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Museum seeks large grant, commissioners endorse shortlist of three contractors
Summary
Museum officials told commissioners they submitted a tourism development grant application and asked the county for a capital commitment; the Geological Society and commissioners advanced three GC/CM firms for interviews and the museum outlined proposed roof, truss, and collection-move costs.
Museum leaders updated the Carter County commission on Jan. 21 about fundraising, contractor selection and anticipated construction costs for an expansion and roof repairs.
Sabre Moore presented results of a request-for-proposal process: three firms'Langless (preconstruction fee $25,000, GCCM fee 3.95%), Jackson Contracting (preconstruction $32,580, GCCM 4%), and Sletten (preconstruction $74,963, GCCM 7%)'were shortlisted for interviews. The Geological Society board recommended moving all three forward; the commission voted to endorse that shortlist.
Moore also said the museum submitted a tourism development grant application seeking $2.75 million over five years and asked for a county letter of commitment; county staff discussed how a previously discussed $3 million capital contribution could be documented if the board chooses to formalize it. For immediate repairs, Moore reported preliminary estimates showing the roof and truss work could be costly: a rough house estimate included $120,000 for the roof and $300,000 for truss replacement, and the museum plans to phase work across fiscal years.
On collections, Moore described plans to move a large duckbill replica tied into the museum roof into archival, HVAC-capable shipping container storage while roof work proceeds; she said contractors quoted roughly $74,000 to remove and pack the specimen and about $35,000 for a climate-rated shipping container, with the grant expected to cover those items.
Commissioners asked for more documentation and scheduled follow-ups: interviews of GCCM firms will be held and the county will consider formalizing any capital commitment when more financial details and designs are available.
