Patriots Point needs $64.4M to help keep vessels, museum afloat

MOUNT PLEASANT — The four warships forming the heart of the Patriot's Point Naval & Maritime Museum were designed to last about 30 years — if they weren't sunk in combat first.

They not only survived their wars but have lived twice as long as ever envisioned.

But today, the lap of Lowcountry tides and its salty air pose as significant a threat as the enemy once did, and museum officials are seeking about $64.4 million for overdue repairs and other improvements that would ensure the ships survive and the attraction thrives. Some of the money would clear the way for a new hotel and convention complex on the water, near where the gift shop now stands.

The biggest draw, the aircraft carrier Yorktown, sits in 26 feet of mud and has as much as 18 feet of water in some of its lower decks, and it's in good shape compared to the destroyer Laffey.

The destroyer's hull is rotting away, having sprung leaks at least five times in recent months. The submarine Clamagore and cutter Ingham also need millions of dollars of work. Even the concrete pier leading to the ships, built when the Yorktown arrived here in 1975, needs replacing.

John Hagerty, chairman of Patriot Point Development Authority, said the board feels a duty to get the word out about the long-range problems and opportunities.

"These numbers are large. We need to get help to decide how exactly to go about accomplishing our mission," he said Friday. "To be quite frank, there may be some very hard decisions ahead as far as what can be done and what can't be done."

Patriots Point officials face a key hurdle Tuesday, as they seek permission from the S.C. Budget and Control Board to spend $456,000 on repair surveys and design work and $482,000 more to replace the concrete pier.

The authority wants to begin those studies now even though it's unsure exactly where it will find the $64 million to complete the work.

Retired Brig. Gen. Hugh Tant, Patriot Point's executive director, said the authority has an $8 million budget with no power to borrow and little other financial wiggle room. It plans to seek donations from the private sector, including the defense companies that built the ships, as well as from veteran's groups.

And it will turn its eye to the federal government in hopes of getting some grants or other help, such as a slice of the new $787 billion stimulus bill.

"We do have shovel-ready projects. We can stop the bleeding. We can put people back to work. We can save these ships," Tant said.

The Intrepid, a retired aircraft carrier that has been made into a museum in New York Harbor, recently underwent a $110 million repair job, $40 million of which came from the federal government.

While most of the $64 million will go to maintain the ships, the request also includes about $10 million for a new 20,000 square foot building that would include museum space, an eating area and an expanded gift shop.

The existing gift shop and ticket office would be razed, and its land — plus the land of the nearby parking lot — could be marketed for redevelopment as a 400-room hotel and conference center, Tant said. A new parking area would be built further inland for $3 million.

Patriots Point is interested in pursuing that redevelopment —and new development on several smaller waterfront parcels nearby — but the ship maintenance won't be paid for with proceeds from those deals, Hagerty said.

He said Patriots Point officials already have met with several state lawmakers, U.S. Reps. Henry Brown and Jim Clyburn and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and have received some encouraging words.

Brown's office said Friday he is encouraged that the leadership is coming up with an action plan to address the ships' maintenance and to improve the attraction's appeal.

"As Patriots Point is greatly in need of these funds, local, state and federal partners must come together with private-sector supporters and South Carolina citizens to ensure that the museum continues to play its important role of educating visitors about the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform for years to come," his press secretary Katie McKinney said in a statement.

Clyburn said Friday he supports the project and is pleased to work with Brown to seek funding, which could come as an earmark.

State Rep. James Smith, D-Columbia, said he also has introduced a bill that would give Patriots Point the authority to issue bonds, saying it "is the only enterprise agency of state government that does not have bonding authority. This is correcting an oversight."

The board was reorganized in the early 1990s, following a failed $21 million hotel and marina development that left the state with a $5 million debt.

Its meetings are less turbulent these days, but it's still unclear how the S.C. Budget and Control Board will react next week. Gov. Mark Sanford's office still is reviewing several items on its agenda, Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said.

The speed with which the authority can begin those studies —and begin repairs —could determine if each ship survives to show future generations what their grandfathers and great-grandfathers did.

That's particularly true with the Laffey, which Tant hopes to tow away for repairs as early as May.

"The real cost is greater than money," he said. "We could lose the ability to touch and feel history. I don't know how you put a price on that."

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.