10th Anniversary of the National Park Service's Independence Visitor Center - Spotlight on Fact that Concessions Award Process is Followed in All Other National Parks Across the U.S., Except in Philadelphia

The Independence Visitor Center Corporation's (IVCC) Expenses Have Grown Substantially Over Time, The IVCC's Expenses Have Vastly Exceeded Congressional Budget Office Estimates, and The IVCC Has Failed Over a Prolonged Period of Time to Be Economically Self-Sufficient from Revenue Generating Activities

At the nearly 400 national parks across the country where commercial visitor services occur (i.e., Yellowstone, Yosemite), the concessions award process is followed - however, that is not the case in Philadelphia. As the National Park Service (“NPS”) and Independence Visitor Center Corporation mark the 10th anniversary of the Independence Visitor Center on November 10th, it is time for Congress and the Courts to ensure that all commercial contracts at Independence National Historical Park (“INHP”), including at the Federally owned and funded Independence Visitor Center, are issued fairly, subject to existing laws governing the NPS.

Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC") Appears to Have Engaged in Eight-Year Effort to Marginalize The Constitutional Walking Tour and Keep the Evidence Secret

The IVCC Has Spent at Least $515,626.00 on Legal Fees to Ballard Spahr over the Period from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2010

Overview
On July 21, 2003, Bill Moore, President and CEO of the Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC"), sent a critical evaluation of The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia ("The Constitutional") to Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell allegedly in response to a request from the Office of the Governor ("2003 Memorandum"). The 2003 Memorandum was finally revealed by the Office of the Governor on July 26, 2011 after a lengthy legal battle spearheaded at least in part by the IVCC. In the 2003 Memorandum, Mr. Moore revealed his apparent dislike for The Constitutional since Mr. Moore appears to have perceived The Constitutional as a threat:

"My conclusions on this tour are as follows: ... Copycat idea - not unique to Philadelphia - difficult to separate the product from the Boston [Freedom Trail] experience ... would be confusing to customers ... Philadelphia is almost over-burdened with disjointed products that consumers find hard to understand and use." (emphasis added)

In stark contrast to Mr. Moore's conclusions, The New York Times published a supportive Travel Advisory article about The Constitutional Walking Tour on October 26, 2003 in which it stated:

"A new walking tour of Philadelphia [The Constitutional] helps visitors find their way to sites relating to the city's history and its key role in the creation of the United States.The self-guided, three-mile tour, the Constitutional, features more than 30 historical sites, including churches, museums, former taverns and old hospitals."

Wasted Pennsylvania Taxpayer Dollars: The Independence Visitor Center Corp. ("IVCC") is not a "Tourism Promotion Agency" ("TPA")

Millions of Taxpayer Dollars Spent by The IVCC May Have Violated Permitted Uses of TPA Funds Including For Patronage Pay To Politically Connected "Key Employee" Who Now Works for The IVCC

In an effort to reduce budget shortfalls, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett released a proposed 2011-2012 budget that "includes a 70% reduction in state funding for tourism marketing and promotion." On May 27, 2011, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported,

"Facing a $1 billion budget shortfall, Corbett hopes to save $5.5 million by eliminating the so-called Tourism Promotion Assistance distributed through 49 regional tourism-promotion agencies statewide. The money is used for television-and-print advertising, digital communication and other marketing."

As sacrifices are being made across the board to adapt to reduced funds, hopefully the Commonwealth's limited tourism promotion resources are not being used to continue supporting the unjust actions undertaken by the Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC"), a taxpayer supported public charity which operates the Independence Visitor Center, a Federal facility.

Tourism Promotion Agency Funding to the IVCC
From 2002 to 2009, the IVCC has received approximately $2.9 million of state taxpayer dollars from Tourism Promotion Agency ("TPA") funds allocated under the Tourism Promotion Assistance Grant Program to the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau ("PCVB"). Disconcertingly, such redistribution of tax dollars to the IVCC may have violated the permitted uses of those TPA funds and could therefore have potentially constituted the illegitimate and wasteful appropriation of public money.

