“We are looking for a partner to grow this together,” KidsWork treasurer Jay Walsh said. <\/p>\n
The downtown museum has been successful in its 6,700 square feet of space in the Trolley Barn, but officials hope to take it to the next level, by providing better space. <\/p>\n
They also want to reduce the $67,000 rent they now pay annually, to free up money for more programs and events. <\/p>\n
Museum board members met Tuesday with the Frankfort Village Board to discuss their long-range proposal. Village trustees were hesitant to make a financial commitment but agreed to form a committee to explore their options. The lease expires in 2011 with an option to extend it for two more years. <\/p>\n
Gina Carrara, museum president, said there are several buildings that would work well, including the former Fox Lumber site, but that may take a few years to develop. <\/p>\n
“We get a lot of people from the Lincoln-Way area. We want to stay close to where we started,” she said. KidsWork is a regional draw to the downtown area, which the village is trying to revitalize, Carrara said. “We’re not asking for a handout. We’re asking you to be our landlord.” <\/p>\n
It opened in December 2008 as a play space and officially operated as a museum in June 2009 with eight permanent exhibits. Walsh estimated it receives 3,500 visitors per month, 28 percent of whom are Frankfort residents. <\/p>\n
Their wish list for a new facility includes an open floor plan with 10,000 to 12,000 square feet and enough space for expansion, outdoor learning, multi-room events, an expanded gift shop and a snack\/coffee shop. <\/p>\n
“We realize this will not happen overnight,” executive director Carol Schneider said. <\/p>\n
This is the beginning of the museum’s long-range plan. <\/p>\n
But to be a partner with the village may come with strings attached. <\/p>\n
“When you get into bed with the government, certain rules have to be followed,” Mayor Jim Holland said. “The government will take a certain amount of control. You would be handing it over.” <\/p>\n
A museum needs a tax source, and the village would have to raise taxes to support it, he said. <\/p>\n
Trustee Dick Trevarthan said the best fit might be with the park district. <\/p>\n
The mayor suggested the creation of a new committee be referred to another committee – the village’s community services committee, which meets March 10. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services<\/a><\/p>\n The KidsWork Children’s Museum is apparently growing as fast as its little patrons. Officials of the 1-year-old Frankfort attraction want larger, more permanent space and asked the village to join the effort. “We are looking for a partner to grow this together,” KidsWork treasurer Jay Walsh said. The downtown museum has been successful in its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-334115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334115\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/img><\/a>
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