SAN BENITO — The city is still leveling out the long, rocky road to the $1.7 million San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum.
Last night, city commissioners approved long-standing requests from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to comply with conditions of two grants totaling $2.2 million — both earmarked for the museum project.
Commissioners asked for the reason the city’s previous administration did not follow through with the federal requirements.
“We’re working through issues that were not properly done at the time,” City Manager Manuel de la Rosa told the audience at a meeting.
In 2012, the EDA gave the city a $1 million grant, requiring the city to place a 20-year “covenant” on the museum, originally planned to be built at San Benito Plaza, along Heywood Street near the Community Building and the Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center.
But the city did not follow through with the grant’s condition.
“This step should have been taken,” City Attorney Rick Morado told commissioners. “Not all the paperwork was done at the time.”
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