Guidelines from the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development
The Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development (“DCED”) published detailed guidelines entitled "Pennsylvania Tourism Office Grant Programs for Destination Marketing Organizations" ("Grant Program Guidelines"). According to the March 2010 release of these Grant Program Guidelines, the Tourism Promotion Act “establishes two grant programs that focus on local and regional marketing – the Tourism Promotion Assistance Grant Program and the Regional Marketing Partnership Grant Program.”

As a Tourism Promotion Agency, PCVB likely receives funds from the Tourism Promotion Assistance Grant Program, while the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (“GPTMC”) appears to be the Philadelphia recipient of the Regional Marketing Partnership Grant Program.

Appendix F of the Grant Program Guidelines lists Eligible and Non-Eligible Expenses for the grant funds (pages 39-40). While the reallocation of grant funds is not expressly covered, the delineation of Eligible Expenses emphasizes marketing-related expenditures. The Grant Program Guidelines repeatedly stress this marketing focus for the Grant Program funds.

In the “Introduction,” the Grant Program Guidelines state, “While we face significant economic challenges in 2010 the grant programs for Destination Marketing Organizations [i.e., PCVB] will continue to invest in tourism marketing and product development.” In Section I, Point A: Purpose of the Tourism Promotion Act, the Grant Program Guidelines explicitly state, “The purpose of the Tourism Promotion Act (Appendix A) is to support local and regional Destination Marketing Organizations in their efforts to market and promote tourism.”

As per the Grant Program Guidelines, eligibility to receive TPA funds is limited such that “only designated TPA’s may receive grants under the Tourism Promotion Assistance Grant Program.” “Pennsylvania has 49 designated destination marketing organizations that are eligible to participate in the Tourism Promotion Assistance grant program.” PCVB is a designated TPA. However, the IVCC is not, and has never been, designated as a Tourism Promotion Agency!

Lack of Diversity on the Taxpayer Funded Independence Visitor Center Corporation's Board of Directors

Of the 18 Members of the Independence Visitor Center Corporation's ("IVCC") Board of Directors, the IVCC Appears to Have 16 White Directors, 2 Black Directors, and Zero Directors of Either Hispanic or Asian Origin

The Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC") operates the Independence Visitor Center ("IVC") at Independence National Historical Park ("INHP"), a unit of the National Park Service ("NPS"), in Philadelphia. The IVC is owned and operated by the United States of America - National Park Service, which then has sub-contracted with the IVCC, a taxpayer supported 501(c)(3) public charity, to manage the IVC. Some of the most important moments in American history transpired at INHP: the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence and the drafting, debating and signing of the Constitution of the United States.

The Independence Visitor Center itself is situated just across the street from the Liberty Bell Center, which houses the iconic Liberty Bell that has come to symbolize America's freedom for many different groups: the early patriots, the abolitionists, those fighting for women's suffrage, and many seeking freedom throughout the world. As the gateway to INHP -- the place where America's freedom was established and where this great melting pot of diversity was born -- the IVCC should be quite cognizant of maintaining a governing Board of Directors that represents the great diversity of Philadelphia and America as a whole. Unfortunately, the IVCC has instead created an insular and homogeneous Board of Directors that does not reflect the diverse constituent base which funds the IVCC and which the IVCC serves.

Disparate Treatment by the Independence Visitor Center Corporation and National Park Service Has Unfairly Deprived The Constitutional Walking Tour of Economic Impact from Twenty Million Visitors

Overview
On May 26, 2011, the Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC") at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia celebrated the twenty millionth visitor to the Independence Visitor Center ("IVC"). In its 2010 Annual Report, the IVCC touts its economic impact:

"In 2010, the IVCC influenced approximately $42 million in additional tourism spending--at attractions, restaurants, shops and more--and the positive impressions and memories generated have immeasurable benefits for years to come."

"22% of visitors report that they spend more in Philadelphia because of their visit to the Visitor Center. The average increase in expenditures was $155."

"As a result of their visit to the Independence Visitor Center, participants added an average of 2.3 attractions to their itinerary (average of 2008, 2009 and 2010)." (emphasis found in original quotation)

Unfortunately, The Constitutional Walking Tour ("The Constitutional") had no access to the vast majority of the twenty million visitors and resulting economic impact therefrom, because of the disparate treatment that The Constitutional had received at the hands of the IVCC and the National Park Service ("NPS").  In turn, these regulations which were applied randomly and arbitrarily had a pronounced detrimental effect on The Constitutional's business, ultimately driving The Constitutional from the Independence Visitor Center.

