$250,000 given for planned Stafford museum; public fundraiser planned

STAFFORD — Fourteen years ago the Board of Supervisors set aside two percent of the Transient Occupancy Tax to help finance a Stafford County Museum and Cultural Center. While the tax was diverted to the General Fund in 2010, nearly one million dollars remain for the museum to use. 

Now the Museum Foundation, which separated from the county government and became a 501C-(3) in 2010, has requested and received $250,000 of it’s reserved funds after Board approval. 

“That number is something we felt would allow us to engage multiple consultants at one time, but would also be enough that we wouldn’t have to be running back to you every couple of months and asking for additional money,” said Scott Mayausky, president of the Stafford Museum and Cultural Center.

This money will help finance community and professional guidance on the facility. It is intended as a primary step to developing business, operating, and capital financing plans. Any funds that aren’t used in the initial planning phase will be transferred to the construction of the museum. 

It remains unclear how exactly the money will be spent and how much will be allocated to consultation, staffing, and a possible executive director. 

“We can’t really build the foundation we need to answer some of these questions without having a funding stream in order to get the professionals in to build a foundation,” Mayausky said. 

The Foundation does not expect to be able to pay for the Museum solely through public dollars. A fundraising campaign will be founded after initial planning to determine what funds will be needed. 

Among future plans, the Foundation is seeking to merge the many cultural and historical societies that exist in Stafford into a cohesive entity. Additionally, a collections policy will be formed to determine what kinds of items the museum chooses to display.

Just on the other side of the Rappahannock River, the City of Fredericksburg has had its ups and downs trying to build a similar local museum with unforeseen renovation costs, the 2008 recession, and many other factors. The museum reopened in March of 2019 with new exhibits.  

“I hesitate to bring up what the City of Fredericksburg did in their trials and tribulations with their museum, but it was a very painful process for their museum board,” said Falmouth District Supervisor Meg Bohmke. “I hope that you all [the Museum Foundation] have reached out to some of their board members.”

Now that the Board has voted to appropriate funds to the Foundation, the money is out of their control. Still, the Foundation has expressed the desire to maintain “transparency” and update the Board on any future progress.