County will pay museum utility bills

Cherokee County Council came to the rescue of the financially strapped Cherokee County History and Arts Museum on Monday by agreeing to pay the facility’s utility bills for the next six months.

There was a limit, though, to the generosity of council, which capped the monthly assistance at $1,000.

Councilman Quay Little made the motion because the museum is “really hurting right now.“

Little said the assistance will give the museum officials time to develop a workable financial plan.

Several council members suggested city officials also should do their part to help the museum and questioned why the museum didn’t qualify for city Accommodations Tax revenue.

City Council annually doles out A-Tax revenue to tourist-related organizations. A-Tax revenue is generated by a surcharge on hotel stays.

“The city should step forward like we stepped forward,” councilman Tim Spencer said. “The city doesn’t mind coming to ask something from us.”

A review of city A-Tax records shows the museum and its founder, Cherokee Historical and Preservation Society (CHAPS), has received city A-Tax revenue from 2001 to 2009, ranging from $10,000 in 2001 for museum renovations to $1,583 in 2006 for promotional items.

“The city has always been supportive of CHAPS and the museum and I’m glad to see the county is becoming more supportive,” Gaffney Mayor Henry Jolly said.