FAQs
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Does the city plan to sell the Vaile and the Bingham historic sites?
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An emphatic NO
On July 6, 2026, the Independence City Council unanimously approved a resolution expressing its intent to retain public ownership of the Bingham-Waggoner Estate and Vaile Mansion while directing the City Manager to explore ways to fund and support all city-owned historic sites.
Are there grants available?
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Grant funding is limited and highly competitive. The major historic site grant program is the National Park Service Save America’s Treasure grant. The minimum grant is o$125,000 and maximum $750,000 and requires a one-to-one local match. Learn more
Could the non-profits pay for needed renovations?
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While Independence's nonprofit partners are exceptionally effective at interpreting and operating these historic sites, the scale of needed capital investment extends far beyond what museum operations and annual fundraising can reasonably support. Even if every dollar of annual operating surplus were devoted to repairs, addressing needs of this magnitude would take hundreds of years. Here is a financial analysis looking at the federal IRS Form 990 the Bingham and Vaile file annually.
Project costs were determined by the city based on prior estimates for repairs and deferred maintenance. The support organizations were involved in determining needs. Because these are historic structures, a 25% contingency fund for the identified projects was included.
Bond funds will be allocated as projects are identified, bids received and approved by the City Council.
NO. The bond document requires that bond proceeds be spent on the capital projects and deferred maintenance.
There are several measures to assurance transparency and accountability:
1) the bond documents are funds to be spend on the capital projects and deferred maintenance. Bond funds can not be spent on operations.
2) Each project will require bids and approval by the City Council.
3) The support organizations can be expected to monitor the bond funds and make sure they are used as promised.