City Commissioners approved a lease extension for the Children’s Museum of Montana during their Feb. 20 meeting.

The museum is currently located in a city-owned building behind the Civic Center at 22 Railroad Square.

City considering lease extension for Children’s Museum

The museum has leased the property, formally known as the Zellerbach Building, since September 1997.

The City Commission approved a 15-year lease agreement for the museum on Dec. 2, 2003 with an automatic five-year renewal.

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The original lease required the museum to pay all utility, maintenance and repair costs of the building and its systems, according to city documents.

On Jan. 2, 2019, commissioners approved a new lease agreement through November 2023 without an automatic renewal.

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That lease gave the museum another five years to search for a new location since the city needed the building for additional office space, according to staff at the time.

Since then, the museum looked at several possible locations but none came to fruition.

Over the last year, the museum has been working with Cascade County officials and others to potentially use the Stray Moose building in Black Eagle as a home for the museum. The site is within a superfund site that the county is working with the former smelter company, Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for cleanup efforts.

City Manager Greg Doyon recommended a one-year lease effective Dec. 1, 2023 that may be administratively extended for an additional year if the museum hasn’t yet relocated.

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After the first two years, commissioners will annually consider and review the lease for another year and may consider market rate lease adjustments, or other modifications, according to staff.

The museum is still required to pay all utility, maintenance and repair costs for the building and its systems.

Staff has presented to commissioners many times in recent years about the need for additional space, including the recent project to remodel the Missouri Room upstairs in the Civic Center for Municipal Court space.

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The project, approved by commissioners but opposed by the city-county Historic Preservation Advisory Commission, eliminates four established meeting spaces and a small office space.

For future Civic Center space needs, Doyon’s long-term vision, subject to commission approval and funding, according to the staff report, is:

• the Missouri Room renovation for Municipal Court
• renovate the existing court space in the basement for IT training and meeting space
• move the planning and community development department into the museum’s building after renovation
• moving the city attorney’s office to the current planning office, which puts it closer to the court space with more room for attorneys and support staff

No members of the public spoke during the public hearing about the lease.

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Doyon told commissioners that his current plan is to eventually move planning our of the Civic Center and into the building occupied by the museum, unless a better option becomes available in the meantime.

Sherrie Neff, museum director, thanked commissioners for the extension.

“We appreciate you giving us the time to do it,” Neff said.

She said due to COVID and other factors they haven’t yet been able to move.

Neff said they’re looking the Stray Moose building in Black Eagle and working their way through the process since it’s on a superfund site.

Commissioner Shannon Wilson said since they’re looking at a superfund site, it will take time and there are challenges ahead in making that the new museum home.

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Commissioner Joe McKenney said there are challenges for the city and museum since the city needs the space and owns the building, but the museum also needs affordable space.

He said that he hopes the museum understands, “we’re going above and beyond to help you move” at a pace that works for them.