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Oklahoma Historical Society asks Legislature for $3.5M to replace 20-year-old climate system, seeks flexibility on Okay Pop match
Summary
OHS asked the subcommittee for $3.5 million one-time to replace aging climate-control systems at the History Center, described $8.95 million in pledges toward an $18 million private match for the Okay Pop museum and urged legislative flexibility to allow access to an appropriated state match on the basis of pledges rather than cash in the bank.
Trey Thompson, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, told the appropriations subcommittee that the History Center's climate-control system has reached the end of its useful life and the agency needs a one-time appropriation of $3.5 million to protect 150,000 artifacts and millions of paper-based items and photographs. "We are asking for $3,500,000 in 1 time funds for a new climate control system at the History Center," Thompson said, citing temperature and humidity thresholds required to maintain archival collections and the Smithsonian and National Archives affiliations the agency holds.
Thompson also updated members on Okay Pop, a state-affiliated museum project in Tulsa. He said the building shell is complete but exhibits are not installed; OHS has raised $8.95 million in pledges toward the $18 million private-match goal and asked the Legislature to consider changing statutory language that currently conditions state access on cash-in-bank by a November deadline. "It was our assumption at the time that that would be based on pledges ... by November we have to have $18,000,000 money in the bank," Thompson said, and he urged the committee to explore a pledge-based approach because the state match is already appropriated and sits in a revolving fund.
Thompson reviewed the society's broader operations—25 museums and sites statewide, roughly 133 full-time staff and accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums—and credited a $1 million appropriation last year for salary adjustments that raised entry-level pay and helped recruitment. Members asked about Okay Pop's operational timeline; Thompson and Okay Pop staff said that once funding is secured, exhibit contracting and installation would likely take about 24 months before opening.
The committee accepted the presentation and moved to the Water Resources Board later in the hearing.
