One of the most steadfast and internationally known traditions of the Hansen Planetarium will cease to exist at the end of the year, a victim of what county officials say are dwindling revenues and a changing market.
Some, however, are questioning the decision to kill the publications division, especially in light of its success and the fact that the plug was pulled so quietly.
"Taxpayers have invested years and years into this public asset and without any discussion, without any disclosure, it is just shut down," County Council member Joe Hatch said. "When you are dealing with public assets, you have to do it in public."
As of Dec. 31, the division will be shut down and its two employees will be either placed in other positions in the county or terminated.
For the next two months, the planetarium will liquidate all of its materials on a wholesale basis.
Widely known for its "Wonders of the Universe" calendar, the division produces scores of astronomical image posters that have been distributed all over the world, including Japan and Australia.
Many have been used in textbooks and dot the walls of classrooms for use as teaching aids to children.
In the 1970s, planetarium director Seth Jarvis said the planetarium was virtually the only source of astronomy-related posters. In the 1980s, the planetarium was one of the few to have a calendar.
That's changed, Jarvis said, with the advent of the Internet and the public availability of images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
"You can get these online. There are any number of people selling posters online. The bottom line is, publications was a net cost to the planetarium, and I didn't think it was a wise use of money," he said.
Numbers generated by the county's internal audit division show that the planetarium generated a five-year average of $523,000 in revenue.
Jarvis said he doubts this year's revenues will top $300,000.
"As miserable as the decision is, the numbers don't lie," Jarvis said. "It's a simple math problem."
Jarvis said he couldn't justify using the planetarium to finance a failing division and was also faced with relocation costs that could reach $100,000. He said the lease on the warehouse where materials are stored is up in December with no chance of renewal.
But part of the division's problems may be the reduction in staff. Although there were eight full-time employees in 1996, that number has been shaved to two. "You had eight employees, and it was clearly a viable organization. You have two employees, and it is not viable," Hatch said. "What happened that a valuable county asset was allowed to deteriorate?"
With fewer employees, Hatch said, it is nearly impossible to generate a new project that will attract additional revenue that can be returned to the division to make it profitable.
The past five years have also been a politically unstable time for the planetarium, with its management changing several times, questions over its relocation, and morale compromised due to all the flux.
It also burns Hatch that an aspect of the planetarium touted so heavily in the spring to get the council's support of the new Gateway location is now doomed.
"It was promoted as a positive that needs to be preserved; it was part of the whole package to move the planetarium to Gateway. After they've made the sale, in the quiet secretness of their own decision-making, without informing the County Council, they do the bait and switch."
E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com