Sales were up $15,000 over last year at Marquette Mission Park and Museum of Ojibwa Culture gift shops and Greektown Casino in Detroit will contribute $31,000 toward museum programs next summer, reported Shirley Sorrels, museum manager, during the Friday, November 11 Downtown Development Authority (DDA) meeting.

Mrs. Sorrels attributed the increase in sales in part to a second gift shop that was opened this year in the museum building. The museum also continued to operate its main gift shop in the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce building next to the museum on State Street.

“We own the museum and it’s a tremendous asset to our downtown district,” said Deb Evashevski, executive director of the DDA.

Mrs. Sorrels said the contribution from Greektown Casino was up $6,000 over last year’s $25,000 gift.

“They are just so impressed with what we are doing,” Mrs. Sorrels said. “We’re hiring so many Native American people at the museum. The workshop people we are hiring, probably about 90 percent are tribal people, so in a sense, the money is going back to their people.”

The DDA oversees the museum and contributes $40,000 to its annual budget. Those funds are directed to the operation and maintenance of the museum and are not used for programming.

Mrs. Evashevski and Mrs. Sorrels will be looking for grants to help with museum building repairs. The board also discussed the possibility of selling bonds to help pay for the extensive work needed to the museum building, which includes raising the building off the ground to reduce moisture problems, and new paint.

The DDA had planned to pay for the museum repairs with the sale of a house owned by the city at 3 Glashaw Street, which has been on the market for a year now. The 58-foot by 216-foot lot on Glashaw is zoned General Business and contains a house with two apartments, one with two-bedrooms, the other with one. The DDA is seeking a minimum of $95,000 for the property.

Board members also gave Mrs. Evashevski a three percent increase in salary for 2006. The increase is the same given to all city employees. In 2005, Mrs. Evashevski earned $28,664.90 annually for the 30-hour-a-week position and now will receive $29,524.85.

The city pays for Mrs. Sorrels’ health insurance in place of a salary, Mrs. Evashevski reminded the board.

Mrs. Evashevski said they will learn in December if the DDA will be awarded two grants totaling $177,500. The funding would be used for construction of a railing-lined boardwalk on the old rail dock where the city is locating its new lighthouse. The operational lighthouse will mark the entrance to the city marina.

One of the grants is from the Department of Environmental Quality for $137,500 and the other is for $40,000 from the Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund. Other contributions to the project include $10,000 from the City of St. Ignace, $10,000 from the DDA, and $5,000 from the St. Ignace Recreation Department.

If the grants are not awarded, Mrs. Evashevski said the city will not be able to do the project and will reapply for the grant funding.

Preliminary estimates from last year put the cost of the project just under $218,000.

The DDA next meets December 9 at 8 a.m. at City Hall.