Metro Council to Consider $10,000,000 Grant for North End's African American History Museum

On Thursday night council can approve a resolution that would authorize Metro to grant to the Industrial Board $10,000,000 of the proceeds of general obligation bonds in order to provide a portion of the funds to accomplish the construction and equipping of the museum as a public works project. The museum is planned for the corner of Jeff Street and Rosa Parks Boulevard next to Farmers' Market.

According to the analysis of this bill, after Metro lawyers raised concerns in 2007 about the legality of spending general obligations funds on a non-profit, the Purcell Administration worked to come up with a legal alternative:

The agreement refers to the African-American museum as a "public works project", as state law allows local governments to contract debts in order to make grants to local government instrumentalities for the construction of any public works project. Since the museum will technically be an IDB project (to be operated by the Foundation), it qualifies under state law as a public works project.