Carroll Children’s Museum seeks $400,000 to buy mall space; asks county for at least $10,000

Leaders of the Carroll Children’s Museum asked the Carroll County Board of Supervisors on Monday for a one-time contribution to a capital campaign to buy the two mall units the nonprofit currently rents in Westgate Mall.

The museum’s co‑executive directors said they formed the nonprofit in March 2023, received 501(c)(3) status in October 2023 and opened on Dec. 4, 2023, in a renovated former Christopher & Banks space. Marcy Hercock and Amy Shoemaker told supervisors the facility has grown from 11 sponsored exhibits at opening to 18 and that they expanded into an adjacent unit in October 2024 to add programming space and summer camps.

The museum leaders said owning the space would remove rent — currently about $1,800 a month without utilities (about $2,100 with utilities) — which they identified as one of their top expenses and a barrier to expanding hours, hiring more staff and reinvesting admission and membership revenue into exhibits and programming. Hercock said, “We do not take a salary,” and that current paid staff are hourly employees who help keep the museum open.

The museum’s purchase price is $400,000, they said, and the board was told a one‑time county contribution of at least $10,000 would be ideal. The directors described a capital campaign that will launch a “quiet phase” of private solicitations in October, with the goal of raising roughly 75% privately before a public campaign. They also described prior grant support (including a Pella grant for an exhibit and a Timmerman Trust award administered through the Carroll Community Foundation) and said they are pursuing additional grants and private donors.

Supervisors suggested the museum submit a formal request on letterhead with the exact amount requested and routing it to county staff (Courtney) so the ask can be considered as part of fiscal‑year 2026 budgeting. One supervisor said local option sales tax funds have been used for community projects in the past and encouraged the group to prepare a formal application and pursue other grant sources as well.

The supervisors did not vote on funding Monday. Staff advised the museum that formal consideration would occur during the county’s FY2026 budget process, and that the county typically compiles requests in the fall and provides more definitive funding numbers in late winter.

The museum representatives said they will prepare the written request and begin private fundraising in the campaign’s quiet phase.