Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, was at Thursday night’s meeting concerning the fate of the Museum of the Western Prairie.

Blackburn said that the state will help get the closed museum open again, but after that, changes are inevitable and that a group like the local historical society would have to keep the facility up and running as an “affiliate” of the state organization.

Under an affiliate contract, the state would provide one lump payment for utilities, operating expenses and staffing, and would be responsible for maintenance and the museum’s collections.

The local group would be responsible for keeping the facilities up and running full time, and the museum staff would be employees of the local group, and not the state.

The state’s funding change comes as they suffer from a million-dollar shortfall, but said they could get the needed construction completed and the exhibits rebuilt within the next eight months, but after that, Altus would have to step up in their efforts to sustain it.

Local citizens attending spoke up about the museum’s importance to the community, and that an effort to come up with a good plan for the museum will be worked on.