Groups have big plans for Naperville money

Century Walk Corp. and DuPage Children's Museum officials won't be getting as much money as they hoped from Naperville City Council.

But leaders of both groups say they have big plans for the portion of funding they will receive this year from the city.

The two entities are at the top of the council's list for proposed monetary allocations from its Special Events and Cultural Amenities Fund. The city plans to distribute about $2.57 million for cultural events and projects in the coming year.

Council members will vote next month to make the allocations official.

Century Walk

The city tentatively has earmarked $274,000 for Century Walk's outdoor public art pieces, which is less than the $480,500 the group originally requested but more than the $75,000 city staff recommended.

Among the group's pending art projects are a sculpture of Harold and Margaret Moser. Harold was a prominent developer and philanthropist who earned the nickname "Mr. Naperville."

The group has been trying for several years to include the well-known couple in its display of outdoor public artwork scattered throughout the downtown area.

President Brand Bobosky said the Moser sculpture likely would be installed either at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School or by Moser Tower, which houses the Millennium Carillon at the foot of Rotary Hill along the Riverwalk.

Bobosky said he hopes to have it ready this year.

Another priority will be maintaining the group's 31 existing pieces of art and installing plaques and lighting where needed, he said.

The bulk of that artwork celebrates people, places and events in the city's history.

Century Walk also wants to install a second Dr. Seuss piece at one of Naperville's libraries, Bobosky said. A Cat in the Hat sculpture was dedicated in November at the downtown Nichols Library.

North Central College's fine arts center, which is currently under construction, eventually may get a Century Walk piece as well.

The college is "playing a big role in the culture in Naperville with that type of facility and we think it should be highlighted with an appropriate piece of public art people can see and … let them know what's to come when they get inside," Bobosky said.

The Dr. Seuss and North Central pieces likely wouldn't be installed until 2009.

Eventually the group also wants to create a commemorative book about the first 30 pieces of Century Walk art that would include interviews with the artists and pictures of the artwork. That project has not yet been funded.

Century Walk Corp. has installed 31 pieces of art around the downtown area since 1996. Bobosky said pieces in the future will be placed all over town and will represent the "character of the city."

"It's the city's personality," he said. "And the very essence of it is that we are telling a story at the same time we're creating a permanent legacy for generations to come before this is all forgotten."

Children's Museum

The DuPage Children's Museum at 301 N. Washington St. tentatively is slated to receive $250,000 from the city to be used for operating costs.

Its plans for the coming year include providing more support for first-time parents, additional school programming, growing math programs and an online component, Executive Director Sue Broad said Wednesday.

The museum also had sought a $5 million matching grant -- as it has in the past -- but once again was turned down.

That money would have been used to pay off a $12.9 million bond debt it acquired to finish building the museum and constructing exhibits when it moved to its Naperville site in 2001.

Broad said the museum needs to come up with a long-term plan for paying down that debt, which continues to grow the longer it goes unpaid.

She wasn't surprised the council rejected the $5 million request but said she wants to keep the museum's situation on the city's radar.

"It was one of probably 10 different options the board (of directors) and the bank are pursuing and the board has every confidence we're going to work this out," she said. "We have tremendous support from all the groups we partner with in the community."

The museum's operations are covered by money earned or donated annually. Despite its debt, Broad said the museum's finances actually have been improving.

"We're stronger financially than we've ever been," she said.