When my husband and I got married, the venue was one important factor to us. At one point in our planning my husband said, "I want to take our children to visit the place we got married!". Union Terminal was the place. This incredible building built in 1933 now needs our attention. On the November ballot this year, there will be a levy for the Cincinnati Museum Center. Hamilton County homeowners will be asked to support the renovation of this National Historic Landmark.
So, what is the bottom line? The past levy of 2004 is expiring in 2009. Currently homeowners contribute $9.09 a year to the Cincinnati Museum Center. "The levy renewal will be a reduction of $4.65 from the $9.09 that homeowners presently contribute to Union Terminal. That means for just $4.44 a year, you can support Union Terminal and decrease your taxes."
I hope that the city of Cincinnati will support this incredible building that is full of history, memories, and information. Please vote Yes on Issue 6 this November.
Association Votes to Endorse & Oppose Ballot Initiatives
At their monthly meeting on 10/13, after presentations on each of the issues, members of the Cincinnatus Association voted overwhelmingly to take public positions on seven upcoming ballot initiatives:
Issue 3: Ohio Casino Gaming Constitutional Amendment....... ENDORSE
Issue 4: Hamilton County Health & Hospitalization Levy......... ENDORSE
Issue 5: Hamilton County MRDD Levy.................................. ENDORSE
Issue 6: Cincinnati Museum Center Levy.............................. ENDORSE
Issue 7: Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library Levy..... ENDORSE
Issue 8: Cincinnati "Water Works" Charter Amendment......... OPPOSE
Issue 52: Cincinnati Public Schools Operating Levy................ ENDORSE
To view the episode of Community Report featuring CMC's Tonya Matthews and Elizabeth Pierce, please click here.
Dr. Tonya M. Matthews is Cincinnati Museum Center's Vice President for Museums, and Elizabeth Pierce is the Vice President for Marketing and Communications.
The discussion was recorded by the Intercommunity Cable Regulatory Commission. The ICRC provides local cable programming for 27 communities in the Greater Cincinnati area. These programs that range from City Council meetings to High School Sports to Parades and Concerts can be seen on channels 4, 8, 15, 17, 18, and 24 on the Time Warner system.
The Cincinnati Museum Center said Tuesday it is one of 10 recipients of the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.
The award, presented by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, recognizes museums’ outstanding social, educational, environmental or economic contributions to their communities.
The Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal was scheduled to announce today that it is one of 10 institutions to receive the nation's highest annual honor for museums and libraries, the national medal for museum and library service.
The award, given by the Institute of Museum and Library Services since 1994, recognizes institutions for outstanding social, educational, environmental or economic contributions to their communities.
(Click here to read more)
The property tax levy that supports the Cincinnati Museum Center is already the smallest Hamilton County levy and will decrease even more in November, no matter which way voters vote.
That's because the $16.2 million levy proposed for the November ballot is smaller than the current one - if it passes, it will cost the owner of a $100,000 home less than $5 a year. Also, a separate museum tax issue will disappear completely from residents' tax bills.
That is good news for taxpayers, who will see a record four county-wide levies on the November ballot.
(Click here to read more)
Early voting starts today and is critical to the Union Terminal campaign’s success in November.
If you’ve never had the experience of skipping lines at the polls and voting at the comfort of your kitchen table, click here fill out your vote-by-mail request form and have your ballot mailed to your home.
Not registered to vote? Get registered today! Click here to access a voter registration form. The deadline is October 5 to submit your registration.
The Hamilton County Democratic Party is endorsing all four county-wide levies on the November ballot: The Cincinnati Museum Center, the Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and Family Services and Treatment (formerly the Drake levy). The party’s Executive Committee heard from the levy supporters last week.
”The Democratic Party endorsed all four issues,” said Tim Burke, Chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party. in a news release. “These issues provide critically important services to those who need it the most through Issues 4 and 5, and very valuable educational opportunities through the Museum Center, Issue 6, and the library system issue, Issue 7. Issues 4, 5 and 6 combined would actually be a reduction in taxes.”
The My Union Terminal Campaign Committee announced today that the Cincinnati NAACP has endorsed Issue 6, the Union Terminal levy renewal.
“The NAACP is honored to endorse Cincinnati Museum Center’s levy,” said Cincinnati NAACP President Christopher Smitherman. “We encourage all our members in Cincinnati to vote ‘yes.’ The Museum Center is a very important institution to citizens in Cincinnati and we want to be sure that Cincinnati Museum Center’s programming and the history of the building is protected. We urge all of our members and those who support our institution to vote ‘yes’ in favor of the renewal.”
Get your Union Terminal yard sign and show your support for the levy renewal!
You can pick your sign up at Union Terminal or you can visit http://www.myunionterminal.org/GetInvolved/YardSign.php and enter your address to have your sign delivered.
The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, the region's largest business organization, Tuesday announced its position on seven state and local ballot issues that will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The chamber endorsed these proposals:
...The Cincinnati Museum Center levy, a renewal of a tax levy to provide funding for occupancy costs and maintenance of Union Terminal in Queensgate.
