Cincinnati Museum Center Sues Charitable Foundation: Claims It Was Stiffed On $1 Million Gift

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The museum at Union Terminal says it was promised the cash in early 2006 by Arthur V. Katz Jr., who was president of a charitable organization called A Good Neighbor Foundation. Katz has since passed away. When he offered $1 million, Katz said state, city and county agencies didn't have the financial resources to pay for the project. The museum -- which is tax supported -- claims in its lawsuit that it undertook restoration of historic private dining rooms at Union Terminal based on the foundation's commitment from an anonymous donor. Now it describes itself as holding the bag.

So far, A Good Neighbor Foundation, which also is known as A Good Day Foundation, has not answered the lawsuit. For a time, the foundation was located on Herschel Ave. in the Hyde Park/Mt. Lookout area of Cincinnati. The Museum Center is a non-profit that is located in the city's historic railroad station. It houses the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, the Cincinnati Historical Society Museum and Library and the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater. Court documents indicate the donation was to benefit the Cincinnati Railroad Club and Gibson Yungblut. The lawsuit is pending in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court before Judge Charles Kubicki Jr. under case number A1000929. The Museum Center is represented by Seth A. Schwartz, a lawyer with Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. In correspondence with the museum, Katz said the foundation would donate $1 million because government agencies could not be trusted to finance preservation efforts:

"Our reasoning is that the State of Ohio, and the City of Cincinnati, and Hamilton County, in our judgment, do not have the resources to give you the funds required for this project. I have watched these august bodies repeatedly not be able to make cogent decisions about much of anything. They are more interested in arguing and pointing fingers at one another rather than getting the job done. Thus, I suppose is politics, but we are not going to waste our money or be a part of it. You may have your grant of up to $1,000.000.00 for the restoration of the Private Dining Rooms only . . . I hope this makes our position clear."

[UPDATE: 2:43 PM -- A Cincinnati City Hall source notes that Douglass W. McDonald, president of the Cincinnati Museum Center, has filed paperwork to re-registered as a lobbyist. That means he can seek funds and other benefits from the city. Apparently, the museum needs the money, or at least someone able to make "cogent decisions" about something or other.]