Dowagiac’s city council authorized an advisory committee and remodeling expenditures Monday evening for the southwest Michigan museum, which is currently in transition.
During the regular meeting of the council, City Manager Kevin Anderson established a Museum Advisory Committee that will continue the monitoring of the museum.
Anderson said individuals from the previous committee at Southwestern Michigan College (SMC), the previous location of the museum, will hopefully take over the positions available in the new committee, which will have space for possibly four more members.
“The committee has been around since the start of the museum,” Anderson said. “When the city took over, we thought it was in the best interest of the museum to continue with the committee.”
Mayor Don Lyons said he hoped the extra space on the committee might get more community involvement.
He also hoped the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians would join the committee.
“It’s a rich history and it needs to be told,” Lyons said.
Anderson also asked the council to authorize expenditures for the remodeling projects currently underway at the new museum location on West Railroad Street. The amount estimated for remodeling is currently $350,000.
“That amount will go toward the construction of the building itself,” Anderson said of the demolition of the former Behnke Paint and Floor Covering building and the installation of new materials.
According to Anderson, $250,000 is already committed.
In about four to six weeks, the city expects to hear back on the current grant application that has been resubmitted after the funding increased from $1 million to $10 million.