(Lander, WY) – The donation of the Museum of the American West (MAW) property and facilities to the Fremont County Pioneer Museum raised more questions for Commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting.
One of the bigger questions is property. Some of the MAW’s facilities are located on property owned by the City of Lander, according to Lander Mayor Monte Richardson, who spoke during the meeting.
Pioneer Association member Doug Thompson also noted their association has control of the pavilion and the cabin on MAW’s grounds.
A concern raised by Fremont County Commissioner Travis Becker at today’s meeting is the relationship between the two entities, which has been strained in the past.
The relationship is better, explained Museum Director Scott Goetz. Once the donation occurs it is under one operational entity and that’s the Pioneer Museum.
He also mentioned that there wouldn’t be much change to the MAW operation in the short term, such as rentals.
Commissioner Mike Jones asked for more information about how the two entities plan to integrate together – looking at things like financials, boards and volunteers.
Goetz was tasked with bringing additional information to a future Commissioner meeting.