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Board member urges Charlestown to restore museum and library funding, requests $25,000 for 2025
Summary
Jennifer Ward, speaking for the Charlestown Library and Jefferson County Museum, urged the council to reinstate municipal donations that supported the institutions since 2008 and requested a $25,000 city contribution for 2025 to underwrite strategic planning ahead of a 2027 centennial.
Jennifer Ward, a board member for the Charlestown Library and Jefferson County Museum, told the council during public comment that the organizations have been a longstanding part of the city’s cultural infrastructure and have relied on municipal donations.
"The city has made donations to the library and museum since 2008, in the approximate amount of 10,000 annually," Ward said, adding that the groups received about $15,000 per year from 2020–2023 and received no city funding in 2024. She asked the council for a $25,000 contribution in 2025 to support a strategic planning process aimed at expanding programming and preparation for the institutions' centennial in 2027.
Ward described the organizations as anchors that provide public access to books and historical displays and noted service to unhoused residents in need of warmth and restrooms. She said the requested funds would be used for strategic consulting to strengthen the library and museum’s role in downtown and invited staff guidance on how to submit a formal grant request.
Council members thanked Ward for her comments; the mayor noted the finance director was not present and that staff would follow up. No formal action or vote on the $25,000 request was recorded at the meeting; Ward’s appeal was entered into the public record for council consideration in future budget discussions.
