The Printing Museum will remain open for one year longer. A majority of the parties in the Provincial Council believe that the province of Drenthe should allocate money for the museum in Meppel. “We are pleasantly surprised. Of course we are,” responds Jan Schilperoord on behalf of the museum’s board.
He’s still careful. The province will discuss it on Tuesday. “If the decision is actually taken, the flag will certainly go out here. Until then, we are modest.”
BBB and GroenLinks will present a proposal to the Provincial Council on Tuesday to transfer 35,000 euros to the Drukkerijmuseum once. The Labor Party supports that idea. Those three parties have a majority and that means that the province must implement it. Gert Voltrop of the BBB uses the same words as the Drukkerijmuseum. “The flag can’t go out until Tuesday. It looks good, but I’d rather be positive afterwards than cheer too soon.”
The museum in Meppel is struggling financially. The fixed costs for insurance and heating have risen sharply in the past period. The museum, which is located in a national monument, receives 26,000 euros annually from the municipality. That is the same amount as 15 years ago and has therefore not kept pace with inflation. The museum still has one paid employee who manages the more than forty volunteers.
The museum has asked the municipality for an increase in the subsidy, but alderman Jeannet Bos does not like that. She points out that Meppel cannot bear the financial responsibility for institutions. The board then saw no other option than to close the doors. May 30 would be the last opening day.
“If the plan passes, we will also open on June 1. We will not have to close in the meantime,” says Jan Schilperoord. “But, we’re not there yet.” Because a solution is also needed for the long term, the province’s contribution is one-off, which gives the museum time to look for that solution.