Bastrop, Tx–Tuesday the Bastrop City Council approved a final lease and development agreement allowing the Bastrop County Historical Soceity to convert the present City Hall on Main Street to be a local history museum and visitor center beginning in the fall of 2010.
Most terms of the 40-year lease pact were approved April 20 by a 3-2 council vote. Some additional terms were approved this week, including a requirement that the museum will be open at least six days a week, once it is opened, and that the historical society will guarantee a budget of at least $50,000 a year for maintenance and operation of the new facility.
The final lease was adopted by the same 3-2 majority as a week earlier, with Council Members Julie Hart and Dock Jackson voting no.
In a subsequent interview, City Manager Mike Talbot said he now expects that city operations will move into a new City Hall on Chestnut Street by Oct. 1, 2010. Current plans call for the city to open bids for the new construction project on Sept. 1 this year.