Council approves Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum annual plan and FY27 budget over one dissent

Kathleen Bodenlos, executive director of Discovery Gateway Children's Museum, presented the museum's annual plan and the FY27 budget request and asked the council for approval of the Museum's use of county facilities and its annual plan. Bodenlos outlined recent accomplishments — a permanent UTA exhibit opened April 2026, a planned Intermountain Healthcare–funded children’s mental‑health exhibit (targeted opening 2027), and a rooftop garden greenhouse (75% of greenhouse funding secured) — and reviewed attendance and inclusion programs. She said the museum served about 278,000 kids and families this fiscal year and that the Access for All inclusion program has reached nearly 19,000 individuals with an estimated access value above $220,000.

On the financials, Bodenlos presented FY27 projections: earned revenue $2.3 million, contributed revenue $1.5 million, total revenue about $3.8 million and projected expenses near $3.5 million, yielding a modest net increase. After Q&A about deferred revenue and the inclusion program's near‑term revenue impact, the council moved to approve the annual plan and budget; the motion passed with one recorded nay and seven ayes. The director said she will provide the closed fiscal year numbers to the council in mid‑August as requested.

Why it matters: the museum operates under a county contract to occupy county property at The Gateway and the county's approval of the annual plan and budget authorizes use of county facilities and confirms the museum's financial plans for the coming fiscal year.