FORT SMITH - The U.S. Marshals Museum will receive about $1 million from the state this summer to help with operating costs as its national fundraising effort gets under way, museum President Jim Dunn said Friday.
Dunn said the state appropriation will help the museum continue to reserve donations solely for the museum’s construction.
“This appropriation demonstrates this is not a Fort Smith project,” Dunn said. “This is a statewide project with national significance.”
The appropriation will be the second from the state, he said. Around 2008, the museum received more than $2 million for operating expenses and fundraising seed money.
So far, he said, the museum has raised $11.5 million toward the estimated total $50 million cost. Dunn said last month the museum expects to collect $4 million from the minting next year of $5 gold and $1 silver commemorative coins and as much as $10 million from new market tax credits from a U.S. Treasury Department program.
Museum officials are aiming to break ground on the museum next year on donated land on the banks of the Arkansas River near downtown Fort Smith, with the museum opening in 2016.
Construction is estimated to cost $28.5 million, with another $15.5 million for exhibitions and installation, $2 million for educational programs and a $4 million endowment to support museum facilities, education programs and outreach.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 11 on 04/27/2013