JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Jamestown Tourism has been overseeing one of Jamestown’s historic sites for the last year and recently gave an update on their current and future plans.
Tourism Executive Director Searle Swedlund stated there were several reasons they volunteered to oversee the property.
Swedlund says in the past year, they’ve been able to identify some challenges with the Frontier Village. These include being built on the side of a hill, limited space for visitors, temporary base for most buildings, and sharing the area with the National Buffalo Museum.
Swedlund says he’s had concerns with the Frontier Village and it’s sustainability.
With that information, Swedlund says they have begun to form a three phase plan through the summer of 2021 in order to begin catching up on deferred maintenance, determine artifacts ownership, and discovering the visitors needs and wants.
Phase two will see the Frontier Village begin to determine their facility conditions, needs, and costs as well as establishing a historic time period for the Frontier Village.
When it comes to the buildings, Jamestown Tourism believes there needs to be a more efficient way to maintain buildings. Swedlund added that there were some buildings on the property that their historical value is outweighed in the cost it takes to maintain it.
While Jamestown Tourism continues to manage properties, Swedlund says through 2021, they may need to address areas of concern in order to develop a new board of directors for future management. This would include removing buildings at the end of life and painting the two largest buildings. The painting is estimated to be around $50,000.
Searle says in order to develop a working Strategic Development Plan, Tourism will rely heavily on City leadership moving forward.
Swedlund says Jamestown Tourism will continue to manage the property moving forward, keeping visitors at the forefront of their plans.
You can view the information presented by Jamestown Tourism as well as photos below.
