Philanthropists seeking to revitalize the Des Moines Botanical and Environmental Center told the Polk County Board of Supervisors Wednesday that they needed a commitment of $800,000 a year for 10 years from local governments in order to go forward with the project.

J.C. “Buz” Brenton and Tom Urban told the board that they are predicting operating costs of $800,000 a year to keep the center going after it is revitalized and asked the board to commit $200,000 per year.

“It’s clear that no botanical center like this can operate on a break-even basis,” Urban said. “Every one of them in the United States that we know about requires public support – that is, taxpayer support.”

After the money has been committed, Brenton and Urban said, they would raise $10 million from the private sector to fund the project, but without the commitment to keep the center going, there is no reason to do the project.

“I guess we come down to the point, if we can’t get the ($800,000) we can’t do the deal,” Urban said. “I think what will happen is after two and a half years, the (Des Moines) Water Works will say they can’t continue to support this, the city is going to get it back, they won’t be able to support it, and there will be no private money in it and (one of) two things will happen: It will totally decay, or they will tear it down.”

After a presentation by Doug Hoerr, a partner at Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects in Chicago, board members said they are interested in the project, but didn’t know if they could find money in the budget to commit.

“I think it’s an awesome idea,” said Angela Connolly, supervisor from District 5. “I just don’t know where we would get the money.”

The board took no action Wednesday at the staff discussion meeting, but said they would continue to look into the revitalization effort.