January, February & March 2026 Newsletter

As we have been moving forward with our expansion plans for the museum, our consultants have raised concerns about the load-impact on the west wall of the museum. The original wood-frame structure was built in 1880. The west wall contains four large windows. There is worry about the ability of this wall to carry the load of the proposed addition. With that in mind, our consultants are recommending we do borings filled with concrete for support columns to carry the load. This represents a significant additional cost for the project. Considering these added costs, they have proposed an alternate design con- cept. It involves a separate 30’x80’ structure west of the existing building connected with a hallway that would contain the ramp necessary to make the existing building fully accessible. This approach will reduce costs. Our board has recently approved the plan. Our consultants will now develop con- struction documents and cost estimates. We can then begin our fundraising campaign for the project. We will...