SPRINGDALE -- The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History and the Springdale Public Library both are working to grow with the city.
The museum plans new entrances to the building and landscaping tying the campus into Turnbow Park, which is to the southeast, just across West Johnson Avenue, said Angie Albright, director of the museum.
The park has become one of the centerpieces of the city's efforts to revitalize its downtown area.
The City Council on Tuesday approved a contract with Clements & Associates Architecture in Little Rock to design the project for 11% of the construction cost. The design will be paid by the museum's board of directors.
Albright said she expects the design work to cost about $10,000.
The museum this year is working with a $991,000 operating budget from the city.
The museum's board, which also serves as trustee for a museum endowment, works with about $200,000 received from donations and fundraising, Albright said. She said the museum's endowment holds more than $2 million.
"And it hasn't been touched in 30 years," she said.
Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse nominates residents to the board. The City Council approves the appointments and also all spending by the museum.
Marcia Ransom, director of the library, on Thursday said she will ask the library's board this week to start researching architects to close in a seldom-used patio area on the northwest corner of the library.
The space would provide more room for library programs, which have resumed in full force since covid-19 shut down the library in 2020, Ransom said.
Ransom said the cost of the project and how it will be paid for haven't been determined.
"Is it a $1 million project? Is it a $2 million project?" she asked. "I don't know. And the construction costs right now are crazy."
The library operates similarly to the museum, with a board of trustees nominated by the mayor and approved by the council.
The Springdale Public Library board members also serve as trustees for the library's endowment. The endowment stands apart of the city with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, Ransom said. The board can spend its money without approval of the City Council.
Ransom did not share the amount of the endowment.
The Springdale library operates on a $2.6 million budget, which includes money from the city, the Washington County Library System and the Arkansas State Library.
On the grounds
Albright one day noticed a bicyclist on the Razorback Greenway, which borders the eastern side of the museum along Spring Creek. The man parked his bicycle and walked onto the museum grounds.
"He poked around the historic buildings," she said.
The museum, to the east of its exhibit building, includes a general store, doctor's office, log cabin and farm house, all dating to the late 1800s. Several of the buildings remain open for exploration.
Albright said the man didn't come into the museum. She thought it was because he was wearing his cycling clothes.
But his visit fit her vision for the museum as well as the vision of several generations of museum leadership, she said.
"We want to stay true to our historical mission, but we want to appeal to an audience that is continually changing and diversifying," she said.
Albright said the landscaping project also will provide each structure with an interpretive marker telling its history.
The current museum staff and board members hope the new landscape design will make the museum's outdoor area even more inviting, a park-like setting that will flow seamlessly from Turnbow Park, she said.
The museum would be one approach to the city's downtown area. The museum's enhanced grounds would flow into Turnbow Park. Turnbow flows to Shiloh Square, which flows across West Emma Avenue to a public greenspace.
Jill Dabbs, executive director of Downtown Springdale, said a use of the greenspace has not yet been determined.
Turnbow Park, on the last Thursday evening of the warmer months, features live music presented by Downtown Springdale. Visitors could easily sit on the museum's lawn to enjoy the music, Albright said.
The museum also plans to include renovation of the lobby, the bathrooms, the front entry on Johnson Street and the east entry, which leads out to the museum grounds. Staff hope to include painting the exterior of the Shiloh Meeting Hall in the project. The architect will determine the price of the project in plans he will submit to the museum.
Clements was the architect and contractor for the renovation of the 1871 Meeting Hall, one of the oldest buildings in Northwest Arkansas. The hall has served as a gathering place for church congregations, fraternal organizations and civic clubs, and has hosted many community events.
Painters were working last week on the walls of the lobby and community room. The $33,000 cost is being paid by the museum board.
"These areas haven't been touched since the museum was opened in 1991," Albright shared.
The museum board has paid for a lot of the ongoing preservation work, Albright said. That board has tackled everything from roof repairs to programming, she said.
On the shelves
A 2015 needs assessment by the Springdale Public Library showed the library would need more space. Richard Waters of Godfrey's Associates, a library consulting firm in Dallas, noted best practices for libraries say space should equal about 1 square foot per resident in the city, including staff members working in the building.
The 2020 Census recorded 83,000 people living in Springdale. The outdoor area near the children's section would provide 3,000 more square feet if enclosed, Ransom said. The addition would bring the library's total area to 46,000 square feet.
Cost of the expansion was estimated at $530,000 to $700,000 in 2015, but Ransom said that would need updating with today's construction costs.
The project's biggest items would include building a roof for the area and attaching it to the current roof, as well as air conditioning and heating systems, she said.
Librarians would use that space for programs.
The City Council in February 2020 turned down a request for $141,000 to renovate the library's bathrooms, which were last updated in 2010. The needs assessment showed the bathrooms should have been updated long ago.
Ransom said American Rescue Plan money coming from the Arkansas State Library Board might help pay for the renovation. The Springdale library has received $156,000.
The local library board is holding the money, perhaps for this project, Ransom said.
Library staff also have applied for a $25,000 Rescue Plan grant that would help install touch-less fixtures in the bathrooms, to help stop the spread of the covid-19 virus and other germs.
The library earlier received $56,000 in Rescue Plan money that was used to upgrade technology, Ransom said.
Other possibilities have the City Council funding the bathrooms as a capital project, or Sprouse might include updates to the library a part of the next bond issue, Ransom said.
That 2015 needs assessment listed 15 improvements, and most have been completed with money from the local library board and the city's fund for capital improvements. Combined, the money built office space for staff and provided two electronic systems for book sorting. City money provided a new phone system, replaced a boiler for a heating unit, installed an LED lighting system and new book-shelving units.
Most maintenance improvements such as electrical or plumbing come from the library's annual budget.
The Springdale Public Library Foundation receives money from an endowment started 50 years ago, Ransom said.
The foundation has funded many projects over the years, including equipment and furnishings. The board pays for operations the library's operating budget does not include.
Shiloh Meeting Hall is seen on Saturday April 16 2022. The historic building is part of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
Chipped paint is evident on Saturday April 16 2022 on the exterior of the Shiloh Meeting Hall which is part of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
People file for a performance of "Laura Ingalls Wilder: Voice of the Prairie" at the Shiloh Meeting Hall on Saturday April 16 2022 which part of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale. Some renovations and upgrades are planned at the museum located downtown. Go to nwaonline.com/220417Daily/ to see more photos. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)