Science Center request rejected By David Damron Staff Writer Orange County leaders rebuffed an Orlando Science Center request Tuesday for up to $12 million to expand its STEM programming, telling the nonprofit that it was asking for too much, too soon. The center’s CEO and President JoAnn Newman said the request was part of a larger campaign to raise up to $35 million to upgrade its exhibits and bolster its education efforts in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The nonprofit wants to raise a third of that larger goal from government sources, including Orlando and the state of Florida, while tapping private and philanthropic sources for the rest, she said. But Mayor Teresa Jacobs said it appeared that Orange leaders were the only ones being asked for a specific amount, and its target figure equaled roughly the entire public funding goal the center laid out. “It may have not been the best approach,” said Jacobs, who asked at one point, “How did you get at that number?” Other commissioners echoed the same concern. Commissioner Pete Clark called it a “huge ask.” Commissioners Ted Edwards and Clarke questioned whether the school system wasn’t a better source of funding, since the center’s programs are geared to school-aged children. Newman said the center came to Orange County for money first because she wanted to “start with our closest partners.” Newman thanked the county for past funding but noted that the center hasn’t launched a capital campaign in 20 years. She said this latest effort would eventually reach out to all of its close public partners, plus neighboring counties that also use the center. “We’re not going to leave any stone unturned,” Newman said. As the chilly funding exchange wrapped up, Newman momentarily became faint, and the meeting was stopped. Minutes later, Newman told commissioners she felt fine and looked forward to continued talks. Jacobs said afterward that “probably starting over with this conversation” was a good next step. Despite a 7.5 percent climb in taxable property values, county leaders shrugged off any notion that their coffers were robust enough to lightly entertain such multimillion-dollar requests. While tourist taxes have grown at a healthy clip, the growth in those revenues are currently committed to convention center upgrades and downtown sports and arts venues. Meanwhile, Orange’s general tax revenues have still not reached pre-recession levels, they said. The county’s tentative 2015 fiscal budget is expected to be set Thursday, but a final spending plan won’t be adopted until September. Asked if any possible funding could emerge for the center over that time, Jacobs struck a cautionary stance. “Is there some opportunity? Perhaps,” she said. “But this is not the way to go about it.” ddamron@tribune
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 13:11:50 +0000
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