for the building, which was originally estimated in 1989 at $1.5 million for about 10,000 square feet, were last estimated at $2.4 million. The total cost is estimated at $4.6 million.

Museum director Joseph Schwarzer said the board needs about $3 million to build the facility and operate it for the first year. Construction bids are scheduled to be taken in early December, and an 18-month capital campaign seeking corporate and private donations will be kicked off in January.

Dare County's support is essential not only to get the building constructed, but also to encourage private contributions, museum representatives said.

``We've needed you for years,'' Burrus said. ``We want you bad now.''

After the dismal reports from the county, the museum representatives agreed with Langford's suggestion to have a ``summit'' with county, state and federal officials to try to find a way to secure the $1 million. County manager Terry Wheeler said he will work on setting up a meeting in Raleigh or Washington, D.C.

Burrus said that once the museum gets over this funding hurdle, it will be a self-supporting facility that will become an important Outer Banks tourist attraction.

``We've streamlined this thing to be mean and hungry,'' he said. ``And in my mind, when this thing is finished, it will hunt.''

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