CULTURAL AFFAIRS: Nevada museums cut hours this week - News

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Jun. 29, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CULTURAL AFFAIRS: Nevada museums cut hours this week

Cuts leave no staff for new exhibits at Springs Preserve

By ED VOGEL
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

Thomas Dyer, exhibits manager at the Nevada State Museum in Lorenzi Park, posts a sign on the door announcing reduced hours. Starting Wednesday, most state museums will be open four days a week, not the normal seven days.
Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Cyndy Toy, an administrative assistant at the Nevada State Museum in Lorenzi Park, feeds pigeons outside the facility Tuesday. Toy says the birds will have to go on a diet when she moves to a four-day work week.
Photo by K.M. Cannon.

CARSON CITY -- Faced with a one-third cut in his budget, Department of Cultural Affairs Director Michael Fischer did what any realistic business manager would do: He cut hours of museums and libraries, laid off some employees and reduced the work week of many others to 32 hours.

"I feel horrible for the people working in the museums," said Fischer, who quit a lucrative dental business to head a state agency because of his love of history. "There just wasn't enough money. If there had been $2.5 million more, we wouldn't have had to lay off anybody or reduce hours."

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The Legislature increased taxes by $1 billion during the 2009 session, but not enough to keep museums and libraries from cutting hours.

An emotional state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, even mentioned during one hearing how important libraries are to his younger constituents.

Legislators did restore some funding to the agency. Gov. Jim Gibbons had proposed a 40 percent cut in Cultural Affairs spending in his budget in January.

Horsford said Tuesday that legislators talked with the agency's administrators and determined what funding would be necessary to keep museums and libraries open at least some of the time.

"It was difficult," Horsford said. "All agencies had cuts. We tried to preserve essential services like education. We cut spending by about $1 billion. There simply was not enough to preserve all services for museums, libraries and archives."

Additional funds could be appropriated in September that might allow museums to open on additional days.

During a Thursday meeting of the Interim Finance Committee, state Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, proposed giving $1.1 million in secretary of state reserve funds to the Department of Cultural Affairs.

"This department was cut more severely than others," he said. "I think it is important we address this deficiency."

But Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, said there are other agencies that could use the money, and Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, suggested looking at whether some federal stimulus funds might be used by the department.

"We all struggled with the cuts to Cultural Affairs," she said.

The Interim Finance Committee will discuss ways to augment the department's funds in its next meeting in September.

Starting Wednesday, most state museums will be open four days a week, not the normal seven days.

The Nevada State Museum in Lorenzi Park will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, while the Lost City Museum in Overton will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

The state Railroad Museum in Boulder City won't be cutting days, since it is open only on Saturday and Sunday for 7-mile train rides.

The state Museum in Carson City will be open Wednesday through Saturday. The state Library and Archives in Carson City still will be open every weekday, but its hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Nevada Historical Society in Reno will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

When the Legislature adjourned in 2007, it set funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs at $31.7 million. When it adjourned this past June 2, funding for the agency was placed at $21.3 million.

Two years ago, the agency's staff was 187 people. Now it will be 142, with 51 of them working 32-hour weeks and earning 20 percent less. Twelve people were laid off.

Still, during a news conference on June 9, Gibbons said he did not believe anyone in state government had been laid off.

He only has to walk a few feet past his parking lot behind the state Capitol into the State Library and Archives to see the effects of budget cuts.

Shelves of books in what had been a Nevada section have been moved closer to the main bookshelves so remaining employees will have an easier time reshelving returned books.

The periodical shelves have many empty spaces for newspapers and magazines that state government cannot afford to buy.

"It's temporary," said Daniel Burns, Gibbons' communications director. "When things turn around, it will be restored."

Burns said Gibbons had very difficult decisions to make at a time when state tax revenues are declining.

Cutting the Cultural Affairs budget was one of those, Burns said.

Peter Barton, administrator of the Division of Museums and History, predicted people will be angry once they drive to a museum for a visit and find it closed.

"We are taking from the public their own asset," Barton said. "Our collections belong to Nevadans."

He expects to lose additional employees because they cannot make ends meets on pay that is 80 percent of what they previously earned. Three employees already have found jobs with the federal and local governments.

Another victim of the cuts is the just finished $47 million state museum at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.

Legislators found $5 million to complete the exhibits needed before it can open to the public, but they rejected funding the staff needed to actually open the place.

That museum could be ready to open to the public in October 2010, but will remain locked until the Legislature in 2011 funds its staff.

"This will be a wonderful community resource," said David Millman, director of the museum in Lorenzi Park. "When we open it depends on when we have staff."

Barton said by state law museum admission is free to children under age 18. Adult admission is $4 to $6, depending on the museum.

"Where else can a family of four go for an afternoon and spend less than $15 and learn something of their history? Fischer asked.

Attendance is down 15 percent so far this year, according to Barton, but June attendance is up slightly. He expects more people will choose museums since they will be looking for places close to home to visit during the recession.

