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Hastings Museum reports $1.96 million in annual revenue, flags HVAC and storage projects
Summary
Hastings Museum staff told the City Council work session the museum had roughly $1.96 million in income for fiscal year 2023–24, highlighted visitor and school-program growth, and asked the city to plan for major HVAC replacement and compact storage work tied to future exhibits and grant uncertainty.
Theresa, representing the Hastings Museum, told the City Council work session on March 17 that the museum’s total income for fiscal year 2023–24 was $1,956,859 and highlighted growth in visitor traffic and school programming.
She said the museum’s income mix includes property tax support, lodging tax receipts (a portion of which is passed through to the Convention and Visitors Bureau), motor vehicle revenue, earned income from education programs and store sales, foundation and grant funding, and donations. “Last year, we had a little over 31,000 people come through the museum with another 15,000 that went through the theater,” Theresa said. She reported 5,834 students participated in school programs during the year and said only about 35% of those students were from Hastings; others came from across Nebraska.
The museum described several one-time capital expenses and maintenance items from the fiscal year: replacement of 30-year-old boilers (about $80,000), design for the Kool-Aid exhibit (about $97,000, reimbursed by the Hastings Museum Foundation), replacement of a control system ($8,209), and other repairs after an unplanned failure in the fire-suppression line. Theresa also described work funded by the foundation, including patio landscaping and compact storage components for collections.
Looking ahead, museum staff asked the city to plan for larger projects next fiscal year: replacing two aging rooftop HVAC “mammoth” units (one is currently nonfunctional) and replacing a roughly 50‑year‑old HVAC system serving the planetarium. Theresa also warned staff and council members that federal grant support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was under threat at the federal level; she said Nebraska museums and libraries received about $15.7 million from IMLS between 2018 and 2024 and that IMLS awards have supported museum conservation and assessment work. She said a recent conservation assessment grant to the museum had been about $7,000 and that loss of IMLS funding would force the museum to shift more work onto local sales‑tax and foundation funding.
Museum staff described ongoing programming and outreach (Kool-Aid Days, bus and walking tours, planetarium shows, school and virtual field trips, and a range of community events) and the museum’s accreditation and reaccreditation process. Theresa invited council members to review compact‑storage and collections work in person.
Theresa concluded by asking for questions and providing contact information for follow-up.
Ending notes: The museum framed its capital needs as the primary near‑term budget items (HVAC and additional compact storage for the Kool‑Aid/Second Floor renovation). Staff asked council to consider those items in next year’s capital planning and to note the uncertain federal grant climate when evaluating how much the city may need to cover locally.
