Museum halts land transfer

Officials: Must resolve easement problem along river

FORT SMITH -- Officials with the U.S. Marshals Museum and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must resolve issues with a Corps easement along the Arkansas River before the museum's exact site can be decided, a top museum official said Tuesday.

Jim Dunn, president and CEO of the museum, reported during the museum board's meeting Tuesday that the Corps completed a survey of the Corps easement on the museum site in November. The survey showed that if the building is located at the edge of the easement, a spire that is part of the building's design will hang over it, and that issue must be resolved, Dunn told the board.

The U.S. Marshals Museum will educate visitors on the 225-year history of the U.S. Marshals Service, the oldest federal law enforcement agency.

A civil engineer working with the museum discovered an unrecorded easement that led museum officials to stop a planned transfer of 15.9 acres of land from the Robert Westphal family that is intended to be the museum's site, Dunn said.

"Completion of the survey was an important first step in November that should lead to transfer of property from the Westphal family to the U.S. Marshals Museum," Dunn said.

A final resolution on the easement and location of the building will allow the transfer to proceed, Dunn said, adding that he's unsure how long the process will take.

The survey was completed the week of Nov. 10, said Laurie Driver, a spokesman for the Corps' Little Rock District. The Corps has the easement for maintenance of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.

The Corps will work with the museum to ensure its plans do not interfere with the easement on the river side of the property, Driver said.

Permanent structures are not permitted on the easement, but it would not interfere with plans for landscaping, parking, sidewalks, trails or monuments for the museum, Dunn said.

The museum has received $19.5 million in cash and pledges, including an anonymous pledge of $5 million made in August, Dunn said. The pledge will be paid by the end of 2016.

The museum also anticipates receiving at least $4 million from the sale of a three-coin commemorative set that is expected to be released by the U.S. Mint, Dunn said.

Past estimates have put the cost to build the museum and establish a $4 million endowment at $50 million and annual operations at $3 million, Dunn said. He awaits completion of an audit within the next several weeks that will show the total amount raised, spent and still needed to build the museum, he said.

Metro on 12/12/2014

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