Museum debate heats up in Scottsdale

A public meeting about the feasibility of putting a Western museum in downtown Scottsdale turned into a heated debate Wednesday, with gallery owners on one side and a consulting firm on the other.

A Western-themed museum might detract from the Western art shown in the area, said gallery owners who also questioned the necessity of the consulting firm.

The firm — Californiabased AMS Planning & Research Corp. — is conducting a business plan for a Western museum for $100,000. The Scottsdale Cultural Council, the nonprofit organization that oversees the city’s major arts venues — hired the firm in August.

The study is scheduled to be finished in January.

Representatives from the firm organized the Wednesday meeting to figure out what the public would like from a Western museum, but got a mouthful from gallery owners.

"The one thing I would hate to see is pushing and promoting to bring a museum here that’s going to compete against us," said Maryvonne Leshe, a managing partner of Trailside Gallery, which sells Western art.

Leshe referred to several museums in the country that sell Western art, putting a strain on galleries.

"It is a corruption of museum principles," added Abe Hays, owner of Arizona West Gallery.

At the meeting, Bob Bailey of AMS started asking the audience why a Western museum would be good for Scottsdale, but Hays didn’t let him finish.

"We want a Western museum because the city of Scottsdale said they wanted one," Hays said.

"We’re way beyond this," he added. "This seems embryonic — wasteful. If you would just read a newspaper, you’d be more informed."

Hays was referring to two previous failed attempts at starting a Western museum.

City Council members have been trying since 2002 to figure out what to do with millions of dollars they earmarked for a "cultural facility" planned as the centerpiece of the Main Street Plaza, a $200-million, 7.5-acre plaza of luxury condominiums, town homes and neighborhood shops that is still under construction.

That year, the council budgeted $3 million for a 20,000-square-foot museum, which was to house the Fleischer Collection of American Impressionist Art and a collection of the Scottsdale Western Art Association.

But $3 million wasn’t enough.

Fleischer pulled out because of the lack of adequate funds, said Councilman Bob Littlefield.

Two years later, with a budget of $7.5 million, another plan for a Western museum failed when the city could not reach an agreement with the Cody, Wyo.-based Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

The plan failed because the two parties could not come to an agreement about how the museum would be run, said Councilman Wayne Ecton.

"Both sides were not as flexible as they could have been," he said.

But Hays said at the Wednesday meeting that the two attempts at a museum failed because of city officials.

"There’s a lack of leadership, obviously," he said. "Instead of paying for some survey, you need some dynamic leaders."

Ecton said hiring the consulting firm to conduct a business plan was a step in the right direction of a Western museum, adding that the third time might be the charm for the museum.

"When they finish their job, we’ll know if this is a possibility or not," he said. "I still think it is."