Since the announcement of Chapel Hill Museum’s closing in June, its exhibits have been forced to find new homes. But at least a few of them will remain available to the public.

With the content’s future unclear, museum trustees met Aug. 26 with town officials. But treasurer Stephen Rich said they were more concerned with the future of the building than with the fate of the exhibits.

“It was maybe 20 seconds of an hour and 20 minute meeting where (the mayor) said ‘We want to help you preserve the history of the town,’” Rich said. “Well, if he wanted to do that, he would have given us the $34,000 we asked for instead of the 20.”

Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said the museum’s closing caught him and town staff off guard. But the town will be working with a local archivist to find the best way to display the exhibits, he said.

The town allocated $22,500 for museum upkeep and $50,000 in capital improvements, which are allocated solely toward improvements on the building and not maintenance.

“There is no lack of appreciation on the staff for what the museum was able to accomplish,” Kleinschmidt said. “The town asked for $15,000 to upgrade the building. We gave them 50.”

But Rich said the museum asked for so little in capital improvements because it needed $32,450 for maintenance.

Before the town can use the building again, it needs to bring it up to code — a process that will cost far more than $50,000, Kleinschmidt said.

Much of the James Taylor exhibit will go to the UNC Music Library in Wilson Library. Three of the panels from the “Walk Down Franklin Street” exhibit will go on display at Top of the Hill.

“We wanted to be sure the (display) wasn’t going to be thrown away, so we can preserve it,” Top of the Hill Manager Griffin Kennedy said. “Its a kind of taste of downtown that we want to keep around.”

The most valuable artifacts of the museum, such as antique UNC memorabilia, will be auctioned at the museum building on Oct. 8. Other items have yet to be placed, such as the first Model T Ford sold on Franklin Street, which is on sale for about $20,000.

The building will be taken over by the Parks and Recreation Department and possibly the Public Arts Office, Rich said.

The museum will officially turn the building back over to the town Oct. 15.

During the next three home football games, the museum will offer parking and seek donations to help cover the costs of closing and sell other inventory items.

“Hopefully someone will want to buy the car or something,” Rich said.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.