So the prospect of a Surry Arts Council building just for the Andy Griffith Memorabilia Collection is back from the ashes after falling apart last year. The big difference is that the largest chunk of the funding is not from local taxes, but from the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center. The center is no doubt swamped with funding requests for its economic innovation program, and sent a person to Mount Airy recently to follow up on the mounds of paperwork filed by the arts council to evaluate the project’s economic impact. Click here for a link to the one-page summery from the rural center board in approving the request. Essentially, this is the state’s expectations for what a shrine to Andy can pull off.
Andy museum finds its financial backer
August 26, 2008 by brookcorwin
Looks like the financial backer is still the taxpayer.
The link in the article says 7 new jobs will be created. Where will the money come from to pay them?
The grant addresses only the bricks and mortar, while there’s no business plan to show how the project would generate money and pay its way. Why? Because this has never been about starting anything new. It’s been about using Andy Griffith’s name to build a building that will be run by the Surry Arts Council.
Rural Center grants almost always come with federal requirements to show evidence for auditors who don’t even work for the Rural Center and who don’t like smoke and mirrors. The building will be constructed on City of Mount Airy property. The City should be wary of accepting a grant that it has to justify in routine audits for the next three to five years. This is especially true with the retirement of some folks coming up. A mess in the making! Reruns of TAGS are one thing, but reruns of our local soap operas are getting real tedious. Grab the torches and pitchforks again!
How will they build a building larger than last year’s plan for less money?
The answer to #3’s question is that they won’t build it for less money, it’ll likely cost more. And how come the original plan a year or so ago was smaller building which would include visitor center and now the plan is for much larger building without visitor center? I thought the whole original purpose of a new building when this idea started 2-3 years ago was for visitor center. Now that the paper says the old bank building will be remodeled and visitor center will stay there long term, why is this new building even needed at all?
The entire area of Mt. Airy should be glad to have the museum in our town. Most small towns in the south are dying and a visitors is someone who got lost and only stops to ask “how do I get out of town” .
With the museum we have people from all over coming to see our treasure, BUYING FOOD, BUYING GAS, BUYING ROOMS, BUYING HOMES, BUYING CARS.
Think about Mt. Airy not your own personal agenda.
Mt. Airy needs jobs, not museums.
I think the museum is great. No problem there. I don’t think that the museum causes people to stay overnight. There needs to be more here than a museum to Mayberry. Mount Airy needs to broaden its offerings to visitors, give them more to do so that when they are here on Saturday, they will stay until Sunday. Then they will buy food, gas and rooms. Visitors do not buy houses and cars while here, but if they like the town as a whole, maybe they will consider moving here. But the best reason to draw people to move here is if there is work here. I agree with #6, our focus has got to be jobs.
Man, some people just do not get it…and apparently never will. Mount Airy is alive because of the tourism and Andy Griffith. Would you rather live in a town like Liberty, for instance, where there are even fewer jobs and NO tourism or reason for people to visit?
I would rather live in a town that has jobs. Is it really that difficult to move elsewhere? I left the area in 1999 and don’t regret it one bit. Why stay in a dead area?
#5 could very well be one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve ever read on here before. Think about Mount Airy and not your own personal agenda??? Are you kidding? That’s the problem: Mount Airy has been thinking about Mount Airy too much. Part of the job of city leaders and commissioners is to see that it’s citizens are helped out in some way. My guess is your either a newcomer to the area, somehow involved with tourism and Mayberry, or one of these business owners or perhaps a combination. Mayberry doesn’t exist. Andy and Barney don’t pay people’s bills. And to think the poor leadership of this town sits back and wonders why no younger people want to move here. There’s nothing here unless you come in rich to start off with…..
[…] 29, 2008 by brookcorwin Speaking of Mayberry, the Andy Griffith Museum had its big groundbreaking during the weekend, with or without the ground (it was moved inside […]