ROCKLAND — Rockland City councilors took time during the June 1 agenda-setting meeting to discuss the city's options regarding Maine Lighthouse Museum at One Park Drive in downtown Rockland. City Manager James Chaousis sought direction from the council in regards to how to proceed when he meets with representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, who will be touring MLM June 8 and 9. More than 700 Coast Guard artifacts are on loan to the city and displayed inside the MLM.

Chaousis wrote in a draft report started last month that allowing stewardship of more than 10 artifacts to a single organization is unusual, and based on the issues faced by the city and the museum, the Coast Guard will most likely be retracting the majority of its items.

After doing preliminary research, Chaousis recommended that the other two occupants of the building, City of Rockland and the Maine Lobster Festival Corporation, join with a coalition of businesses to buy out the debts of the MLM and help bring stability to the museum. According to the report, the MLM has 50 percent of the controlling vote on the Condo Association Board, while the City has a 30 percent vote, and the Lobster Festival has 20 percent.

Some of the potential partners sought by Chaousis included the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce, the American Lighthouse Foundation, and the Penobscot Marine Museum. PMM expressed some interest, but were concerned about the risks. The PBRCC could not commit, according to Chaousis during the council meeting.

Councilor Louise MacLellan-Ruf reflected on the potential coalition partners’ unwillingness to commit.

“They feel that the risk is too high,” she said. “So what is it that makes them smarter than us?.... I think that’s very interesting. We’re talking about groups of educated people who have come up with... that the numbers just somehow don’t fit.

“Why would we as a city, and me as a taxpayer, want to throw more money at a system that has been unsuccessful?”

According to a report written by Chaousis, MLM owes One Park Drive Business Condominium Association a significant amount of money.

"As of Feb. 27, 2015, the museum has not paid any of its Capital Expenditures Reserve and Special Assessments since 2009, totaling $88,500, or the bulk of its annual dues since 2012, leaving an outstanding annual dues balance of $59,914.47," Chaousis wrote in the May 1 memorandum. “All in all, the Museum owes the One Park Drive Business Condominium Association $148,414.47.”

MLM’s contract with the city expires July 21, 2015 and the city’s contract with the U.S. Coast Guard expired July 2014.

Councilor Valli Geiger summarized the issue so far: “We have an inactive license with the Coast Guard. The last contract between us and them said we are responsible for the collection. That agreement has expired. We have a current, but soon to end, contract with the museum that says we are loaning the collection to them.

“I believe that a couple of months ago we voted not to renew that because we didn’t have the confidence that they would protect and oversee that collection, particularly since they allowed the insurance to lapse and did not tell us. We now have a Coast Guard that has also received those lapsed insurance statements and said there have been a few of them.”

Chaousis made reassurances that if the council liked the coalition idea, other partners could be found.

The coalition of businesses, in theory, would produce $50,000 to $60,000 each, and offer the accumulated $200,000 to Camden National Bank, which is MLM's financial institution.

The newly formed coalition would offer a sublease to MLM, which has since met its latest fundraising goal and settled its insurance debts. The new lease would have strict guidelines for operation.

"The City is not interested in running a nonprofit museum, and therefore, should consider leveraging its interest in the Maine Lighthouse Museum," Chaousis wrote.

Councilor Will Clayton expressed concern over the size of the MLM property. If the city were faced with shipping costs of sending the artifacts away, and those costs were more expensive than the cost of continuing to operate the museum, Clayton suggested finding a new location. 

“If the Coast Guard comes to us and says, ‘You either have to ship it [the collection] back to us or do something different,’ my preference would be to say, ’that location doesn’t work. It’s too large,’” Clayton said.

Chaousis' report listed the following risks:

The investment in the Maine Lighthouse Museum debt may not be sufficient.

The U.S. Coast Guard may not let the city retain a meaningful amount of the collection or any at all.

The Coast Guard may make the city return the entire collection after investing in the museum debt.

The coalition may not be prepared to join forces with the city.

The public may resist any city intervention.

The Maine Lighthouse Museum may not cooperate.

There is limited time to act and convince the Coast Guard.

Mayor Frank Isganitis, who in a previous job had to foreclose on a church, told council that from a public relations perspective, “I would not want to have to be the guy that foreclosed on a nonprofit whose executive director was the widow of the founder of the organization.”

The entirety of Chaousis’ May 1 memorandum is attached.

Related stories:

Rockland tends to Lighthouse Museum space, the city’s ‘Gateway Center’

Rockland Council wrestles with finances of 1 Park Drive

Maine Lighthouse Museum tenth anniversary June 25 - 27

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com.