On February 20, 2008, Bill Moore, President and CEO of the IVCC, testified to Philadelphia City Council, "One of the hallmarks of a visit to any historic city is a great tour." The Constitutional Walking Tour agrees that a great tour can illuminate the incredible past of a historic city, especially Philadelphia which is America's Birthplace. Unfortunately, Mr. Moore, other IVCC officials, and the NPS have negotiated back-room deals and arbitrarily dictated which tours visitors should take, thereby suppressing consumer choice and the free market in the pursuit of random and unfair regulation.

Several Tour Operators Have Reported Operational Challenges at the Independence Visitor Center Due to Unfair, Random and Arbitrary Treatment

While this blog includes commentary regarding The Constitutional Walking Tour's operational challenges in Independence National Historical Park, a unit of the National Park Service, including at the Independence Visitor Center, The Constitutional is certainly not alone in its complaints of the unfair random and arbitrary treatment that it receives from the Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC") and National Park Service.

Other tour operators have remarked on the inequitable playing field that has been enabled by the actions of the Independence Visitor Center Corporation and National Park Service at Independence National Historical Park; these complaints have persisted at the Independence Visitor Center ("IVC") and date back to at least 2005.

On January 26, 2005, Scott Lewis, then General Manager of Ride the Ducks Philadelphia, wrote to Brian Abernathy, then Legislative Assistant to Philadelphia City Councilman Frank DiCicco, and to Fran Dougherty, then Assistant Managing Director of Philadelphia. Mr. Lewis emphasized problems that would arise by moving Ride the Ducks' operations to the Independence Visitor Center:

"We [Ride the Ducks] require a high pedestrian traffic area in order to run a successful operation [...] Placing all operators side by side would cause confusion and would be a disservice to Philadelphia visitors [...] We would have no ability to sell our own products or distribute our information at the [Independence] Visitor Center location [...] If the Visitor Center sells our tickets, we lose a substantial amount of revenue to commissions [...] The Visitor Center staff would not fairly represent our products."

By mentioning the importance of high-traffic areas and the ability to distinguish between tour operators, Mr. Lewis appeared to acknowledge the need for a tour company to have accessibility to customers and visibility for prospective customers to identify the tour attraction. Mr. Lewis expressed concerns about the possibility of the IVCC staff unfairly representing a tour and lost revenue resulting from a "partnership" with the IVC.

On June 28, 2010, Stephen Earnest, Vice President and General Counsel for Herschend Family Entertainment (which owns Ride the Ducks International (RTDI)), wrote to Dennis Reidenbach, Northeast Regional Director of the National Park Service (NPS). Mr. Earnest described as "arbitrary and capricious" (emphasis added) the NPS's decision not to extend three of the four Commercial Use Authorizations issued to Ride the Ducks by Independence Historical Park. Mr. Earnest also said, "NPS is discriminating against RTDI without any reasonable basis for doing so" (emphasis added).

Third Party Master Plan Acknowledges Challenges at the Independence Visitor Center

"IVC & NPS Relationship: The IVC and National Park Service share the Visitors [sic] Center, but they often seem to be in competition with each other. There is a clear divide in the building and the information desk and visitors can feel the apparent tension between the two entities. This can be confusing and awkward for a first time user." -- ex;it (consulting and design firm)

Overview
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently reported that the "DRPA [Delaware River Port Authority] funneled more than $13 million to groups, some with ties to board." As previously discussed on this blog, these funds were outrageously going to the Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC"), a taxpayer supported public charity, which is chaired by John Estey (who also chairs the DRPA), even though the IVCC has nothing to do with the bridges that the DRPA operates.

Part of the $1.0 Million dollars allocated from the DRPA to the Independence Visitor Center ("IVC") is intended for a "New Wayfinding System." In the IVCC's proposal for the grant funding, the Independence Visitor Center Corporation stated:

"Due to the Visitor Center's long and narrow configuration, the use of the south end of the building for NPS exhibits, and the location of the concierge desk about half way back, the current system of directional signage and pedestrian circulation is ineffective. IVCC has retained exit, a local firm specializing in wayfinding and improving the pedestrian experience in challenging environments. The results of their research will lead to a program of improvements in and around the building which will enhance the visitor experience, improve pedestrian flow and circulation, and make the building more user-friendly and easier to navigate. We will look to implement these improvements in late 2010" (emphasis added).

