Measure to help rebuild museums in uphill battle. (Up Front).

With a measure to save the county's trauma care system and billions of dollars in education bonds already on the Nov. 5 ballot, backers of an initiative to give millions of dollars to local cultural institutions have got lots of convincing to do.

In what some say is a case of bad timing, Measure A will go before county voters despite the fact that part of the $250 million in bonds sought will go toward the rebuilding the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Proponents argue that the issue is a matter of public safety and point out a faltering stock market has hurt private fundraising activities. Opponents question whether such public funding is of critical importance.

The two biggest beneficiaries are LACMA and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Both plan massive overhauls exceeding $300 million each.

Measure A would give the county authority to sell up to $98 million in bonds for each museum. The bonds would allocate up to another $15 million each for a new performing arts center at California State University, Northridge and a new cultural center on county-owned land in the historic Pueblo district near Olvera Street. Also, up to $10 million would go to upgrades at the Music Center downtown and $8 million toward a new PERFORMING arts center in the San Gabriel Valley.

But the bond money would not go toward retrofitting existing LACMA structures. Rather, it would go to a new museum complex being designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaus. Preliminary designs call for the several LACMA buildings spread out over several blocks to be combined in one structure with a tent-like roof.

"It comes down to an economic decision," said LACMA spokesman Jim Rawitch. "Do you take the bond (money) and use it to retrofit a 40-year-old building or do you put it into making a new building as safe as it can be."

Convincing voters to approve the plan could be tough. A two-thirds majority is required for passage and there's virtually no campaign airing to date, despite proponents having more than $1 million in the bank.

There's been no public polling on the measure and proponents refuse to release results of their internal polls.

The bonds, which must be matched at least dollar-for-dollar by private donations, would be repaid with a property tax assessment, amounting to $6 a year for the average homeowner. But with voters already facing nearly $22 billion in bonds on the November ballot, why did county supervisors rush to get this measure on the same ballot, with virtually no public airing?

In short, supervisors say the tanking stock market and struggling economy have cut into private donations that the natural history and county art museums had planned to tap into--and could delay much--needed seismic and lire-safety renovations. Since the county owns the facilities, the supervisors feared liability claims if the museums weren't shored up.

"I didn't believe it was realistic to expect the museums would raise the money they were looking to raise on their own," said L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who led the push to get Measure A on the ballot.

"With the serious structural problems these buildings face, I didn't want another Disney Concert Hall on our hands," he said, referring to the on-and-off again fundraising that took 12 years for the downtown concert hail. "Those structures can't wait that long to get fixed, especially the Natural History Museum, which was built before World War I. If nothing is done, that museum may have to close its doors in a few years for safety reasons. There are already cracks in the rotunda."

So in July, Yaroslavsky went to the board of each museum and laid out a proposal for the bond measure to also require the use of private funds.

The result was private sector match requirements for the bonds. The Natural History Museum and the L.A. County Museum of Art must each raise $1.15 on their own for every dollar they apply for from the bond funds. And private money must be in hand before they can receive those bond funds. (The other facilities would have to raise one dollar for every dollar they would receive in bond money.)

Yaroslavsky said the match requirements would serve two purposes: convincing voters they would not be footing the entire bill and convincing museum donors that the county was prepared to jump-start the improvements.

"No question, this becomes an easier fundraising tool," said Jane Pisano, president and director of the Natural History Museum. "It's a powerful incentive for private donors who ask, logically, what is the public contribution to renovating these facilities, which are owned by the public."

While few dispute the need to renovate the Natural History Museum, which was built in 1913 and has fallen behind in meeting earthquake safety standards, there is skepticism about the need to spend $98 million on the much newer art museum.

"We think the request coming at this time is frivolous said Kris Vosberg, president of the Southern California chapter of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. "The county is already saying it doesn't have enough money so support trauma centers, and now comes this.

"One might be able to make the case for the Natural History Museum, but I must tell you as a LACMA member and frequent LACMA visitor, those buildings are very serviceable." Vosberg said.

Campaign officials are downplaying the new facilities element, choosing to focus on the dual messages of money for earthquake and fire safety improvements and the private sector match.

Yaroslavsky, meanwhile, says the measure is the best deal for voters on the ballot. "Not only is it the cheapest bond, but you also get a two-for-one deal: for every dollar the public puts in, the private sector puts in at least one dollar," he said.

But neither Yaroslavsky nor museum officials were willing to address what would happen if the bond measure fails.

"If it doesn't pass, we're going to have to find other ways to get the earthquake and fire-safety funds from public sources," Pisano said. "Since it's a public building, it has to be a public-private partnership. The entire burden can't be--and shouldn't be--on the private sector."

RELATED ARTICLE: Measure A

The Bond: "Earthquake and Fire Safety Bond" authorizing L.A. County to issue up to $250 million in general obligation bonds for earthquake and fire safety and other capital improvements at county cultural institution.

The Projects: Measure A would provide up to the following maximum amounts for each of the following cultural institutions:

* $98 million for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art;

* $98 million for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County;

* $6 million to other projects and institutions.

* $15 million for a new performing arts center at CSUN, $15 million for a new cultural arts complex near Olvera Street, $10 million for work at the Music Center of Los Angeles County and $8 million toward a new performing arts center in the San Gabriel Valley.

Source: Business Journal research