Sunday, August 4, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This WeekPOTSDAM -- The village will help fund the construction of a music and sound lab at the North Country Children's Museum.
At its meeting Tuesday, May 28, the village board of trustees voted to …
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BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This WeekPOTSDAM -- The village will help fund the construction of a music and sound lab at the North Country Children's Museum.
At its meeting Tuesday, May 28, the village board of trustees voted to approve a $20,000 funding request from the museum board to support the project.
Last month, members of the museum board, along with violin teacher and area fiddler Gretchen Koehler made the pitch for the $20,000 village contribution to the mayor and trustees.
The village board agreed at its May 28 meeting to dedicate $20,000 of the village's American Rescue Plan Act funding to the cause.
The new lab will be part of the overall $3.6 million dollar expansion project at the museum which is expected to open to the public next year.
The second floor renovations are expected to be complete in June, however additional funding is still being gathered for the new exhibits and interactive displays planned for the new space. The museum is working with exhibit creators Blue Rhino Design on exhibits for the new space like a maple tree climber with a glass lookout over the village. Other plans call for a small scale Amish homestead house, an additional program room, and a family resource room, in addition to the music and sound lab activities station.
The village still has just over $200,000 in ARPA funds remaining to assign to projects which qualify under ARPA guidelines.
ARPA funds were released to local governments in 2021 to help address the economic fallout caused by the pandemic and aid in recovery efforts.
One of the ways ARPA money can be used is to support small businesses and speed the recovery of tourism, travel and hospitality sectors.
According to NCCM board member Dr. Ana Estevez, the museum drew more than 22,000 visitors to the museum in 2022. The museum currently contributes about $700,000 to the local economy, it is estimated from those visitors.
That expansion, funded by grants, donations and state funding, could add as much as $1.7 million to the local economy outside of the museum.
