The Island County Historical Society has its eye on an empty lot near the Haller House as a possible site for a planned facilities expansion.
Rick Castellano, executive director of the society’s Island County Historical Museum, proposed the idea for the town-owned Johnson lot to become home to a new archival storage space and conservation lab during a Coupeville Town Council meeting Jan. 11. He asked that the town council consider donating the lot or offering it on a long-term, low-cost lease.
Plans for the new building have been in the works for a while. The museum is home to a wide range of artifacts, from mammoth fossils to indigenous woven baskets to the first car ever to come to Whidbey Island. Museum employees have been storing collections that aren’t on exhibit at South Whidbey school district’s former administration building, but they need a climate-controlled facility to better preserve delicate artifacts.
The Langley building is also a considerable distance from the Coupeville museum, making it difficult for employees to regularly access the collections.
“Our goal for many years has been to construct a purpose-built, secure facility that will enable us to adhere to a best practices policy, ensuring future generations will have access to the objects and documents that help define and preserve the rich history of Coupeville, primarily, and of greater Island County,” Castellano said.
The building would be more than a storage unit, Castellano told the council. Rather, society members envision a space where historical artifacts and documents can be made accessible to the public for research and educational purposes, and where community members can participate in conservation work.
“The heightened awareness of our museum collections and conservation practices will provide a new level of engagement and understanding, benefiting visitors, our museum, and our community – all the while, supporting historic preservation and heritage tourism,” Castellano said.
With the new facility providing additional collections housing, museum employees could use the museum’s third floor for additional exhibit space. Much of the third floor is currently taken up by the museum’s many archival documents.
Town council members were interested in the proposal, with some caveats. Councilmember Michael Moore, who is a member of the historical society, said he would consider pursuing a lease as long as the contract included a reverter clause that gave the lot back to the town should the historical society stop using it in the future.
Councilmember Jackie Henderson also wanted to make sure the society had plans in place to fund construction in its entirety before moving forward.
“I guess one of my fears would be is something gets half built and then not be able to get finished because of a lack of funds,” she said.
Castellano said the society has funds in reserve to begin the project, and that he feels confident that a modest capital campaign would suffice to cover any remaining costs. Councilmember Pat Powell was skeptical and encouraged Castellano not to underestimate the cost of the project.
Powell and Henderson also wondered whether the society would solicit help from other Island County municipalities.
Despite these reservations, council members and the mayor were interested enough in the proposal to request that Castellano provide additional information in the near future, such as official cost estimates and a more detailed financial plan.
Photo by Karina Andrew/Whidbey News-Times Rick Castellano examines archival documents at the Island County Historical Museum. The archives take up much of the third floor, which Castellano and other historical society members hope to use for exhibit space in the future.
