By Joshua Schuetz
The West Concord Historical Society has recently received a grant of $10,000 from the Minnesota Historical Society Legacy Small Grant program for building improvements. The society’s building, which is a former high school and now serves as a museum showcasing the history of West Concord, requires upgrades. The grant will be used to develop construction documents for planning the improvements, with an additional $7,000 match from the society’s own funds, bringing the total project cost to an estimated $17,000.
The grant will be used to address major roof issues, particularly with drainage, that were identified in the original condition assessment. The historical society received assistance from CEDA team member Zach Bubany in applying for the grant and planning the necessary steps to effectively utilize it.
Bubany praised the historical society for their hard work and quick response, noting that they handled the situation proactively, which made all the difference in their efforts to preserve an important piece of community history. He said, “They put in a lot of work, took all my advice in stride, and did so in a very quick manner.”
Although the historical society had concerns about their capacity to write a small grant and apply for a larger grant simultaneously, Bubany helped alleviate their worries and assured them that they had enough time. The next steps for the project are to complete the construction documents and start planning for the larger grant, which is expected to be available later in the year. The historical society will work simultaneously to make improvements to their building, with improvements from the grant coming over the next two to five years.