(Click here to read more)
Union Terminal, Cincinnati Museum Center’s home and our National Historic Landmark, will be on the November 3, 2009 ballot. Hamilton County voters are being asked to pass Issue 6, a renewal levy with a reduction. At the reduced level, the renewal will generate approximately $16.2 million over five years for the occupancy costs and maintenance of Union Terminal, a building owned by Cincinnati and Hamilton County taxpayers.
Museum Center understands the challenges of the current economy and is confident voters will appreciate that the Union Terminal levy provides life support to this Cincinnati icon, but actually represents a tax decrease. By supporting the smallest countywide levy, voters have the opportunity to make a crucial impact on our public treasure.
(Click here to read more)
Building Cincinnati
A crowd of between 200 and 300 people showed their support for Cincinnati Union Terminal's tax levy campaign during the "Rock the Rotunda" event last Thursday.
In addition to learning about the campaign, attendees could sign up for yard signs, to man phone banks, to volunteer during parades and festivals, and to perform Election Day work.
(Click here to read more)
Hamilton County commissioners on Wednesday approved a resolution to help with Cincinnati Union Terminal’s renovation and upkeep.
(Click here to read more)
Hamilton County Commissioners today unanimously passed a resolution committing their long-term support to one of the area's most significant buildings, Cincinnati Union Terminal.
The resolution calls for the County Administrator, to work in partnership with Cincinnati Museum Center on its plan "to assure the preservation of Union Terminal and the success of the vision of Cincinnati Museum Center."
(Click here to read more)
You're invited to Be a Star for Union Terminal at Rock the Rotunda on Thursday, August 27!
Get informed and excited about the upcoming levy vote on November 3! Cincinnati Museum Center will be on the ballot, and we need you to vote yes!
(Click here to read more)
Despite needing $120 million in critical building repairs, the Cincinnati Museum Center will not seek a larger levy in November.
Instead, it plans to ask for the same amount that its current tax issues generate.
Because of the economy, the Museum Center will put off the bulk of the massive construction project, which is needed to repair decades of structural leak damage. It will seek a roughly $38 million, five-year levy that "will not increase the burden on taxpayers" but will still allow the "most critical" parts of the renovation of the 76-year-old building to move forward, according Museum Center documents.
(Click here to read more)
Soapbox Media
The Cincinnati Museum Center is taking its message to the people of Hamilton County and beyond with an innovative approach to garnering public support for its fall levy campaign to help restore its art deco details.
The Center has launched Myunionterminal.org an interactive Web site that uses the Share This widget that lets users share Web site features on MySpace, Facebook and other networking and link sharing sites.
(Click here to read more)
The Examiner
Capturing memories from the millions who have passed through Union Terminal's doors is the main feature of a newly launched Web site to support Cincinnati Museum Center's tax levy renewal campaign.
Myunionterminal.org asks visitors to "Be a Star for Union Terminal," encouraging them to post personal stories and photos, view other visitors' memories and learn more about Union Terminal and Cincinnati Museum Center.
(Click here to read more)
CINCINNATI - As one of the region's most well-known and beloved buildings, Cincinnati Union Terminal has welcomed more than 150 million visitors since its opening in 1933.
Capturing memories from the millions who have passed through Union Terminal's doors is the main feature of a new Web site to support Cincinnati Museum Center's tax levy campaign. The Web site was launched today.
(Click here to read more)
Bert Franklin Calvert was a member of the WAAC for a little more than three years, serving her country in Calcutta, India, and a handful of stateside assignments in her three-year stint.
Calvert remembers her first visit to Cincinnati as she began her service with the WAAC. The Cincinnati Union Terminal was home to the first United Service Organizations Troops in Transit Lounge in the county.
(Click here to read more)
As Memorial Day approaches, Union Terminal remembers its days as the bustling train station.
During World War II, the station received its highest passenger count in 1944 with more than 900 million men and women shipping off to war or pleasure traveling, including an additional 595 million passengers who remained on their trains as they sat steaming outside the concourse. It was a tremendous time for train travel, with millions of people rushing shoulder-to-shoulder to catch a train from Cincinnati.
(Click here to read more)
CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Museum Center this morning announced the findings of a recently commissioned study that quantifies the organization's impact on the region's economy. The study was completed by the University of Cincinnati's Economics Center for Education & Research and looked at activity from Sept. 2007 to Aug. 2008.
Highlights include:
• Museum Center had an economic impact of nearly $87 million in the region.
• Museum Center is responsible for creating and maintaining more than 1,100 jobs, which generates nearly $27 million in household earnings annually.
• For every dollar Museum Center spends on operating and capital expenses, there is a $3.58 return to the region's economy.
(Click here to read more)
CINCINNATI – On Mar. 29, 2009, Cincinnati Museum Center will seal its brand-new time capsule, to lay dormant within the walls of Museum Center for 100 years.
Following a private viewing of contents from previous capsules, items will be placed and sealed in the new time capsule. The filling of the new time capsule begins at 3 p.m. and is open to the public.
(Click here to read more)