The "local firm specializing in wayfinding" is "ex;it", and the firm created a "draft preliminary" plan dated September 3, 2010, and titled, "Independence Visitor Center: Visitor Experience Assessment & Touchpointing Master Plan." Ex;it identified five main priorities for the IVC: increase revenue, increase number of visitors, improve visitor experience, increase utilization of services, and increase staff efficiencies. Through its analysis, ex;it also identified some of the challenges facing tour operators at the IVC. Elements of ex;it's analysis are presented below and in the Exhibits. Details about the specific problems facing The Constitutional Walking Tour in terms of visibility and accessibility are presented in this post and in this video.

Problems for Walking Tour Operators
The observations and conclusions in the Master Plan highlight some of the major obstacles challenging walking tour operators at the IVC:

• The assessment includes an image of the North End of the IVC labeled "EMPTY" with the caption, "The North Entrance is usually empty and disorienting. Occasionally a tour meets here and clogs the entrance, but there is often only empty tables to welcome visitors."

• "Observations show the location of the café is a visual block in the space."

• "The Playmotion screen currently resides in the North end and lacks clear identification. It takes away possible seating and generally visitors did not find the screen enjoyable. It is not centered around Philadelphia history nor does it have a clear focus."

• "These [concierge] interactions are not typically tailored to the individual, nor do they promote the smaller, lesser known attractions."

• "Vendors: There are multiple vendors that serve visitors out of the Visitor Center. Visitors may choose to bypass the Concierge Desk and approach the tour vendor directly. These experiences are often more focused and 'retail oriented.'" These vendors include Ride the Ducks, Philadelphia Trolley Works, Franklin's Footsteps, City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Tours, Max and Me Catering, etc.

• "Currently the IVC directs many visitors to use the tourist-centered transportation such as the Phlash bus, taxis or the Big Bus tour. Public transit, like Septa, is difficult to give instructions for, so most visitors are directed to use other transportation." (emphasis added)

Walking tours such as The Constitutional Walking Tour are relegated to a remote, "empty" area of the IVC where they are overshadowed by a large media system (playmotion) that is unfocused and not enjoyable. The cafe further obstructs the visual space that may encourage visitors to head towards the walking tour staging location. According to ex;it's findings, the IVCC's concierge staff does not ameliorate this problem as they appear to promote large companies such as Big Bus tours instead of smaller businesses with less accessibility and visibility to visitors. Furthermore, the lack of a designated space or sales kiosk (which The Constitutional has tried to attain from the NPS and IVCC through a license for comparable space on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms) precludes The Constitutional Walking Tour, for example, from delivering the more direct and focused retail experiences that other vendors can.

Statement on the DRPA and Independence Visitor Center Corp.

We applaud Governor Rendell, Governor Christie, John Estey, Chairman of the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), and the rest of the members of the Board of Commissioners of the DRPA in adopting resolutions for improvement, including abiding by both the Sunshine Act and Pennsylvania Right to Know Law.

Reform is a journey and not a destination. As such, reform has to continue going forward, and reform must include changes to the culture of the DRPA. The DRPA must prove to the taxpayers that the reforms adopted are not merely superficial concessions designed to quell a brief media uproar, enabling self-serving business interests to permeate its operations. Moreover, similar changes must occur at other taxpayer supported public trusts with commonalities to the DRPA.

For example, if Mr. Estey believes that the DRPA should adopt the Sunshine Act, abide by the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law, and conduct business in a transparent and fair manner, then the Independence Visitor Center Corporation (IVCC) should as well.

The Boards of Directors of DRPA and IVCC are both chaired by John Estey, Esq., senior partner at Ballard Spahr and Governor Rendell's former chief of staff. Both the DRPA and IVCC use Ballard Spahr as outside counsel; Ballard has billed DRPA almost $3.1 million in legal fees from 2000-2010.

