The old city hall building at 302 E. Market St.

WARSAW — Melodie Koher, president of the Lakeland Art Association, was present at the Warsaw Common Council meeting last night, Dec. 4, to propose the establishment of a fine art museum in Warsaw. According to Koher, the museum could be housed in the old city hall building at 302 E. Market St.

Currently, residents have to travel at least 35 miles to reach the nearest fine art museum. The Lakeland Art Association believes that a fine art museum could thrive in the area and help bring in additional tourism and revenue.

Koher says that multiple fine art collectors have approached the association and stated they would loan their collections once a museum is established. Reportedly, these collections include a Picasso and other well-known artists.

Funding through the museum would include admission fees, grants, donations, a gift shop and art workshops. Multiple people and organizations have already pledged money toward establishing a museum once a building is acquired.

The building at 302 E. Market St., is currently empty. The Lakeland Art Association believes that building could be a great fit and has already constructed a floor plan and cost estimate. That building was chosen based on its downtown location, square footage, brick facade and the handicap accessibility.

If acquired, the museum would be established in three phases and could be open to the public within a year. After five years, the plan would be to purchase the building from the city. The association would pay for all renovations for the building, but request that the city repair the existing major leak in the ceiling.

After Koher’s presentation, Mayor Joseph Thallemer addressed the proposal. “I’ve talked to Melodie, but my thought is we certainly need to make that building available to the general public for sale. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

While the board agreed that a fine art museum could be very beneficial to the community, it was noted that selling the building to someone else may be in the best interest of the taxpayers.

No decision was made and the council will have the final say on any sale of the building.

Melodie Koher, president of the Lakeland Art Association, was present at the Warsaw Common Council meeting last night, Dec. 4, to propose the establishment of a fine art museum in Warsaw.