October 23, 2013

Dear Editor:

Corinthian Hall is no longer the Kansas City Museum!

That is a headline that I don’t want to read in the Northeast News. It could very well happen. George Gaustello, the CEO of Union Station Kansas City, Inc., would be very happy to see that take place. There are people, like Councilman Jim Glover, who would like to see the Museum swallowed up by Union Station and Corinthian Hall turned into office spaces or something other than a museum. The annual $1.4 million tax levy is tied to the collections and not the physical address. Whoever owns the collections would control the money.

Several months ago, the Kansas City Museum Advisory Board (MAB) called for an audit of the management of the Museum. The findings of the audit have not yet been made public. During the Oct. 14, 2013, MAB meeting, Councilwoman Jan Marcason said that the audit was “pending,” and she used the terms “we” and “they” hadn’t decided on how to proceed several times when addressing questions as to the audit findings. She would not give any more details or offer a target date for making the audit results public. Jan also said that the $1.4 million should not be a focus of the audit. She did say to direct all inquiries to her.

She stated that since we (MAB) have recommended separating from Union Station, that the scope of the audit is not clearly stated. She did not make clear how the audit results and separation from Union Station are connected.

Now that the initial flurry of phone calls and emails from tax payers supporting the Museum at Corinthian Hall and opposition to the firing of Christopher Leitch have died down, it appears that Jan and Jim’s next step is to put their personal agenda to a vote in front of the City Council without significant public input.

As a resident of the Northeast I am very proud of having the Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall in our neighborhood. It would be horrendous to have it taken away from us without input from voters in Kansas City and especially in the Northeast area. Please let the City know how you feel:

Jan Marcason, Councilwoman
Jan.marcason@kcmo.org
816-513-6517

Susan Borge, Assistant
Susan.borge@kcmo.org

Troy Schulte, City Manager
manager@kcmo.org

Sincerely.

Michael G. Ohlson, Sr.

Treasurer, Northeast Kansas City Historical Society

Pendleton Heights resident

Dear Editor: Citizens must
fight for Kansas City Museum