Both DRPA and IVCC operate essential public facilities. Both the DRPA and IVCC have an insular culture that does the public’s business in private. Both the DRPA and IVCC are taxpayer supported public trusts that are rife with patronage. Both the DRPA and IVCC are stuck in a time warp because both the DRPA and IVCC have been quite clandestine in terms of their operations and corporate governance. Both the DRPA and IVCC are heavily influenced by Governor Rendell (Rendell personally appointed most of the Pennsylvania commissioners to DRPA and he appointed the "Governor's Representative" to the IVCC).

On information and belief, the DRPA gave the IVCC $1.8 million in 2010 in an economic development grant, although there is no information available as to the details of those funds from either the DRPA and IVCC.

Nonetheless, as reported in The Philadelphia Inquirer on August 20, 2010, Mr. Estey claims, "It's [IVCC] not a public entity [...]"

To the contrary, the IVCC is absolutely a public entity given the massive public funding which the IVCC receives, the federal land on which the Visitor Center stands, the federal employees stationed within, and the federal legislation that authorized its creation.

Both the DRPA and IVCC maintain a sense of entitlement, an attitude that they can do no wrong, that they answer to no one and are certainly in no way accountable to the public which funds them. Unless Mr. Estey and Governor Rendell (Mayor Nutter also serves on the Board of Directors of the Independence Visitor Center Corporation), extend the resolutions for the DRPA to other secretive public organizations, like the IVCC, the proposals for change will be exposed as political smoke screens, enabling business as usual to continue without restriction or public oversight.

Jon Bari
The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia

Exhibits
*Article published in The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Now, [John] Estey should get the Visitor Center to open up," 8/20/2010

*Letter from John Estey to Governors Christie and Rendell discussing proposed changes at the DRPA, 8/4/2010

*Letter from Jon Bari to Mayor Michael Nutter calling for transparency at the IVCC, 8/13/2010

*Letter from Jon Bari to Governor Rendell calling for transparency at the IVCC, 8/17/2010

The Declaration of Tourism Independence

Overview
President-elect Obama called for a “new Declaration of Independence” when he was in Philadelphia on January 17, 2009 during his Whistle Stop Tour to Washington, D.C.,

“And yet while our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not. What is required is the same perseverance and idealism that our founders displayed. What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives - from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry - an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.”[i]

THE DECLARATION OF TOURISM INDEPENDENCE
IN CONGRESS, March 12, 2009.

The Unanimous Declaration of THE CONSTITUTIONAL WALKING TOUR OF PHILADELPHIA,

When, in the course of an unprecedented economic crisis coupled with unfair, random, arbitrary and capricious actions by the National Park Service, it becomes necessary for one small business to dissolve the bonds which have had a material adverse effect on the overall visitor experience to America’s Birthplace at Independence National Historical Park (Independence Park) in Philadelphia for numerous reasons, including the National Park Service’s violations of the spirit of Independence Park’s enabling legislation[ii] and willful non-compliance with the Gateway [Independence] Visitor Center Authorization Act.[iii]

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all tour operators are created equal, that these qualified tour operators should be endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of operating a tour business on a level playing field free from the National Park Service’s random, arbitrary and capricious actions imposed under its wide and unchecked discretionary authority. It is the right of a tour operator which complements park relevance and enhances visitor experience to demand an immediate cessation of the intolerable acts of the National Park Service and the Independence Visitor Center.[iv] It is the vendor’s right, it is the entrepreneurs’ duty, to demand fair treatment including having the National Park Service authorize The Constitutional’s environmentally friendly walking tour to have accessibility and visibility to visitors, comparable to more favored vendors which receive such authorizations from the National Park Service. Such has been the patient sufferance of visitors; and such is now the necessity which constrains the vendors to alter their former systems – say goodbye to business as usual at Independence Park and the Independence Visitor Center, which has devolved into a Federally subsidized bus depot at the Visitor Center that preferences carbon emitting, for-profit motorized tours over The Constitutional’s green tours. The history of Independence Park is a history of the people protesting with a Declaration of Rights & Grievances against King George III over unfair taxation and unjust trade practices, leading to The Declaration of Independence, and the birth of the United States of America. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

The evolution of Independence Park and the increase in popularity of heritage tourism at America’s Birthplace have combined to subject the discriminated vendors - Tour Operators like The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia - to the brink of shutting down, the evidence of which is stated below:

