Grant checks arrived at the Mt. Pleasant City Hall last week after three local museums in Ephraim, Fairview, and Spring City applied for a grant from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums together and were approved to receive a combined total of $80,912 in funding for their projects.
It was a group effort between the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, Economic Development department within Sanpete County, and three volunteers from each museum who all worked on the grant application process to ensure it was in the best possible condition to be submitted and accepted.
The application process started last fall, when Roger Roper from SHPO, Kevin Christensen from the Economic Development department at Sanpete County, and Monte Bona, executive director of Northern Pioneer Heritage, felt that between the three of them, they would be able to help a few museums with grant applications.
It was something they have helped with before. Collectively, they felt responsible for helping the museums since they were all familiar with the process of grant applications, which can be intimidating for those unfamiliar with it.
Together they sat down and decided to reach out to three local museums who they knew might be interested in applying for grants and found that the Ephraim Pioneer Park Museum, Fairview Museum of History, and Spring City Daughters of Utah Pioneers (DUP) Museum were all in need of funding and wanted assistance with the process.
According to Roper, the rule for this grant was that the amount had to be no more than $50,000, and if the project amount followed this, the grant would pay for it all with no match required. Unique to other applications, this application was a bundle of all three applications in one, which no one had ever proposed before.
However, since the applications still provided all the necessary information, it was allowed without any issue. Roper mentioned that this provides the potential for local museums in a rural area to combine their efforts and submit one application that covers all projects instead of separate applications.
The process included a lot of details. Each museum needed to include the museum “collection policy” (what types of historical items they collect), their projects, bids for reference, project importance, photos, and more to make a case on why their project should be funded.
Thankfully, Sanpete County not only helped submit the application, but is serving as the fiscal agent for all the grant funds. “This takes some of the burden off of the grant recipients regarding grant administrative paperwork,” Roper says.
Roper helped Sarah Thomas, a volunteer at Ephraim Pioneer Park Museum; Carla Nelson from the Spring City DUP Museum; and Allen Nelson with the Fairview Museum of History to create these applications in a manner that would make their case stronger.
Eventually, these applications got submitted with the help of Christensen at the end of October. Since grants take time, they waited until mid-December when they received notice that they were approved for the grants, and again until last week to receive the checks.
Since the Utah Division of Arts and Museums’ fiscal year is over at the end of June, all proposed projects for the museums will need to be completed by then. Since the application process took about five months, prices for each project have changed, and workers are harder to schedule for projects. Regardless, each museum is well on their way to make their projects happen.
Ephraim Pioneer Park Museum
The Ephraim Pioneer Park Museum already had a multi-year plan for renovations and has been working hard with volunteers to make the renovations happen. According to Thomas, the Ephraim Pioneer Park Museum began the process on this part of their project as soon as they found out the funds were approved. They received a total of $29,390 to redo the roofing, originally, on the Granary, Bailey, and Sorensen cabins; put in a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) mini-split ductless system in the Hansen house; and install security cameras throughout the park that will be monitored by police.
Although the prices have gone up and only two roofs can be done, all other renovations and upgrades are progressing quickly. The roofing on the Bailey cabin and Granary and security system installation will be done within the next week or two, and the HVAC system is scheduled to be installed by April 12.
The Ephraim Pioneer Park Museum has plans to be ready in spring to provide field trips to the Ephraim Middle School and Spring City, Ephraim, and Manti Elementary Schools.
Thomas says that the process was smoother with Roger helping her through the application. “He knew all the ins and outs,” she said, and he was “really good at walking me through the process.”
Fairview Museum of History
The Fairview Museum of History received a total of $45,072 for a new HVAC system on their two-story Horizon building. The current furnaces have been on the Horizon building since it was new, and they have been having a harder time finding parts for the old furnace. This was the reason the museum board gave Allen Nelson permission to look for a grant for a new HVAC system and retire the old one.
Allen Nelson mentioned that since they were notified about a month ago that it had been accepted, they started to move forward. Gunther’s Heating and Air was scheduled to remove the old and install the new on Monday, Feb. 14.
Allen Nelson says, “Fairview Museum would like to thank Roger for his help and assistance in working on this grant for us,” and that it “owes a great deal to Roger for his time and efforts.”
Spring City Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum
The Spring City DUP Museum received a total of $6,450 to install a mini-split ductless HVAC system. Carla Nelson says, “We are so excited and grateful; the cool air in the summer will make things so much better” for volunteers and visitors alike.
With this grant providing an HVAC system and another to provide funds for new carpet, door thresholds, and window repairs, the museum will be open in May and welcomes all visitors.
With the combined effort of all three levels of government – county, regional, and state – they were able to help three local museums become more aware of the grant process and assist in the approval of the application.
Roper hopes that the more local museums are aware of what they and others are doing, and with a little more coordination, other museums and history organizations will be able to benefit in a similar manner, making grant applications less intimidating.
