It’s exciting to see local leaders stepping into the future while cherishing the region’s rich past — specifically in regard to building a new children’s museum and sprucing up the 87-year-old Lewis County courthouse.
A permanent 18,000-square-foot Discover! Children’s Museum, which could open as early as next year on a lot in front of Home Depot, would cost about $3 million to build and $250,000 a year to operate.
“This year’s got to be spent finding the money,” Larry McGee, chairman of the Children’s Museum Advisory Group, told the Chehalis Community Renaissance Team Friday. Proponents plan to meet with local groups to share how the museum is so much more than a playground.
Six local educators spent a day identifying how each of the 11 exhibits in a pilot project teaches skills addressed in the Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements. They posted signs at each station explaining the benefits youngsters can glean and suggesting questions parents can ask to spur greater thinking.
The Chehalis City Council agreed to waive the $150,000 in latecomers’ fees, which help recoup utility capital expenses, for the nonprofit organization, which will pay $30,525 a year to lease the one-acre lot on Northwest Louisiana Avenue for up to 50 years.
Intangibles like the children’s museum, which could draw 22,000 people a year, also help recruit new businesses and professional workers, said Dick Larman, the Lewis County Economic Development Council’s executive director.
After a successful 11-month pilot project, organizers determined the high visibility at the Twin City Town Center brought in nearly 40 percent of the 15,000 paid patrons. “It won’t work downtown,” McGee said.
Twentieth District Sen. John Braun and Rep. Richard DeBolt submitted an official request for money from the state Legislature to pay a third of the construction costs, McGee said, and the Renaissance is working with Stan Foster, an Oregon consultant with PARC Resources, to seek grants from foundations to cover another third of the cost. The last portion would need to be raised from the community, which has already contributed to a new library and swimming pool in recent years.
Chehalis also will see a spiffed-up courthouse next spring after the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation approved a $75,000 matching grant for Lewis County, which will pay for repointing mortar, cast stonework, window balustrades, and exterior cleaning. The work will be done while retaining the historic look of the 1927 building.
“It’s more expensive to maintain it historically,” said Michael Strozyk, Lewis County Centralia Services director. “Everything we do has to be approved by DAP.”
But retaining the historic authenticity is important, especially since the county wants the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington Heritage Register. Andy Skinner, the Lewis County Historical Museum’s executive director, is spearheading that effort, working with Strozyk, Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund, and Doug Carey, facilities manager.
The Washington State Advisory Council on Historic Preservation will consider the request in June.
It’s not just buildings receiving a makeover.
Bret Bryan, a Chehalis-Centralia Railroad and Museum board member, told the Renaissance that two bridges for the Rails-to-Trails project have been assembled and will be installed within the next several months.
The 56-mile Willapa Hills Trail follows an old Northern Pacific rail route from Chehalis through Adna to South Bend. Since the State Parks Department acquired the right of way from Burlington Northern in December 1993, the tracks have been removed.
The first phase of the $1.4 million project, launched in August 2007, called for resurfacing rail bed on nearly five miles between Chehalis and Adna, constructing four wooden trestles, and paving parking lots and another mile of the trail.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian and former journalist who lives in Toledo, owns Chapters of Life, a company dedicated to preserving family stories. She may be reached at memorybooks@chaptersoflife.com.
