Museum building won't stay open, director says

CHAPEL HILL -- The Chapel Hill Museum wants to go virtual, says director Traci Davenport.

In an e-mail to Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and others, Davenport says that although the museum asked for a meeting with town officials, it is not seeking to keep its East Franklin Street building open.

Donald Boulton, co-chairman of the museum trustees, and Town Council member Laurin Easthom still hope there is a way to come out of the July 21 meeting with the museum staying open.

Davenport is unequivocal. "The physical museum will no longer be," she wrote.

Museum officials announced their closing after the town provided less operating money than the museum requested for 2010-11. The town also did not agree to make the museum part of town government, though museum officials said they were led to believe it would happen.

The group is looking for a small office to continue education programs and create "a virtual presence for the museum to remain a resource to the community," Davenport wrote.

Staff writer Mark Schultz