Planetarium backers see stars beyond the hurdles

Where Angus Vaughan is concerned, there's no such thing as bad news when it comes to the proposed Minnesota Planetarium -- even when Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he's canceling $22 million in state bonds for the project.

Pawlenty's recent announcement, said Vaughan, the planetarium society's president, "brought the planetarium to the forefront, and we're hoping it stimulates additional discussion."

Far from running up the white flag on the project, proponents of the $37 million planetarium -- planned for the roof of the new Central Library in downtown Minneapolis -- say they're confident that legislative support in the new session will continue the promise of state bonding for at least a couple more years, despite Pawlenty's wishes.

But the Minnesota Planetarium Society still has the daunting task of raising of $19 million in private donations, without which the state funding won't kick in.

The amount raised so far, according to Vaughan: a disappointing $750,000.

Pawlenty said that's why he stripped the project from his bonding bill. Vaughan said the society is redoubling its fundraising efforts, making plans to hire a capital campaign director and enlisting a lobbyist to ensure the state money is still there when it reaches its $19 million goal.

"I'd be kidding myself if I didn't say it was a difficult time to raise money, but we are still planning on going ahead," he said.

Pawlenty's decision to remove the planetarium from his bonding bill was another road bump for the proposed replacement for the planetarium that occupied the first floor of the 1960s-era Minneapolis Central Library before the library was torn down in 2002.

The distinctive stone-and-glass Central Library, which opened in 2006, was designed by architect Cesar Pelli with room on top for a new planetarium overlooking Hennepin Avenue and S. 3rd Street. The planetarium would seat about 200 and include classrooms and exhibit space.

The Legislature first granted bonding to the Planetarium Society in 2005, just before the Minneapolis library system collapsed in debt. Hennepin County rescued the city's libraries and added them to the county system, including the Central Library.

But uncertainty created by the merger -- combined with the recent economic downturn and a spate of natural disasters that diverted resources -- has made fundraising difficult at best, Vaughan said.

The planetarium still has legislative and local support. Unlike Pawlenty's bill, neither the House nor Senate bonding bills introduced last week remove planetarium bonding for the next two years.

Hausman, who chairs the House capital investment finance division committee, said she was surprised that Pawlenty wants to cancel bonding for such a unique institution.

Minneapolis and Hennepin County each have set aside funding for the planetarium's operating expenses. The city has set up a $5 million endowment to generate interest income, which the county will match up to $250,000 annually once the planetarium opens.

The planetarium would be a good family-friendly downtown attraction that could inspire future young scientists, said Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman.

"But at some point they're going to have to show us that they've been able to raise a significant amount of money," she said.