EVERETT — A new contract saves the Future of Flight from possible turmoil, but could leave Snohomish County with big financial risks.
The Future of Flight Foundation has glided through the past four years without a contract with the county. That meant the nonprofit foundation was running the science and technology facility at Paine Field without getting paid for it, said Barry Smith, the foundation’s executive director.
“We’ll have a predictable source of revenue paying us for the management we provided,” Smith said after the contract agreement was made. “That’s fantastic.”
The center features about $20 million in donated aircraft pieces and parts. It’s a top tourist draw for the county, and it brought about 155,000 people through the doors this year through November, Smith said. That’s about 9 percent lower than in 2007.
The county owns the building, but the nonprofit Future of Flight Foundation handles the exhibits.
That wasn’t the original plan.
Seattle’s Museum of Flight Foundation agreed in 2004 to be the operator, but backed out. The Future of Flight Foundation, originally formed for fundraising only, agreed to step in, and has been running the facility since it opened in December 2005.
It wasn’t until Wednesday that the county approved a contract by a 4-1 vote. It will last for 15 years and pay the foundation about $140,000 next year, part of that coming from a new admissions tax.
Councilman Brian Sullivan said he was worried that the Future of Flight Foundation would have gone bankrupt without an agreement.
“If we lost the Future of Flight (Foundation), we’d pay a lot more money to get a (private) management team in there,” Sullivan said.
Smith said the foundation was in no danger of going bankrupt immediately, though it was getting low on money and might have had to step away from its role managing the facility. Having a private company running the show would have eliminated an important advantage. The foundation’s nonprofit status lets the corporations get a tax break for donating equipment.
The problem with the contract, for some county leaders, is committing to up to $1.9 million in annual debt payments on the Future of Flight building. That’s why Councilman Dave Gossett voted against it. Though other councilmen agreed with Gossett, they voted to approve.
“This is difficult because I don’t have problems with the contract itself,” Gossett said. “The foundation has a legitimate case. And it’s a reasonable proposal.”
Part of the problem is that the Future of Flight is not attracting as many people, or generating as much money, as originally envisioned.
Currently, the county airport makes the building’s debt payments, but it is running low on the reserve funds it uses to cover them. By 2011 or 2012, those payments are likely to come out of the county’s general fund budget, taking away from other county services.
The payments are scheduled to last another 18 years.
“Our donors were starting to ask us, ‘Are we really subsidizing the county’s operation here?’” Smith said. “(The contract) helps our ability to raise philanthropic money with donors when we can show that you’re being paid for management services.”
The contract should help bring a human wind tunnel to the center by late next year, he said. One adult or two younger people could step inside the squarish structure and actually feel aerodynamics, rather than just learning theory. People could even bring a skateboard or a bicycle inside.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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