POULSBO — Even though its doors have yet to open, advocates for the Marine Science Center remain optimistic about their chances.

With less than 90 days remaining in 2006, the Poulsbo Marine Science Foundation and the city have $250,000 in state Legislative funding and more than $33,000 in community donations to bring the center back to life.

Poulsbo’s Courtesy Auto Group became the latest business to join the effort to make the center a reality when it donated $2,500 to the Poulsbo Marine Science Foundation.

“We are so pleased to support this effort,” said Courtesy Auto Group CEO John Hern. “The Marine Science Center is an important part of the community, providing education and that on the water experience for visitors, locals and especially school children.”

However, all of those donations could be for naught, depending how much the city council decides to fund the center in its 2007 budget, said PMSF founder Bill Austin.

“We’re waiting for budget day, so we can see what they can afford,” Austin said, adding that with utilities and maintenance costs estimated at more than $160,000 annually, the PMSF needs some help from the city.

“If we have to pay the utilities that would take up most of the money we received from the state,” he said.

Remodeling the building and acquiring all the pieces required to establish an educational program and open the center to the public could be severely limited if the foundation is asked to pay the utilities, Austin said.

Even though the city has offered to let the foundation use the building for pilot programs, it won’t allow any major modifications, he said.

“We can use it as a storage facility,” Austin said. “We can’t make any physical changes.”

Until the city council makes its final decision on funding for the center, Austin said the foundation is hesitant to make any long-term decisions of its own.

As the city’s 2007 budget process continues, the council’s finance/administration committee will be looking at the big picture before deciding which new programs to fund, said Councilwoman Connie Lord, who serves on the committee.

“I, personally, am still committed to Marine Science Center viability and will work hard to keep the center going,” Lord said. “However, we’ve got to look at the whole picture.”

All of the proposed projects like the MSC are worthwhile, but they are just a part of what the city has to consider in its budget deliberations, she said.

“We’ve got added expense on city hall, and there are lot of unknowns out there as well,” Lord said, noting that in addition to funding its immediate needs, the city has to be financially prepared for emergency situations as well.