A licensing agreement with public television stations has heightened the Vocal Group Hall of Fame’s visibility nationally.

The hall’s Web site, www.vocalgroup.org, gets more than half a million hits a month, and officials receive e-mails asking when the next induction ceremony will be and the museum will be open.

“These are very, very good signs,” said hall President Bob Crosby, who has volunteered his services to the hall for six years.

Unfortunately, Crosby is not a magician. He can’t turn good signs into bricks and mortar. He has made some progress in renovating the Columbia Theatre and the former Phoenix building — where the hall of fame, a piano bar, a banquet facility and offices would be located — but concerts and museum exhibits still are a long way off.

The public television deal — in which hall merchandise is used for pledge drives — has brought in new dollars, but they get eaten up in the $10,000-a-month expenses associated with the buildings, including mortgages and utilities.

“It’s not enough,” Crosby said.

If he could get the buildings open, he could generate revenue, Crosby said. He can’t get the buildings open without revenue.

If the vocal hall had a theme song, it’s title would be “Catch-22.”

If only the hall’s building activities could mirror the success of the Truth in Music effort. Headed by Jon “Bowzer” Bauman, the Truth in Music Committee has secured laws aimed at outlawing groups that pass themselves off as the originals in 18 states, with legislation pending in another 12, including Ohio.

“We’re doing really fantastic with Truth in Music,” Crosby said.

The hall hopes to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year with a five-day induction ceremony that would honor the classes of inductees from 2005, 2006 and 2007. Plans are to keep the event local — the last ceremony, in 2004, was held in Wildwood, N.J. — but no dates and places have been firmed up.

Again, the problem is money. Crosby said he needs $200,000 to $250,000 for inductions. The state appears to be ready to pony up $50,000, Crosby said, but this allocation has been pending for more than a year. The Shenango Valley Foundation is willing to front the money and be repaid by the grant, when it is released, and the Mercer County Convention and Visitors Bureau would grant another $50,000, Crosby said.

State Rep. Mark Longietti, D-7th District, Hermitage said he’s been assured by state officials the hall will get $25,000 soon, with another $25,000 coming from the next budget cycle.

That leaves the hall $100,000 to $150,000 short. Officials could press on and hope to recoup the remaining funds through the induction concerts and other activities, but the hall could stand to owe whatever it cannot raise. Officials still are paying off the 2003 inductions.

If the hall could get the money for inductions paid up front, then it could use gate receipts from tickets sales at the induction concerts for whatever officials please, such as renovating its buildings.