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Here's the article today's Galveston paper:
Flight museum to fly north to Ellington
By T.J. Aulds
The Daily News
Published August 16, 2011
GALVESTON — The Lone Star Flight Museum, a fixture at the airport on the island for 23 years, appears set for takeoff for a flight north to Houston’s Ellington International Airport.
The Houston City Council is set to review and approve a lease agreement with the nonprofit museum today or Wednesday.
If approved, the museum would move its display of 30-plus vintage aircraft — many from World War II — and its Texas Aviation Hall of Fame to Ellington Field, which is being expanded and renamed.
Larry Gregory, the executive director for the museum, confirmed the agreement to lease property and build a new facility at Ellington. The move is strictly because of the threat of damage to the millions of dollars in aircraft and flight memorabilia kept at the museum, he said.
Ike Flooding Prompted New Venue
Hurricane Ike caused more than $20 million in damage to the Lone Star Flight Museum and its collection in 2008.
“Obviously the damage suffered by Ike was monumental,” Gregory said. “We know something like this will happen again. We just can’t be in that position again.”
Ike flooded the museum with 7 feet of water and destroyed many of the displays. While some planes were able to be flown to safety before the storm, most were left behind and sat in saltwater for days.
The hall of fame was destroyed. It featured many “irreplaceable” personal items from inductees, including those from former President George H.W. Bush, former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and Texans who were members of the Doolittle Raid team during World War II.
“We have no issues with the city,” Gregory said. “We have to do what’s best for the aircraft and the artifacts.”
Options To Remain Sought
Even as the museum started discussing a possible move a couple of years ago, local officials sought ways to keep the attraction that draws about 50,000 visitors a year.
“We discussed with the flight museum what it would take to make them stay,” said Hud Hopkins, manager of Galveston’s Scholes International Airport. Hopkins and Galveston Economic Development Partnership President Jeff Sjostrom met with museum officials.
“Bottom line, it was about elevation,” Hopkins said. “(The museum) could not let what happened during Ike happen again.”
Hopkins said that the Galveston Park Board of Trustees also got involved in an attempt to keep the popular tourist attraction on the island. But the answer was always the same — the museum needed to be in a more protected place.
Gregory said there are no feasible options to protect the facility from a storm surge.
“It would take elevating the building another 15 feet and then building a ramp to get down to the runway,” he said. “That just wouldn’t work.”
Ellington Expanding
With the move, the flight museum will be going to a different look Ellington International Airport, which is undergoing a major expansion.
While talks between the museum and Houston airport officials began about two years ago, the negotiations for a lease agreement didn’t start until this year, Houston Airport System spokeswoman Marlene McClinton said.
She said the airport was not offering the flight museum any incentives to make the move and the new facility would have to be funded by the Lone Star Flight Museum.
Gregory said that’s why he doesn’t anticipate any move to happen for at least three years.
No Immediate Move
“As long as we are on the island, we will keep things going as before,” Gregory said. “We hope to continue to be a valued member of the community as a top tourism attraction.”
Local tourism officials hope so, too.
“The Lone Star Flight Museum is a great complement to all of Galveston Island’s other wonderful historical attractions because it is so rare and unlike any other museum in the world,” Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau public relations manager Leah Cast said. “When (the) time comes, of course, tourism will be effected in some way, but for now, we expect the flight museum to continue to be a valuable asset to our community.”
Cast said it was difficult to measure exactly what impact the loss of the museum would have on island tourism.
“The flight museum definitely provides a wonderful, unique experience for visitors that positively contributes to the overall health of the island’s tourism industry,” she said. “But the museum also benefits greatly from being located right next door to two of Galveston’s top attractions, Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn Galveston Island.”
Airport Vital For Economy
While disappointed that such a tourist draw was planning to leave the city, Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski said he understands the reasoning behind the decision.
“We hate to lose one of our unique attractions,” Jaworski said. “We will miss the sounds of the vintage planes buzzing around the island, but (the city) understands after such a traumatic flood if their membership believes Ellington is a better location, they are simply being responsible to their membership.”
Even without the flight museum, the airport will be a major economic engine for the city in the future, the mayor said. Last week, the city council approved an agreement to bring high-end, fixed-based operator MillionAir to Scholes.
“The airport is going to be one of the busiest facilities in our portfolio,” Jaworski said. “There’s going to be a lot of money coursing through that airport in the course of the next few years.”
The museum’s lease with the Galveston airport has 20 years remaining. The museum owns the building, but leases the land it sits on for about $2,000 a month, Hopkins said.
“I’ve told (Gregory) we will work with you on getting a new tenant in there that’s mutually beneficial,” Hopkins said.
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