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New Senate bill may help Virginia Museum of Transportation become a state agency
New Senate bill may help Virginia Museum of Transportation become a state agency
By Ashley Boles
Published: Jan. 11, 2022 at 11:55 PM EST
ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - A museum that will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year could get the funding it needs to not only stay open, but make improvements and hire more staff members. ... The Virginia Museum of Transportation, in downtown Roanoke, is now part of Senate Bill 72, drafted by Roanoke Democratic Senator John Edwards.
Right now, the museum does not qualify for state funding since it’s not a state agency, but SB 72 looks to change that. A separate budget amendment, also recently filed, would give the museum $2 million annually.
“It’s [the museum] an economic driver that is unrecognized at this point, so the state could make it number one stable, number two, an opportunity to grow, because if the state pays your operating, and your benefits, and you become eligible for state retirement, you can hire employees who have a different stake in the future of the museum,” said former longtime museum Director Bev Fitzpatrick, who has played a role in the museum’s history since before the museum opened, when he was a teenager.
{snip}
Copyright 2022 WDBJ. All rights reserved.
By Ashley Boles
Published: Jan. 11, 2022 at 11:55 PM EST
ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - A museum that will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year could get the funding it needs to not only stay open, but make improvements and hire more staff members. ... The Virginia Museum of Transportation, in downtown Roanoke, is now part of Senate Bill 72, drafted by Roanoke Democratic Senator John Edwards.
Right now, the museum does not qualify for state funding since it’s not a state agency, but SB 72 looks to change that. A separate budget amendment, also recently filed, would give the museum $2 million annually.
“It’s [the museum] an economic driver that is unrecognized at this point, so the state could make it number one stable, number two, an opportunity to grow, because if the state pays your operating, and your benefits, and you become eligible for state retirement, you can hire employees who have a different stake in the future of the museum,” said former longtime museum Director Bev Fitzpatrick, who has played a role in the museum’s history since before the museum opened, when he was a teenager.
{snip}
Copyright 2022 WDBJ. All rights reserved.
Roanoke's Transportation Museum seeks new direction (copy)
Luke Weir Jan 26, 2022
Of planes, trains and automobiles, recognition as an official state agency would help keep operations on track for the Virginia Museum of Transportation as the organization works to bridge challenges brought on by the coronavirus.
Conducting the museum’s request for state funding is Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, who filed Senate Bill 72, which would establish the Virginia Museum of Transportation in downtown Roanoke as a state-sanctioned institution of public education.
The museum is housed in a 1918-built former freight station and is a crucial link to Roanoke’s railroad origins, Edwards said. ... “It’s very important that the Virginia Museum of Transportation be a state agency. A lot of people think it already is,” Edwards said. “It is the official transportation museum of Virginia, but it’s just never been a state agency.”
Designation as a state agency would help the museum accrue funding, build up staffing and generate new programs to draw additional visitation, he said.
{snip}
By Luke Weir
luke.weir@roanoke.com
Luke Weir Jan 26, 2022
Of planes, trains and automobiles, recognition as an official state agency would help keep operations on track for the Virginia Museum of Transportation as the organization works to bridge challenges brought on by the coronavirus.
Conducting the museum’s request for state funding is Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, who filed Senate Bill 72, which would establish the Virginia Museum of Transportation in downtown Roanoke as a state-sanctioned institution of public education.
The museum is housed in a 1918-built former freight station and is a crucial link to Roanoke’s railroad origins, Edwards said. ... “It’s very important that the Virginia Museum of Transportation be a state agency. A lot of people think it already is,” Edwards said. “It is the official transportation museum of Virginia, but it’s just never been a state agency.”
Designation as a state agency would help the museum accrue funding, build up staffing and generate new programs to draw additional visitation, he said.
{snip}
By Luke Weir
luke.weir@roanoke.com