County yanks London Town funds

A year after the county finished the new $5.1 million visitor center at Historic London Town and Gardens, the county shorted the London Town Foundation on money to keep the building open.

"It will just decimate our ability to run the park," said foundation Executive Director Donna Ware.

The visitor center, complete with a museum and an archeology laboratory, doubled the square feet for the foundation to provide programs for area children, or display exhibits on the history of its namesake riverside town, London, founded in 1683. It thrived as a tobacco port until the late 18th century.

With $3,000 a month heating bills for the building plus a stream of other increasing operating costs, the foundation's more than $330,000 annual fundraising campaign is not enough.

"We have wonderful (community) support, but it doesn't help when you get taken out at the knees," Ms. Ware said.

County Executive John R. Leopold said Tuesday night he intends to restore the money he inadvertently cut through a misunderstanding.

But in tight fiscal times when schools are clamoring for every extra available dollar, nothing is a guarantee.

Councilman Ed Reilly, whose district includes the historic 23-acre park and gardens on the banks of the South River, said the council would try to help Ms. Ware as it seeks trims in Mr. Leopold's proposed $1.22 billion spending plan.

"We're aware of her situation, and we're going to do what we can," Mr. Reilly, R-Crofton, said earlier this week. "But all of these issues are fragile because of the lack of revenue."

Since 1993, the county and nonprofit have jointly run the park through a formal written operating agreement.

The foundation provides the staff and programs, and tends to the expansive botanical gardens; the county owns the land and buildings - one of which is a registered national historic landmark - and excavates the archeological site that holds a trove of Colonial artifacts from the lost town.

The agreement defines the county's financial support as "indispensable" and states "the County understands that the Foundation's operation of London Town will not be self-sustaining financially." It goes on to spell out that the county will give a grant to the foundation in an amount agreed upon by the county and the foundation.

Mr. Leopold cut the grant in half without consulting the foundation.

The foundation's financial documents indicated to Mr. Leopold's grant committee that the nonprofit could use money donated for specific projects or endowments as funding for electricity, salaries and other operating costs. Based on that faulty information, the grant committee recommended to slice the foundation's request.

"Apparently, I thought they were sound," Mr. Leopold said.

Ms. Ware and half-dozen other London Town supporters told the council during a hearing this week that the group is not sound.

"This reduction, if it stands, will be devastating to Historic London Town and Gardens in its ability to fulfill its mission of education of our history and horticulture," said Nick Cannistraro Jr., foundation chairman. "The measures we must consider include: closing the site for several days a week, reducing our programs and staff substantially. The problem with these measures is that they will drastically reduce our ability to generate income; these reductions will put us on a downward spiral toward failure."