Our petition work is ongoing but on the surface it may appear a bit quieter. We are busy meeting with relevant parties and gathering resources.

We are still hard at work, but as stated in the last update, we’ve got to stop feeding PHMCThe Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the state agency that stewards the U.S. Brig Niagara and Erie Maritime Museum. The PHMC is responsible for the collect... what their job duties are and give them the space to succeed or fail on their own. Part of that includes seeing how this new cover fares in the weather. We have concerns, but the proof is in the pudding. We are saving our concerns on their work for a future update…

From the moment PHMC terminated the agreement with the nonprofit Flagship Niagara League (FNL), many volunteers have expressed concerns about how much this is going to cost tax payers. During that January 4th and 5th private volunteer meeting at the Erie Maritime MuseumThe Erie Maritime Museum (EMM) is a cultural institution located in Erie, Pennsylvania, dedicated to preserving and showcasing the region's maritime heritage. Established in 1997, ... (EMM), Site Administrator James HallJames E. Hall is the Site Administrator for the Erie Maritime Museum and a PHMC staff member. He replaced Walter Rybka in December of 2020. His background includes 13 years with th... claimed that bringing Niagara’s operations in-house would end up saving the tax payers money.

• PHMC has committed to spending the same amount of money as they have in the previous two years. There’s no savings there… 
• Public-private partnerships exist for a reason. They enable projects to be completed faster and with less red-tape. The tools and supplies required to maintain a historic ship are likely no longer available from government-approved vendors. FNL has been pushing to execute Niagara’s refit for years. PHMC made attempts to run the refit project completely on their own in 2016 – 2018 that failed, then decreed in 2020 that the work would be postponed for another three to five years.  How long will it take for them to find the qualified personnel to execute this current work, introduce them to Niagara’s particular needs, contract with a shipyard, assess and purchase the lumber with its specific grading requirements, and complete the work? Will Niagara even be in good enough condition to transit to a yard by the time they are ready?

If they are committing the same amount of money as in past years, but basic expenses will be higher, are they just planning to accomplish less? They can’t be planning to lean heavily on volunteers for the work, because they have been working very hard to alienate as many of them as they can…

So… why are they bringing this in house again?

What was the financial justification for terminating FNL’s contract and bringing all of Niagara’s care, maintenance, and operation in-house? We would LOVE to see their budget projections…

We are working on an estimate of PHMC’s expenses so far. As you can see from the photo, and from PHMC’s recent press release and news coverage, they managed to get a cover on Niagara. Will it last through a few Erie storms? Will they be able to reuse any of the materials next year? Would it have been more sensible to spend that same amount of money towards a permanent replacement cover that they were told was needed in spring 2023, instead of spending money twice on two attempts at a temporary fix, and still have the same overall expense hanging over their heads for a permanent cover later on?

This is just a brief update to let you know we are still hard at work, having meetings and pursuing information. Look for more to come. And in the meantime, keep sharing the petition, keep telling legislators and PHMC that we want a public meeting, and as always… Don’t Give Up The Ship!

Katie Zawrotniak, fellow Niagara supporter