• For the National Park Service being willfully non-compliant with the 1999 Gateway Visitor Center Authorization, Public Law 106-131, for over nine years, by failing to execute a long-term detailed operating agreement with the Independence Visitor Center Corporation that would presumably set some formal ground rules for the equitable treatment and rights of vendors, including non-profit and for-profit entities that operate visitor and tour related services, at the Visitor Center.[v]
• For the National Park Service unfairly, arbitrarily and capriciously issuing written authorizations in the form of Commercial Use Authorizations (CUAs) and Special Use Permits to some “favored” third parties[vi] and not to other interested and qualified third parties such as The Constitutional Walking Tour which is complementary to the Park’s mission and visitor experience objectives, is appropriate for public use and enjoyment of the Park, is an environmentally friendly “green” tour, does not cause unacceptable impacts on the Park,[vii] and benefits the Independence Visitor Center (Visitor Center) and in turn the NPS financially from ticket sales for The Constitutional.
• For the National Park Service selectively enforcing rules and regulations including with existing Commercial Use Authorizations to preferred vendors who are given the CUAs.[viii]
• For the National Park Service issuing Commercial Use Authorizations to Ride the Ducks’ fictitious business entities such Philly Ducks, Penn Ducks and River Ducks to help Ride the Ducks circumvent the evident intent of City of Philadelphia’s laws.[ix]
• For the National Park Service and the Independence Visitor Center management randomly, arbitrarily and capriciously evicting The Constitutional from the Visitor Center in 2006 and 2007 with neither any notice nor cause following the Summer 2005 season when The Constitutional was the top selling tour at the Visitor Center sales desk.
• For the National Park Service enabling the Independence Visitor Center to require that The Constitutional sign a broad sweeping “gag order” masked as a confidentiality agreement as a required condition to negotiating a license agreement for a ticket booth comparable to what other motorized tour operators have licensed (the confidentiality terms were not a requirement of the other ticket booth licensees, and the non-disclosure terms would survive even if no license agreement was ever executed).
• For the National Park Service censoring The Constitutional’s popular marketing brochure called The Independent from being distributed on INHP grounds including at the Independence Visitor Center.
• For the National Park Service and the Visitor Center retaliating against The Constitutional in attempts to greater marginalize The Constitutional (The Constitutional’s historical sales from the Visitor Center declined approximately 77.0% from the 2005 summer tourist season to the 2008 summer tourist season, despite an overall growth in visitor traffic experienced in the Visitor Center, as reported by the NPS, and growth in The Constitutional’s other sales channels for its tour business).

The evolution of Independence Park and the increase in popularity of heritage tourism at America’s Birthplace have combined to subject the people - Visitors - to a lack of real consumer choice and artificially inflated prices, the evidence of which is stated below:

• For the National Park Service randomly, arbitrarily and capriciously giving preferential advantage to other non-motorized and motorized tours which have been granted special written authorizations and informal authorizations to conduct business practices that offer key competitive operational advantages.[x]
• For the National Park Service randomly, arbitrarily and capriciously preferencing tours which are not historically and/or contextually relevant to INHP, in addition to being detrimental to the visitor experience at Independence Park.
• For the National Park Service fostering a “polluted” environment that stifles innovation, limits consumer choice, and drives up tour prices – all adversely affecting the visitor experience.
• For the National Park Service fostering a polluted environment (air and noise) with motorized tour operators using various vehicles for their tours including World War II era DUKW (duck boat) amphibious vehicles, authentic London double decker buses and Victorian trolleys - These motorized vehicles provide tours on thematic vehicles having no contextual relevance to the historical interpretation of Independence National Historical Park (in the 1700s-1800s).

