Detailed plan for Chapel Hill museum ready

The News & Observer, May 29, 1995

By JANE STANCILL

CHAPEL HILL -- A plan for the town's first permanent history museum is taking shape.

After months of research, a museum study committee appointed by the Town Council last year has come up with a detailed proposal for a Chapel Hill museum.

The group's report says a museum could be up and running in two years if the town donates the former library on Franklin Street for its use. Support would come through grants from business and government, and private donations.

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The idea first gained popularity last year during the town's bicentennial celebration. Museum backers asked for space in the town's old library, and before long, yard signs popped up all over town supporting the notion of a museum. About $30,000 in pledges also poured in.

A 12-member study committee spent the past year researching museum funding possibilities and visiting other museums across North Carolina. Members spent more than 1,000 hours on the task.

They were encouraged by what they found. They looked at eight museums in North Carolina, with annual budgets ranging from $120,000 to $5.3 million. A few were in small towns.

"There are towns with far less in financial resources than we have that have made quite a go of their museums," said committee member Joe Herzenberg.

Some are run by local governments; others are owned and operated by non-profit corporations.

Herzenberg and other members think the non-profit organization may be the better way to go.

"I'm not the first one to say this is not the best time for local governments to be thinking about taking on new departments," Herzenberg said.

The key, committee members say, will be the use of the old library. Having a place to begin part-time museum operations is the only way to get major support through grants and corporate donations.

During the two-year beginning phase, the museum would probably require about $44,000 in operating money each year, the committee estimated.

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Herzenberg said the success of the bicentennial demonstrated the town's interest in history.

"We've only begun to tap the barrel of volunteers in this town," he said. "The main questions are time and money. But I think there are a lot of interested and clever people who want to make this happen."