The Haines Sheldon Museum is in the running for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant that, if awarded, will improve accessibility to the building for people with disabilities.

Upgrades would include installing an elevator, handicapped bathrooms and rebuilding the rotted wooden ramp that leads to the second level from the street.

Last Tuesday, the assembly unanimously voted to advance the Sheldon Museum’s proposal for HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Program. The federal pool of money will be awarded to rural communities’ proposals that best address issues affecting health and safety.

Museum director Helen Alten told the assembly on Tuesday that accepting the museum’s proposal was a matter of honoring civil rights legislation passed in 1990.

“The (Americans with Disabilities Act) law is 30 years old. At this point, if someone hasn’t met ADA, we are really liable in the courts. There’s really no excuse for not being accessible anymore,” she said.

The Haines Borough is requesting $675,000 in funding from the CDBG. As part of the grant eligibility requires matched funding, the borough will contribute $125,000 through its capital improvement project fund over three years.

In-kind funds are also used to match the grant. These include staff costs, the property value, and repairs to the building during the past two years. The museum is currently raising money to provide additional cash match for the project.

Grant requirements limit in-kind matching to the past two years. Since 2018, the borough has spent more than $200,000 in upgrades to the museum, including replacing the roof, siding, and windows.

This is the second year the museum has petitioned the assembly to select its application for the grant. Last year, the assembly selected ADA upgrades to the public safety building, a project that lost points from judges for “limited impacts” and a budget that did not explain some administrative costs.

Finance committee members also heard a project proposal from representatives of the Haines Senior Village, who requested a carport to protect seniors from slipping while clearing snow off their cars. The committee recommended the assembly support the museum project.

Assembly members Stephanie Scott and Brenda Josephson agreed with prioritizing the museum over the Senior Village, as it is a borough building that serves the entire community.

Assembly member Paul Rogers told the CVN that his preference came from the desire to leverage the substantial amount of money the borough has already invested in the museum.

“If we didn’t do the block grant for the museum, we would lose that (in-kind) in matching fund,” Rogers said. “Because the museum is such an expensive project, that was something we really didn’t want to do.”

“This is all part of getting the museum up to modern standards,” Alten said.

The HUD will announce its grant recipients in February. If approved, Alten said construction would likely finish in 2021.

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