Commission presses town staff to coordinate repairs, maintenance and artifact documentation for train station museum

Commissioners raised maintenance and stewardship concerns for the Little Plater Train Station Museum during the Jan. 14 meeting, asking how to report paint, roof and seasonal decoration issues and how donated or loaned artifacts should be documented.

Planning Director Don Dooley said day-to-day maintenance of town assets is the responsibility of the Public Works Department and offered to help arrange a meeting with Public Works Director Wilson Cochran. Dooley recommended that volunteers and commission members report consolidated maintenance items through the town's infrastructure-reporting process or by email so the Public Works Director can consider them in his budget and scheduling. "It probably best comes from the people that are working as volunteers over in the rail museum," a council liaison said, adding that volunteers have the most accurate information about needed repairs.

On artifact handling, staff noted that some items on display at the train-station museum have been loaned on a semi-permanent basis and should be documented; Dooley cited a bell given to the museum on semi-permanent loan as an example and said staff will work to record such loans to ensure continuity if staff or volunteers change.

Commissioners agreed that staff could help facilitate a meeting with Public Works to prioritize safety-related repairs and schedule cosmetic work. Dooley said draft departmental budgets are due soon and suggested that maintenance requests be bundled and routed to the town manager and public works for consideration.