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Museum staff move 5,300 objects to conservators, seek grants to cover treatment gaps
Summary
Roswell museum staff reported 5,300 collection items sent to Chicago for conservation assessment, described condition work still needed and said they have applied for grants to cover conservation and exhibition redevelopment costs.
Museum staff told the finance committee they have moved more than 5,300 items to an out‑of‑state conservation vendor for inventory and treatment proposals and are completing condition assessments for objects retained locally.
Staff said the Chicago conservator is finishing an inventory and will deliver treatment proposals that museum staff will review; staff are also working with appraisers to establish baseline values needed for insurance claims. The museum reported roughly 150 items still need inventory resolution because drawers or bags were fused together during the flood and must be carefully examined before treatment.
The museum director said conservators will propose treatment plans for objects and staff expect some conservation costs to exceed insurance valuations; to address potential gaps the museum staff submitted a grant application to the National Endowment for the Humanities (disaster recovery for collections) and will use foundation and donation funds to help cover shortfalls. Staff stressed continued public programming—Second Saturday events are scheduled across multiple venues—to maintain community engagement during recovery.
Staff asked the committee to note that exhibitions lost or damaged in the flood will require reinterpretation and redesign; museum leadership is exploring broader exhibition themes that could tie into aviation programming and upcoming large events in the city.
