The Milford Museum provides an update to City Council members as it continues to move into a new space.
The museum reached an agreement with the city in 2024 to move into the old police station, and this spring, it closed its doors to begin the move. Now, museum officials say, the first phase of that move is well underway. Claudia Leister is the museum’s curator.
“The first phase is essentially - we’ll be done by the end of the year - is our offices, is a welcome center for the city, and the Chamber of Commerce is in there, and we will have a main exhibit open,” she said.
Funding to complete that exhibit space is still a little short, but Executive Director Larry Josefowski was optimistic about getting that money soon.
“We need $30,000 - $35,000 and I think that's definitely doable in terms of getting grants,” he said.
Josefowski also touted the success of the museum’s regular Saturday talks at the city’s library.
“We talk about bringing people downtown. Our Saturday talks continued - we have roughly between 100 to 125 people come downtown every Saturday,” he said, adding that the program is funded at least through next summer.
But the museum also had a request for city council members. Leister said that the museum needs more clarity when it comes to responsibility for the building and grounds - and possibly some financial assistance with upkeep and maintenance.
“Who's responsible for what?” Leister asked. “You own the building, you own the property, and we're hopefully good stewards of it and have put a lot of time, effort, and money into it - to the inside. So we're hoping with some help for the outside.”
The museum will likely need to work with the city manager on clarifying the agreement with the city. If city officials are inclined to provide a funding boost to help cover upkeep, that would likely be included in next year’s budget, which will see a vote in June 2027.
