OCC planetarium on the way to a 2008 reopening Pledges, donations starting to come in BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer TOMS RIVER - Cold, hard cash, county support and the efforts of local citizens will help to eventually reopen the doors of the Robert J. Novins Planetarium at Ocean County College. If all goes as planned, the planetarium will open in September 2008 with a new star projector, a new three-dimensional video dome system and an enhanced audio system. College officials and Stephan R. Leone, chairman of the college's "Reach for the Stars" campaign, have estimated it will take $1.5 million to buy the needed equipment so the 32-year-old building can reopen. They came a little closer to reaching that goal recently when Leone and his wife, Judith, announced they plan to donate $100,000 over the next five years. Rosanne Citta, a member of the Ocean County College Foundation, pledged $100,000. OCC Foundation Chairman David Wintrode and his wife, Roberta, have also pledged $100,000. Toms River attorney Harvey L. York, his wife, Barbara, and York's law firm of Novins, York, Pentony and Pagano, pledged $55,000. OCC President Jon Larson and his wife, Judy, donated $25,000. The Ocean County Board of Freeholders also offered more support last week, when the board introduced an ordinance at the July 3 board meeting that sets aside $2 million for capital improvements to the planetarium. The renovations include interior upgrades to the theater and support rooms, improvements to lobby facilities, rest rooms and the facade, and mechanical and electrical improvements. "This is really more than just bricks and mortar," Freeholder John P. Kelly said. "Making it the best facility possible is our goal and we are on the way to doing just that." Proceeds from the OCC Foundation's annual summer gala, which usually nets around $250,000, and the foundation's Sept. 8 "Evening Under the Stars Gala" will also be donated to the planetarium fund, Leone said. The Robert J. Novins Planetarium opened on Oct. 26, 1974. It quickly became a school trip destination for generations of Ocean County children and a focal point for stargazers. But the OCC Board of Trustees voted to close the planetarium last fall, one of a number of budget cuts made after state aid to the college was slashed. The grassroots group Save the Planetarium Inc. has raised roughly half of its goal of $100,000, Leone said. Save the Planetarium Inc. will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. July 24 for anyone interested in becoming a volunteer. It will be held at the Knights of Columbus, 209 Tennyson Ave., Toms River. Members of the Save the Planetarium Fund will also hold a July 31 fundraiser at the Lakewood BlueClaws stadium. The BlueClaws will be playing the Asheville Tourists, the minor league team of the Colorado Rockies. Tickets are $9 and must be purchased from Save the Planetarium Fund volunteers, or by calling (732) 506-7700 and asking for BlueClaws tickets. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to the fund. Planetarium supporters will sit in section 114 at the FirstEnergy Park stadium in Lakewood. Donors may also take advantage of the "Reach for the Stars" naming opportunities by pledging money to name several key areas of the planetarium. The areas include: • $500,000 - co-naming the building. • $300,000 - planetarium theater • $150,000 - planetarium dome • $150,000 - star projector • $100,000 - lobby, classroom, outside rear patio, or outside front patio *$50,000 - gift shop area, new walkway, theater sound system or theater dome projection *$10,000 - outside benches, lobby seating or inside display cases *$2,500 - theater seats. The planetarium cost $225,000 to build back in the early 1970s ($986,288 in today's dollars). It was part of a construction phase that included the administration building and an addition to the gym. The star projector in the theater cost $110,000 in 1974, equivalent to roughly $482,185 today.