Museum Capital Project Moves Forward
Valdez, Alaska, December 6, 2019 – The Valdez Museum continues to move forward with its efforts to build a new museum. This past summer Board and Staff were out in the community to raise public awareness about the Capital Project, answering key questions about why we need a new museum, and taking a survey to measure public support for the project. They shared survey results with the Valdez City Council at the VMHA Annual Meeting on Oct. 15, 2019. Of 278 community members surveyed so far, 271 say yes and 7 say no to a new museum.
Stakeholders in the Capital Project continue efforts to pare down the original scope of work, reducing costs yet providing the space needed for consolidating the Museum’s collections and furthering its mission to the community. At the recommendation of Nathan Duval, Capital Facilities Director, the Anchorage Architectural firm ECI is now working to vet the three final proposed building sites. Two of the ECI staff recently had a two-day site visit at both Museum locations to better evaluate the amount of space needed to operate comfortably and cost effectively. Executive Director Patricia Relay said the site visit and meetings with Board and Staff were very productive:
“It was an opportunity to look at all the hard work done in 2016 and to re-evaluate the new museum in a way that accommodates the current financial climate.”
ECI is refining the program of work according to the size of each site, weighing the pros and cons, and doing a conceptual rendering in order to estimate the cost of building on each of the proposed sites. The ECI team will visit Valdez again on Dec. 16, 2019 to prepare for the City Council Work Session on Jan. 16, 2020, when Council members will review the building site options.
Please join Museum Board and Staff at the Council Work Session and become involved in the process!
For more information please contact:
Patricia Relay, Executive Director
Tel. 907-835-2764, Email: prelay@valdezmuseum.org
