Mayor Bland: City of Meridian will keep $1M pledge to The MAX, despite this year’s hitch

Published 12:16 pm Wednesday, December 20, 2017

When the Meridian City Council on Tuesday approved a budget amendment reducing expenditures by $200,000 for fiscal year 2018, half of that reduction was applied to E911 services, and the other half to The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience.

But on Wednesday, Mayor Percy Bland said the city intends to fulfill the 10-year $1 million commitment that it made several years ago to The MAX — a sprawlingly inclusive museum slated to open downtown next spring.

“We’re still committed to what our original council order was,” Bland said.

The city began making $100,000 payments to help fund The MAX in 2015, according to Brandye Latimer, the city’s assistant director of finance and records who is acting as interim city clerk. That means three payments have already been made, she said.

“We were very grateful for that,” said Mark Tullos, president and CEO of The MAX.

Latimer said a shortfall in projected city revenue spurred the amendment to adjust the budget.

“For 2018, our revenue from the sales tax has declined from what was projected in the budget,” she said, and so “payment number four has been put on hold.”

Bland said part or all of the $100,000 installment could still be paid this coming year, depending on the state of the city’s revenue. If the payment is not made, he said, then “in subsequent years we will have to pay more than $100,000” to reach the $1 million pledge total.

Tullos placed the financial hitch in context.

“This is (approximately) a $50 million project,” he said. “$100,000 does hurt, but it’s not going to stop it.”

Tullos said the museum’s construction costs total $50.8 million, “including design, contingency, exhibits design and construction, construction management and architectural fees.”

Tullos also noted the variety of funding sources to help create is tapping to create The MAX, still scheduled to open in late April. Tullos said the deferment of funds will not affect immediate work.

Among those funding sources, according to a fact sheet from the museum, are $25 million from the state of Mississippi in “construction support” and an $18 million bond fund, established by the City of Meridian, that’s supported by a 2 percent prepared food and beverage tax. 

Lauderdale County, The Riley Foundation, The Phil Hardin Foundation “and other individuals, businesses and foundations” have provided almost $15 million “in support of the construction and operation of The MAX,” according to the fact sheet.

Tullos noted, too, the range of services The MAX will provide, enabling it to generate funds that help it to sustain itself while carving out educational and artistic attractions within the community.

“It is a business, even though it’s not for profit,” Tullos said. “Inside that business, we have other small businesses. We have a retail operation that will be sizeable, comparable to other retail operations downtown. It’s related to our mission, so it’s not competitive with the other retailers.”

Tullos said The MAX will also offer a panoply of classes for adults and children and other features that may generate revenue. He noted rental of facility space for conventions and admissions as other revenue sources.

“The heart of our mission is education,” he said. “We’re going to be networking statewide with other museums and other cultural institutions to invite them in to use this building for programming.”

He noted that someone from the Mississippi Opera recently visited, and he delivered this message: “Come to Meridian. We will give you use of the building … and host an opera in that plaza outside.”

Tullos also alluded to an extensive lineup of possibilities for children, families and educators — including artist residencies. Much of the planning, he said, has taken shape over the last several months, particularly as The MAX staff members have worked on the Any Given Child initiative. That project brings arts education to the Meridian Public School District through a collaboration among the MSU Riley Center, The MAX, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and school district educators.

Coming off of a weekend ceremony inducting its first class of hall-of-fame artists, Tullos said a goal of the museum is to spur on “the next generation of inductees.”

He also stressed its potential economic impact.

“It’s going to change the whole downtown,” he said. “It’s going to bring more revenue into the state coffers, too. We’re sending people to other places, and people are going to want to stay in Mississippi.”