Museum seeks state capital funds after federal request was not funded; local campaign options discussed

Summary

Committee members said a congressional directed spending request of about $640,000 prepared with two senators' offices was not approved; the museum has a state capital request for $2 million under consideration and discussed phasing, local matching campaigns and planning steps to strengthen future requests.

Speaker 1 (Unidentified Speaker) told the committee that a congressional directed spending request of roughly $640,000 submitted with Sen. King’s and Sen. Warner’s offices was well received but not approved: “It was roughly 640,000. That was not approved. It was well received.”

Speaker 1 also said the museum secured permission from the secretary to submit a state capital construction request for $2,000,000 to renovate space for a learning center and expected to learn that result in December. The group discussed fallback approaches if external requests fail, including a modest local capital campaign, seeking matching grants, and phasing project elements to make progress without full funding up front.

Committee members recommended assembling more homework — feasibility studies or a master plan — before pursuing large state requests, and discussed coordinating with the foundation board and trustees to develop a clear, staged approach to fundraising and project scoping. No formal appropriation or state decision was recorded at the meeting.