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Union Station which would include 70,000 square feet for a National Postal Museum to be administered by the Smithsonian. The Museum would only be possible if the Postal Service is allowed to construct a three-story addition that would offset anticipated costs. To date, the National Commission of Fine Arts and the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation have both approved the addition. However, the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Board has recommended to the D.C. Historic Preservation Officer that the design not be approved. While that officer will vote as a member of the National Capital Planning Commission at its review of the project, probably on June 4, her position and those of most of the other twelve Commission members are not known. The Postal Service is currently preparing its argument for that hearing before the National Capital Planning Commission.

Internal review of the proposed museum project by the Postal Service continues to be favorable. Postmaster General Tisch is agreeable to the concept and will soon be briefed on the costs -- approximately $9.9 million for construction, installation, and relocation of collections, plus operating costs, estimated at approximately $1.9 million beginning in fiscal year 1990. Internal decisions need to be made at the Postal Service about how the operating expenses will be met. The Service understands that operating costs charged to the Smithsonian cannot exceed what would otherwise be spent on the National Philatelic Collections in their current locations. The Smithsonian projects that figure to be somewhere between $400,000 and $500,000 by 1990, leaving a net of $1.4 to $1.5 million to be funded from other sources.

The vote of the National Capital Planning Commission is a critical hurdle. In the meantime, in consultation with the General Counsel's