ROCKLAND, Maine — An effort by the city to save the financially-distressed Maine Lighthouse Museum is facing a time crunch as councilors were adamant Monday night they would not support a financial commitment to revive the museum.
The Coast Guard’s curator informed the city on April 24 that it wants the more than 700 exhibits at the museum returned to the Coast Guard. Representatives of the Coast Guard are scheduled to visit the city on June 9 to inspect the exhibits that are on loan to Rockland and work on the return of the collection.
“In order to properly preserve, care for, and maintain these important artifacts, we need to make arrangements to return them to the Coast Guard as soon as possible. The duration of this loan as well as the recent financial hardships have put this collection of valuable and historically significant artifacts at risk,” the curator Arlyn Danielson said in her letter.
Rockland City Manager James Chaousis floated an option a month ago of having a coalition of other nonprofit organizations and the city make an offer to Camden National Bank to pay off the mortgage owed by the lighthouse museum. On Monday night, however, the manager said none of those organizations had made a commitment.
On May 1, the manager said the city understands the museum’s debt to the bank has grown to $512,o00. Chaousis informed councilors last month that he has had brief conversations with the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce in Rockland and Camden, the American Lighthouse Foundation in Owls Head, and the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport about joining a coalition that would help keep some of the artifacts in Rockland.
The Coast Guard curator had said the Coast Guard would consider leaving a scaled-back number of exhibits — 50 to 60 items — on loan with the city.
“This is a calculated expense for the city because the cost incurred in returning the collection would be much more than investment in the debt,” Chaousis stated in the May 1 memo.
Mayor Frank Isganitis said Monday night that the cost of returning the lenses and other items back to the Coast Guard could cost $100,000.
Councilors, however, showed no interest in any financial commitment but said they would like to see the lighthouse collection remain in Rockland.
Councilor Larry Pritchett said he does not want the city to incur any costs or staff resources on working with the current lighthouse museum. Councilor Valli Geiger said she would not be willing to work with the current museum. She said she does not understand why the city is in the middle of this.
“It’s time we step out,” Geiger said.
Councilor Louise MacLellan-Ruf said she opposes throwing bad money after more bad money.
Chaousis said he wanted some direction from the council before next week’s meeting with the Coast Guard. Geiger said the city should wait to see what the Coast Guard will say next week.
The Maine Lighthouse Museum exhibits the Coast Guard collection at 1 Park Drive. The museum shares the building with the city and Maine Lobster Festival through a condominium arrangement. The city announced in early March that the condominium association is broke because the museum — which occupies 50 percent of the building — has not paid its share of expenses since 2009 and owes $148,000.
The collection of lights from lighthouses was started by former Coast Guard Cmdr. Ken Black in 1971. The collection first was kept at the Coast Guard station and then the Shore Village Museum on Limerock Street before relocating a decade ago to 1 Park Drive, where the lighthouse museum initially leased and then purchased space in the building.