We, THE CONSTITUTIONAL WALKING TOUR, therefore do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people who visit America’s Birthplace and who attempt to operate a small business showcasing America’s Birthplace, solemnly publish and declare, that THE CONSTITUTIONAL will work to absolve the public from these problems by appealing to Congress and other government officials for long overdue oversight on the National Park Service. THE CONSTITUTIONAL pledges to act as the people’s most eco-friendly tour in Philadelphia from this day forward – Where Every Day is Independence Day!™

----------------

Exhibits: 





[i] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/us/politics/17text-obama.html?ref=politics

[ii] “Independence National Historical Park Act of 1948” - U.S. Code, Title 16, Chapter 1, Subchapter LI. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/16/ch1schLI.html

[iii] Public Law 106-131, December 1999, http://www.theconstitutional.com/news/inhp/Gateway%20Visitor%20Center%20Authorization%20Act%2012-7-99.pdf

[iv] The Independence Visitor Center was built on land owned by the Federal government and administered by the National Park Service. The NPS has contracted with a private entity, Independence Visitor Center Corporation, to operate the facility, and the NPS has supported the Visitor Center with Federal appropriations of $6.4 million since 2001 that has primarily been disbursed with annual appropriations of $850,000.00. The Visitor Center is approximately 50,000 square feet in size, and is marketed as the “largest facility of its kind in the world.” The Visitor Center was designed and intended to serve as a tourism hub and the primary point of orientation and visitor services for the Park and surrounding environs. The Visitor Center is the only official on-site ticketing location for visitors to pick up tickets to Independence Hall. The Visitor Center promotes the notion that that visitors need to “Start at the Center” in order to experience the “best way to see Philly.” For details, see http://www.theconstitutional.com/news/inhp/INHP-Payments-to-IVCC.pdf

[v] In lieu of a long term detailed operating agreement, the NPS issued a bare-bones temporary Special Use Permit to the IVCC in November 2001 and then has extended it 20 separate times “to allow additional time to finalize a formal [management] Agreement.” What is also even more curious about the repeated renewals of the Special Use Permit is that according to all of the audited financial statements of the IVCC since at least 2003, the NPS and IVCC have “substantially established a management agreement” that “calls for the NPS to make an annual payment of $850,000.00 to IVCC in exchange for the services provided by the IVCC more fully described in the agreement.” While more than $6.4 million has been spent by the Federal government to fund the IVCC’s operations since 2001, the NPS and IVCC have not executed a management agreement, and the operating agreement, which is supposedly done, is confidential and not available for public inspection.

[vi] Ride the Ducks, Philly Ducks (Ride the Ducks doing business as), River Ducks (Ride the Ducks doing business as), Penn Ducks (Ride the Ducks doing business as), 76 Carriage Company, Inc. (doing business as Philadelphia Trolley Works), Philadelphia Trolley Works (including its Franklin Footsteps walking tour), Big Bus Tours (Philadelphia Trolley Works doing business as), Lights of Liberty Inc. (walking tour), Historic Philadelphia, Inc. (including its walking tours), etc.

[vii] Management Policies 2006, National Park Service, Section 10, page 144 - Commercial Visitor Services, ISBN 0-16-076874-8, http://www.nps.gov/policy/MP2006.pdf

[viii] Ride the Ducks, Philly Ducks (Ride the Ducks doing business as), River Ducks (Ride the Ducks doing business as), Penn Ducks (Ride the Ducks doing business as), 76 Carriage Company, Inc. (doing business as Philadelphia Trolley Works), Philadelphia Trolley Works (including its Franklin Footsteps walking tour), Big Bus Tours (Philadelphia Trolley Works doing business as), Lights of Liberty Inc. (walking tour), Historic Philadelphia, Inc. (including its walking tours), etc.

[ix] Section 1, Title 9, Chapter 9-400 Carriers, of The Philadelphia Code, Regulation of Businesses, Trades and Professions, as amended on January 24, 2006. and “When Ducks Act Like Hogs: Tour-Bus Quackery,” Ronnie Polaneczky, Philadelphia Daily News, March 25, 2009, http://www.theconstitutional.com/news/inhp/Daily%20News%20Article%20Ride%20the%20Ducks%203-25-08.pdf

[x] Ride the Ducks, Philly Ducks (Ride the Ducks doing business as), River Ducks (Ride the Ducks doing business as), Penn Ducks (Ride the Ducks doing business as), 76 Carriage Company, Inc. (doing business as Philadelphia Trolley Works), Philadelphia Trolley Works (including its Franklin Footsteps walking tour), Big Bus Tours (Philadelphia Trolley Works doing business as), Lights of Liberty Inc. (walking tour), Historic Philadelphia, Inc. (including its walking tours), etc.

