Local efforts to save a historical downtown building and turn it into a museum has gained support from Seymour City Council.
The city is applying for nearly $20,000 in funding from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs on behalf of Seymour Museum Inc. to pay for a feasibility study.
That study will determine the scope and phasing of a project to rehabilitate, preserve and transition the old Federal Building at Third and Chestnut streets into a museum showcasing Seymour’s history.
The building first served as a post office in 1918, was converted to city hall in the late 1960s and then became the police station in the mid-1990s. It has sat empty since a new police station was built a block east on Third and Ewing streets in 2007.
In recent weeks, volunteers have finished remodeling the former postmaster/mayor/police chief’s office. Museum President Lenny Hauersperger hopes to start displaying items in the room soon, he said.
“A lot of good things are happening,” he said.
Seymour Museum Inc. has committed about $2,000 in local matching funds to be eligible for the Community Development Block Planning Grant.
To increase the chances of receiving the grant, letters of support are needed from the community, said Trena Carter with Administrative Resources association in Columbus.
Letters can be submitted to ARa or the city.
“This is a project we began back in 2011, and then things quieted down,” Carter said. “Now, we are back at it again. I think it’s something the community would benefit from.”
Carter said the group is taking the appropriate steps on its own by restoring the windows, repairing the roof and addressing sewer and drainage issues.
“We’re a small group, but mighty,” said city attorney Rodney Farrow, who sits on the museum’s board.
A public hearing was conducted during Monday’s council meeting to give people an opportunity to speak in favor of or against the project.
Tonja Couch, executive director of Jackson County United Way, said that organization is supportive of the work being done at the museum and will be sending volunteers there Friday for United Way’s annual Day of Caring community service event.
Council President Jim Rebber encouraged all council members to visit the museum to see the progress being made.
“They have one room done, and it looks very nice,” he said. “I was impressed by it.”
Council approved a resolution to submit the grant application to the state.
“I think it’s a good cause,” Councilman Lloyd Hudson said. “I’m a history buff myself, so I always wanted to see those things preserved and to show them so we can see the history of our city.”