The Freeborn County Museum and Historical Village is a bit closer to its goal of raising almost $40,000 to upgrade fire detection and security systems in the museum.

Tuesday, March 13, 2001

The Freeborn County Museum and Historical Village is a bit closer to its goal of raising almost $40,000 to upgrade fire detection and security systems in the museum. The city voted to allocate $2,000 for the project at its Monday meeting.

&uot;I wouldn’t be opposed to helping the project a bit,&uot; said Councilor Al Brooks, who proposed the figure. Museum director Bev Jackson told the council fundraising efforts were underway, including a letter of request to all of the society’s members.

&uot;We have to raise the money. We have no choice. Until we do, the public will be hearing from us in one form or another,&uot; Jackson said.

The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners voted last week to give $10,000 to the project, which will connect the museum to a 24-hour monitoring station.

Jackson said she discovered the fire sensor system quit working last August. After consulting with contractors and Albert Lea fire inspectors, it was determined a new system would cost more than $33,000.

An upgrade of the security system to include motion detectors and a connection to a security company would coast another $5,000.

Jackson said the new system would be expandable to a building addition and the other buildings in the village.