A Constitutional Crisis within Our National Park Service (NPS) System

Independence National Historical Park (INHP or the Park)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. [1]


With these words our nation launched a great experiment in freedom and democracy within a representative form of government where the rule of law and not the proclivities of individuals would govern civil society. These principles enshrined in one of our nation’s founding documents have endured for over 200 years and serve as a beacon to the world. However, in the City where these principles were forged, a gross violation of their spirit is occurring by the NPS.

OverviewIn an April 3, 2008 editorial entitled “Mall Madness,” The Philadelphia Daily News said that,

“For nine years, the [Independence] visitor center and [National] Park Service have failed to come up with an agreement to run the center that might make the rules governing tour companies more consistent and less arbitrary... This is a shameful state of affairs."[2]

Issue – Requesting a Breakthrough (Not a Bailout) for a Small Business
It should not take four years and a team of lawyers for a small business to try to compete on a level playing field free from unconstitutional, unfair, random and arbitrary practices by the National Park Service. However, that is exactly the case for Jonathan and Leslie Bari, husband and wife entrepreneurs, who invested in and developed their own American dream with The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia (The Constitutional). The Constitutional annually employs 30 people in providing guided walking tours of America’s Birthplace at INHP which features many historic sites including the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center.

Even though The Constitutional is consistent with INHP’s enabling legislation,[3] is complementary to the Park’s mission and visitor experience objectives, is appropriate for public use and enjoyment of the Park, is an environmentally friendly “green” tour, does not cause unacceptable impacts on the Park,[4] and benefits the Independence Visitor Center (Visitor Center) and in turn the NPS financially from ticket sales for The Constitutional, NPS has exhibited an ongoing pattern and practice of malfeasance and discrimination against The Constitutional and violations of its owners’ various Constitutional rights.

In this unprecedented economic crisis, the bottom line is that The Constitutional is being regulated and taxed out of business by the National Park Service. While many companies in diverse industries are seeking a Federal bailout, The Constitutional is simply seeking a Federal breakthrough to overcome NPS’s non-compliance with Federal laws and NPS’s intransigence that have been enabled to date without any meaningful oversight.

Independence National Historical Park & Independence Visitor Center Corporation - Congressional Oversight Needed

Overview
In an April 3, 2008 editorial entitled "Mall Madness", The Philadelphia Daily News said that, "For nine years, the [Independence] visitor center and [National] Park Service have failed to come up with an agreement to run the center that might make the rules governing tour companies more consistent and less arbitrary... This is a shameful state of affairs." http://www.theconstitutional.com/news/inhp/mall.madness.pdf

Commentary (written by The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia)
Why is it that it took less time for America to land a man on the moon than it has for the National Park Service and the Independence Visitor Center Corporation ("IVCC") in Philadelphia to enter into an Operating Agreement? President Kennedy announced in May 1961 that he wanted to land a man on the moon and achieved that goal in July 1969. In contrast, on December 7, 1999, President Clinton signed the Gateway [Independence] Visitor Center Authorization Act (Public Law 106-131) which required that the IVCC enter into an Operating Agreement with Independence National Historical Park ("INHP"), a unit of the National Park Service. As we mark the law's ninth anniversary, no Operating Agreement has been signed, in spite of being statutorily-mandated.

The lack of an Operating Agreement is counter-productive and detrimental to the mission and effective transparent implementation thereof for both the IVCC and INHP. Without any written, detailed and publicly available Operating Agreement, then specific management activities and services are impossible to objectively track. Additionally, the flagrant non-compliance of the INHP and IVCC to execute this Operating Agreement has been detrimental to The Constitutional Walking Tour and other vendors since that Operating Agreement would presumably set some formal ground rules for the equitable treatment and rights of vendors at the Independence Visitor Center. In the absence of any Operating Agreement, The Constitutional has been unfairly treated and has been beholden to the wide discretionary powers of the INHP and IVCC that are used randomly, arbitrarily and capriciously.

Our Founding Fathers taught us that checks and balances are required for our system of government to work. However, a closer look at the IVCC reveals that there are few, if any, checks and balances with the IVCC and the National Park Service to ensure that the taxpayers' investment in these public trusts is effective, efficient and fair such that the Independence Visitor Center works as the United States Congress intended it to work.