Neon museum should have a home here

Re: “MONA could get turned off,” Oct. 5: The oversight board of the Glendale Successor Agency should without any further delay approve the Museum of Neon Art. It would not only be a disaster for this unique and much admired museum if the project was killed, it would be an embarrassment of epic proportions for the city of Glendale.

Many people await the official opening, but that hasn’t stopped MONA from already doing great groundwork to form partnerships in the community. They have generated excitement with their educational outreach and the origination of their popular bus tours out of Glendale, and we can look forward to more.

The oversight board is concerned about money? I am concerned, too: About the money lost from people who would have dined and shopped in Glendale in conjunction with their MONA visit; about the money that would have been realized as tax revenue for new businesses attracted to Glendale by the presence of MONA; about the money that would have been spent to purchase property in Glendale by homeowners and developers who want to invest in a city that houses a major museum.

Neon is a field of exploding interest as it relates both to our cultural heritage and to contemporary fine art. Glendale cannot afford to be a bit player in a large arena of cities with greater gravitational pull. We need and want MONA here. It would be a betrayal of the highest order for Glendale to renege and would widely cement our reputation as a city not to be trusted or invested in.

Arlene Vidor
Glendale