Riley County Historical Museum seeks to fill weekend assistant as attendance and programming grow

Katherine Hler, director of the Riley County Historical Museum, briefed the commission on May attendance and staffing and asked for authorization to fill a budgeted as‑needed museum assistant position to restore weekend coverage.

Hler introduced Jen Pley as the Riley County Historical Society’s new administrator and reported strong April attendance tied to fourth‑grade field trips (693 students) and May turnout from the Flint Hills Festival. She described ongoing collections work — hiring a contract registrar to clear backlog — preservation efforts at the Wolf House, and recent fundraising: the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation's Grow Green raised $11,025 in donations plus a $4,750 match, totaling $15,775 for preservation projects.

For staffing, Hler said the museum currently has three "as needed" museum assistants filled out of five budgeted positions and that one of the current assistants is reducing hours due to a new commitment. She requested permission to post and fill one budgeted as‑needed museum assistant at $15 per hour (not benefit eligible) to cover those weekend hours. "I would like to recommend that we hire or at least move forward with posting the position and accepting applications," Hler told commissioners.

A commissioner moved to approve the request and another seconded the motion. The motion was put to voice vote and the chair declared the motion passed. Hler said the hire will not exceed the approved 2026 personnel budget and that the position averages roughly 416 hours annually under current budgeting assumptions.

Hler also previewed upcoming museum events including a cemetery preservation workshop on June 20, a living‑history weekend July 10–11, and a Victorian hair‑art workshop in September, and said staff aim to make programming more community‑based and to complete interior improvements at the Wolf House and studio.