Board members for the under-construction Litchfield Route 66 Museum and Welcome Center in Litchfield, Ill., requested $100,000 in hotel-tax funds from the city for equipment and supplies, reported The Journal-News.
However, a city committee trimmed that possible grant to $20,000, and it still has to be approved by the full council.
Officials undoubtedly balked at the $100,000 request partly because of the amount. Also, the hotel-tax fund contains just $50,000 in cash and $100,000 in a certificate of deposit.
Officials also were concerned the group would deed the building to the city a few months after it opens, adding another expense. The newspaper then reported:
Association president Martha Jackson said that the museum would be completely run by volunteers and that the city would have to trust them that they would keep it operational.
Ellinger also asked if the museum would have any revenue sources coming in that would help them make money to operate. Jackson said they are currently holding fundraisers, including a golf outing on July 27.
The committee also discussed a proposal to turn the Route 66 museum into a primary office for the city’s tourism director, Carol Burke.
Burke explained that it would be a great opportunity for her to talk to tourists about the other options for tourism in Litchfield when travelers stopped in along Route 66. She also cited the Ariston Café guest book as an example of the scope of tourists coming to the city, saying that people from 41 countries signed the book last year and on Tuesday alone, the Ariston had five groups from foreign lands.
Alderman Gene Cailey asked what hours the museum would be open. Burke said the plan was for the museum to be open from 10 to 5, seven days a week.
Cailey suggested that the city start off with Burke at the welcome center only a few days a week as a test, after which they could add or subtract hours as they saw fit.
Having the city’s tourism chief operating from an actual tourism attraction makes sense. However, the museum board requesting so much money seems worrisome. It makes one wonder whether fundraising efforts are going as well as initially hoped. Or maybe the board was simply taking a “ask high, settle for low” approach.