After exploring their options, the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin has decided to make the best of their temporary home in the Tourism Discovery Centre.
At their AGM in November, membership of the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin Society passed a motion directing their new board to look into the feasibility of moving the museum back into a downtown location.
A committee established by the board of directors investigated 10 different sites in the downtown core, but, ultimately decided it would be too expensive to do in the short term.
Read more: Museum society hopes to relocate back downtown
“The investigation revealed that most available sites are not eligible for short term lease; they are already occupied; or would take at least a year to vacate, renovate and be viable to accommodate the museum,” said Janice Sapp, secretary to the board.
The board estimated that it would take $200,000 for a second move, including the costs of rental and utilities, a cost that would have to be born by the museum itself.
“It is too expensive to try and do anything right now,” said George Atamanenko, although he stresses that the goal for the museum is to still try and find a location downtown.
As a result, until a permanent home can be found, the board has decided to keep the museum temporarily at the TDC, said Sapp.
At the AGM in November, Mayor Walt Cobb said there was still funding available to help the museum with renovations to the building, which is currently storing a number of the museum’s artifacts in the unfinished basement, and has a small display space on the main floor of the discovery centre, which also houses the Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce and the tourism information centre.
Read more: Museum move underway in Williams Lake
City of Williams Lake Chief Administrative Officer Milo MacDonald said that while the decision will ultimately lie with city council during budget consultations, because of the cost involved, it feels like the move to renovate the TDC is a step forward.
“They would like to find themselves in a permanent location, but we would like to fully utilize the facility and there may be a way to fully accommodate both of those dreams, where we would be able to finish it and effectively store the artifacts down there in a way that wont inconvenience the museum and they will be able to double or triple their display space so that would be a real win-win.”
MacDonald said the next steps are to continue meetings with the museum society and the Chamber to develop a consensus to move forward with, as well as look into available grants that might be able to support the museum as well.
Atamanenko outlined a number of ways the museum hopes to better utilize the space at the TDC, including the creation of more display areas, and said they are also planning to look into ways to change the displays more frequently.
“We will be looking at renewing the displays more frequently then has ever been done before, to give people a fresher outlook at what artifacts that we have.”
The displays will be based on the themes the museum society has already decided to prioritize, including Aboriginal history, ranching and the industrial era.
Atamanenko also said he hopes the museum will be able to work with the plans to bring a heritage park to Williams Lake – a proposal that has been passed in principal by City Council to bring the 153 Mile Store into a part of the Stampede Grounds.
Read more: Regional museum options to be investigated
In the meantime, the board is working with the city to make the best with what is available now, said Atamanenko.
“There has been a lot of negativity but we are beyond that now,” he said.
“It’s a very positive direction that we are pursuing and that’s the way it is going to be.”
