Smoky Hill Museum Expansion Could Cost $6 Million to $9 Million Under Preliminary City Plan

The City of Salina has identified a potential $6 million to $9 million expansion of the Smoky Hill Museum, but no funding source has been identified and the project remains in an early planning stage.

The proposal appears in the city’s 2027 capital presentation under “Projects for Further Review,” a category reserved for potential projects that do not yet have a fully defined scope, cost estimate or financing source.

City documents describe the proposal as an 8,000- to 10,000-square-foot expansion of the Smoky Hill Museum based on a needs assessment.

The preliminary cost is listed between $6 million and $9 million, with the funding source identified as unknown.

The presentation does not provide details about how the additional space would be used.

It does not identify whether the expansion would include additional exhibit galleries, collections storage, educational areas, offices, event space or other museum functions.

The document also does not state:

When could construction begin.

Whether an architect has been selected.

Whether private fundraising would be pursued.

Whether grants could offset the city’s cost.

Whether the project would require city debt.

Whether the expansion would affect the surrounding property or parking.

What portion of the estimated cost would be paid by taxpayers.

The project should therefore be viewed as a potential long-term capital need rather than an approved museum expansion.

Its estimated price makes it one of the largest projects currently included in the city’s further-review category. Only the $17.5 million Holmes Road project and the estimated $13.2 million Public Works campus proposal carry higher stated costs.

If the museum project moves forward, commissioners would need to determine both the final size of the expansion and how the city would pay for it.