COSI Toledo employees are hoping the third time will truly be the charm in their efforts to get Lucas County voters to approve a five-year, one-sixth of a mill operating levy that would allow the science museum to re-open the doors.

Located at Summit and Adams in downtown Toledo, COSI Toledo closed its doors Dec. 31, 2007, after county voters rejected the second of two attempts to pass a levy to help pay for operations and maintenance.

The more than 300 interactive exhibits, owned by the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission (OCFC), were nearly shipped off to other science museums until Toledo City Council approved a financial arrangement that keeps them under plastic wraps at the center -- at least until the outcome of the Nov. 4 election.

Meanwhile, the staff that once numbered about 50 full-timers plus a group of part-timers was eliminated except for five remaining contract employees who keep the science center’s name alive by providing educational outreach programs. This is done in person at area schools and at partners like the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library and online through distance learning programs.

It is this handful of COSI Toledo employees, as well as many past employees, area families with children and grandchildren, some school officials in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan and 33 leaders from the area business community who make up the board of directors who think this levy request will fulfill the promise of the old third-time-around adage.

Approval of the levy will mean the return of the science center in the fall of 2009.

Despite the two previous election losses and a recent stock market roller coaster ride that has added to an already poor economy, supporters cite several reasons why they think voters will say yes this time. Among them:
• The cost to a Lucas County property owner with a home valued at $100,000 will be $5.21 per year, or a little more than a penny a day ($.0143 to be precise).
• The previous two COSI Toledo levy attempts lost by less than 1 percent of the total votes cast. Unlike the previous elections, 2008 is a presidential general election and the COSI supporters feel the expected heavier voter turnout will mean more voters who support an educational asset like the center.
• Lucas County students need more science and technology education given statewide proficiency test results that show fifth-, eighth- and 10th-graders averaged from 6 to 22 percent below the 75 percent passing grade.
• Owens Corning, BP and First Solar, Inc. have already expressed their support and commitment toward establishing new displays dealing with alternative energy if the museum reopens.
• That support plus the nearly $1.52 million generated by the levy will help demonstrate to the OCFC that the center has regained its financial footing, making it eligible for release of nearly $1 million in state funding that has been set aside since the 2006 election.

The state funding will help COSI Toledo refurbish popular existing exhibits and to create others, which is important to COSI Toledo moving forward.

When the fledgling science center opened in the former Portside Festival Marketplace on March 1, 1997, there were supposed to be three revenue streams that would support the science center: admissions and memberships, donations and grants, and programming sources like overnight and summer day camps.

In reality, however, 70 percent of COSI Toledo’s revenue came from admission charges of $65 annually per family, $9 per adult, $6 per child under 13 and student school visit fees of $4.50 from Ohio and $5 from Michigan. Some have criticized the latter fees as perhaps being too low, especially for out-of-state students. However, that argument fails to consider that if the fees were higher they might be out of reach for schools in southeast Michigan trying to arrange affordable field trips given transportation costs and the fact that the center is competing against the Toledo Zoo and other attractions for those children.

COSI Toledo officials point out that attendance wise, under this operating structure, the center did fairly well. About 1.2 million school visits over its nearly 10 years of operation added to the 3.5 million regular visitors and 508,700 family member visits.

Two of the biggest arguments against COSI Toledo by those who have opposed the levy, however, are that the center should stand or fail on its self-generated revenue and that county voters gain no benefit by alone funding a regional attraction.

Science center supporters point out that about 90 percent of all science centers nationwide receive some sort of public funding. COSI in Columbus, the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland and the Cincinnati Museum Center all get levy funding or direct contributions from a city and a county.

While COSI Toledo does draw regionally and only Lucas County voters are being asked to help fund its operation, the center’s supporters point out that the proposed contribution from county property owners is relatively small. And the county benefits economically from Michigan visitors, for example, who typically make a day of their visit, spending money on parking, eating at area restaurants, and filling up on Ohio’s cheaper gas prices for the trip back.

That economic benefit and the educational opportunities in science and technology offered by COSI Toledo are why the center’s supporters contend the levy request is “a small cost for a large investment in the area’s future.”

First Solar, Owens Corning, and BP, recognizing that investment in science, have already indicated their commitment and support for developing new displays at COSI Toledo that will focus on alternative energy implementation and development.

Former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn also recently spoke out in support of COSI Toledo. “Why not seek out every opportunity to help give kids an interest in science and technology?” Glenn told kids and COSI supporters recently via teleconference.

Ron Unnerstall, Business Unit Leader, BP-Husky Refining, said that COSI is an important part of the fabric of the community, much like the Mud Hens, the zoo, the symphony and the art museum are. “COSI is part of that quality of life that allows us to attract the kind of talented and skilled workers that we need to run our businesses,” he said.

“A science center like this is very, very important for a community that wants to strive in the science and business community in the renewable energy business,” said Xunming Deng, CEO, Xunlight Corp.

If those reasons aren’t enough for Lucas County voters to approve the levy, COSI Toledo is offering one more: approval means free admission every Saturday for children ages 12 and under who are county residents.

It’s a difficult balancing act, giving something back to the community for its support without impacting too greatly the important revenue stream necessary to reopen the science center. Yet COSI Toledo supporters believe they can maintain such balance.

After all, more than 310,000 rides were offered aboard the high-wire cycle strung across the center of the center while it was open. That’s 5,871 successful miles, the science center’s supporters note.

So what’s one more trip, they ask, back to the polls?

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