PEABODY – The city has established an ordinance that creates a Departmental Revolving Fund for the Peabody Children’s Museum.
The fund will be opened as of July 1 and it follows the letter of the motion filed last month by Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt Jr.
“I am requesting, for your consideration,establishment of an ordinance creating a Departmental Revolving Fund in accordance with the provisions set forth in Chapter 44, Section 53E½ — revolving funds as amended by the Municipal Modernization Act for the Peabody Children’s Museum,” reads the letter.
According to the document, the museum will generate revenue through fundraising and the sale of items in the museum. These revenues will then be deposited to the fund and used to offset expenses relating to the cost of operating the museum.
The ordinance further stipulates that all revenues and receipts generated through the museum’s activities will be credited to its fund. In addition, any allowable operating costs related expenses will be expended from the fund, and expenditures from the fund shall remain limited to the available balance in the revolving fund.
The remaining year-end balance will be retained at the fund, and the executive director of the museum is authorized to expend from the fund.
Peabody approved the establishment of the children’s museum located at the old TD Bank building at 10 Main St. according to a five-year lease agreement of the property created by Bettencourt and Viceroy Capital Management.
Bettencourt said the push for a children’s museum has been a priority for him since 2014. In 2019, the CuriousCity Children’s Museum was established and has served as a trial balloon of what a theoretical children’s museum would look like.
“I want this for our downtown; I want this for our city; I want this for our children, our neighborhoods, our family and I believe this can be a great success,” Bettencourt said. “The success we’ve had at the pop-up children’s museum has convinced us more so that this will work.”
According to projections from the mayor’s office, the children’s museum’s budget would cost nearly $550,000 a year. Unlike many museums which are owned by nonprofits, the museum would be under the ownership of the city itself. The compensation of pay is scheduled for the executive director and the assistant executive director of the museum.
