Museum to remain in current location

The facility’s board of directors had been considering a move to the old Post Office.

We not only believe enhancing our current location will provide greater outreach with better access to exhibits and activities, but will also prevent a beautiful old building from sitting empty on the street adjacent to our vibrant business district on Broadway. Katie Rennard President, Museum Board of Directors

The Siloam Springs Museum will stay in its current home for the foreseeable future, according to an announcement made Tuesday. Museum board members attended a workshop held before the Siloam Springs Board of Directors meeting on Feb. 7 to present on the future of the museum.

The museum’s board of directors had been considering a potential move to the city-owned building on Broadway Street that once housed the Siloam Springs Post Office. The museum’s decision not to move comes after the city board directed the museum leadership to consider options for a move over the course of the last 18 months.

In the end, the museum’s leadership determined that the extra costs of moving and maintaining a larger space was not worth the move.

“We just don’t believe it is the right thing to do,” said Museum Board of Directors president Katie Rennard.

“We not only believe enhancing our current location will provide greater outreach with better access to exhibits and activities, but will also prevent a beautiful old building from sitting empty on the street adjacent to our vibrant business district on Broadway,” Rennard said in a press release.

Rennard said the museum was instead looking at renovating its current site to maximize the space in the existing building. The museum brought in architect Matt Pearson to give the museum leadership an idea of what improvements to make.

Pearson said the museum is planning to investigate restoring the original wood floors, adding natural light in a way that doesn’t damage any sensitive artifacts, adding handicap-accessible toilets, managing basement storage and repairing the sidewalks leading to the property.

Because the project is still in the planning stages and no bids have been sent, Rennard said there was no current cost

estimate. She and treasurer Alan Lamb both said at different times in the presentation that they hoped the money set aside by the city for the relocation could still be made available to the museum for renovation. Director Carol Smiley said she was not sure if the funds would be available to the museum or if they would have to go toward renovating the old post office.

The project will likely return to the city’s board in a few weeks. Lamb said the museum planned to bring the project back once bids were received.

The museum’s announcement leaves the question of the future of the old Post Office building. During the Board of Directors meeting that immediately followed the museum’s workshop, City Administrator Phillip Patterson asked the board for permission to issue a request for proposals in order to gauge potential interest in the use of the building.

If the city receives a proposal that staff believes is beneficial to the city, it is likely that the building would be leased out. The city’s other options for the building include finding an internal use for the building or selling the building again.

The city purchased the building from the Bank of Siloam Springs through auction in 2011 for $210,000. In 2005, the city sold the post office to David Lillich for $100,000.

The former post office was constructed from 1936 to 1937 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration program, according to a Herald-Leader article in 2011.