Council receives museum expansion project update

NEW LONDON – A special New London Common Council meeting was held March 24 for the purpose of updating the council on the progress of the New London Public Museum expansion project.
Christine Cross, director of the New London Public Museum, told the council that the New London Library and Museum Board allowed her to create a New London Public Museum Expansion Committee who “represented all of the stakeholders involved with the project.” This advisory committee would oversee the planning and communicate through Cross with the library museum board.
To help with the expansion project, five different working groups were formed: public relations, programs, building, governance, and fundraising. The working groups are up and running, ready to start developing specific goals and implementing a variety of initiatives, Cross said.
As more communications about the expansion project are released to the public, Cross said more details about the plans and timeline will be included in those communications.
“We want to meet the people where they are and talk about the project,” Cross said. “We want to invite them to visit, to come to a program, or get involved volunteering.”

Cross said the Building Working Group has developed several community projects, with the first project scheduled for this summer with a program about plants and pollinators.
“As part of the program, kids and adults will be invited to help us plant an entirely new pollinator garden on the south side of the museum building,” Cross said.
The storm windows at the museum were also addressed by Cross. She said no bids were received from contractors the first-time request for bids were sent out. The second time bids were requested only one bid was received. She said that bid came in five times higher than the budget for that project, so the bid was rejected.
Thinking outside the box, Cross said she had an idea to turn the storm windows project into a community project. This project would help the museum, involve the community, as well as promote and teach historical preservation skills.
Cross said she contacted a preservation program housed at Beloit College and received the contact information for a historic preservationist who specializes in restoring windows.
After contacting the preservationists, Cross said, “He is very excited to come to New London from Missouri to teach a workshop about storm window restoration using the Carnegie Libraries storm windows.”
A minimum of 12 people will be needed to participate in the workshop, with a maximum of 18 participants.
“We want to encourage anyone with any interest in historic preservation or who has an old house, an old building, or just wants to learn a new skill to sign up,” Cross said.
The fee for the three-day workshop is $100. The fee is $50 for members of the Friends of the New London Public Museum.
The preservationist will donate three new storm windows to replace the missing ones, which amounts to about a $1,000 donation, Cross said.

Fundraising
Llahoma Jackson, Director of Development for the New London Public Museum, spoke to the council about fundraising efforts for the museum expansion project. She said the Fundraising Working Group has four primary objectives.
Those objectives include: to mobilize leadership level giving in support of a multi-million-dollar museum expansion, strengthening and growing a sustainable monthly giving program to diversify the funds received, to build a long-term fundraising framework that positions the museum for success beyond 2027 and 2028, and to create network opportunities while maintaining a strong commitment to transparency and community trust.
To date, Jackson said more than $220,000 had been fundraised.
“This work is about building a sustainable future for the museum that’s grounded with community support and long-term strategy,” Jackson said. “We’re encouraged by the progress to date and the momentum that’s expected moving forward.”

Possibilities Phase
During what Cross called a possibilities phase, Cross said the museum would explore the possibilities of how exhibits would be displayed. The length of this stage would be about three years.
She said the museum is currently focusing on the first seven months of that timespan.
During the first and second months, the space in the museum would be analyzed. Current exhibits would remain open in their current locations, and new public hours the museum would be open would begin. The museum would be closed on Sundays and Mondays, but private tours would be available on Mondays. The upstairs of the museum would remain empty, but community programs and meetings could be scheduled.
The transition of the museum would begin during the third month. Exhibits would continue to be open in their current locations, but the upstairs would be closed to the public. Projects would be worked on in the upstairs portion of the library.

During the fourth and fifth months, Cross said the entire museum building would be closed to the public so exhibits could be moved from the downstairs to the upstairs. A new Curiosity Corner would be installed, but it would be named, “We Can Build Center.”
During the period that the museum is closed, an outdoor exhibit would be on display from the Wisconsin Historical Society. The exhibit, entitled “We Take Our Sports Seriously” History Walk, is part of its statewide History Makers Tour, Cross said.
The museum would reopen during the sixth and seventh months with exhibits in their new upstairs locations. Work downstairs would include setting up archives and preservation areas, as well as a public research area.
For everything to be completed, Cross said the museum needs volunteers for all facets of the expansion project. She added that the museum also needs funding and help getting the word out about the museum.