"We took the resources we had and applied them in a manner so that the most people have an opportunity to visit our museums," Barton said.

"The museums are open on the peak visitation days. Almost everyone who visits a museum goes away with a positive outcome. It is a lot of fun."

Contact reporter Ed Vogel at evogel @reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. Too_much_government wrote on June 29, 2009 05:14 PM: Dept of Cultural Affairs is an unconstitutional bureaucracy. ABOLISH it. Museums should be PRIVATELY funded. Patrick wrote on June 29, 2009 04:00 PM: Culture, having government created museums or art shows doesn't mean you have more culture...it just means people who like musuems and art are more likely to commit robbery to enjoy it. Governments and their money are soon parted wrote on June 29, 2009 03:55 PM: Nobody has to stand in line to cash a government check...most are direct deposit. Look at all the RECENT (new) Nevada residents collecting welfare support checks from California. Lack Of Culture wrote on June 29, 2009 03:45 PM: I tend to blame Nevadans for their cultural apathy rather than policy makers in Carson. See blog article: http://eyeonvegas.blogspot.com/2009/06/who-are-you-people.html HELEN WEILS wrote on June 29, 2009 02:27 PM: DOES THIS MEAN I HAVE TO STAND IN LINE TO CASH MY SOCIAL SECURITY CHECK? Democrats trying to make you lose coverage so government is the only option wrote on June 29, 2009 12:05 PM: vegas dic wrote on June 29, 2009 11:44 AM: I've lived here a LONG time. I LOVE History. What Nevada has are NOT museums. They are old buildings with a collection of worthless, meaningless trash. As far as it being 'Nevada History,' it's just a collection of junk that no one ever got around to throwing out. Anyone who wants to experience a REAL musuem, go to California or Arizona NoNo wrote on June 29, 2009 11:22 AM: Libaries are great entertaiment for kids and they are anything but free. Their is very little about what I do today that has anything to do with what I earn today which is a good living.I use to tell my dad that i had to go to library to finish my report cuz I hated having to work on the farm or on his ol trucks and tractors. I started picking cotton when I was six years old for 3 cents a pound. I overhauled my daddys Farmall for pto to radiator by the time I was 16. My brother wrecked my daddies 51 chevy pick-up one night coming back from a overnight fishing trip on the river and he just ran away from home and joined the army rather than face my daddy this was 1969 and he got sent to a little place called veitnam. My brother saved up saving bonds and bought my daddy a used 1966 chevy fleet side for seventeen hundred bucks with a camper and a boat hitch. I never seen my daddy cry but he did on his 61st birthday when his oldest son bought him a truck. We had two bedroom house with one bath and we never felt poor. We never had airconditioning but a big ol swamp cooler that spit water all over everthing. My daddy never made more than ten thousand dollars in one year his whole life. When he died at the age of 69 he owened 4 homes and 5 vehicles and didnt owe one cent to anyone. And all these whining beaureacrats do is whine and moan about their worthless buildings full of useless artfacts that arnt worht hauling to the recycle yard. NoNo wrote on June 29, 2009 10:59 AM: "j" says how much damage can reid do before we vote him out. Oh lets count the ways my friend. Hell bound reid is fully intent on removing your second Amendmetn rights among others. He fully intends no establish his politcal dynasty with his goonis kid in charge muck like that looney toon in N korea. How much of a disappoint is obama reid and pelosoi so far. Only somewhat more than hundred days in office they have managed to move forward those gigantic job killing tax increase's in since billy boy and shrillary hillary foisted those monolithic tax punishment that ulitamaltey led to the United States looking to that monumetal idiot bush junior and his Dr. Strangelove like cheney. Si senor reid can do much damage to America senor. But us as voter can put speed bumps by keeping his little goon like kid out of statewide office. NoNo wrote on June 29, 2009 10:43 AM: History of Nevada? Two casino's and some brothels and you have it in the bag. He only two and half mill more? Chump for the democrats why they just take some more single moms with six kids and living under the train trestle if they have to. Oh why dont go cry to that southern drawl of congresswoman she gits all tearyeyed about goverment builidings full roach like beraucrats. I gotta it! A museuem didicated to those long lost days when hard working men women, like Ranchers,miners, construction workers who built things, or maybe brickmakers and ironworkers steelworkers, heavy equipment workers and real americans. Not casino moguls and degenerate mafioso's and their socipath lawyers shills. But tributes to real men and women not scuzbag paydoy loan lenders and their payed lackiess in local goverment. The only musuem worthwile visting is the Atomic museum because thats only one thats has the real potential for urban and politcal renewal. Have any of you really thought why liberal pols hate atomic weapons. Because that is the only real weapon that can pry thier tenalce like fingers from the throats of freedom loving people. Libreals hate the Idea of a true American Patriot using one of these devices on their soul masters home like Ho Chi Ming or Cho En Lai or one of Hillaries and Dinas favorites Moa Se Tung and to lesser extent Lenin no not John ya idiots Read All Comments