Staff photo by Fritz Busch New Ulm Mayor Kathleen Backer stands in front of the Brown County Historical Society & Museum at Center and Broadway. Brown County commissioners approved a $343,726 low bid for new windows on the first floor and mezzanine level Tuesday. A project completion date is anticipated this summer.

NEW ULM — Brown County commissioners unanimously approved a low bid for new windows at the Brown County Historical Society (BCHS) Museum Tuesday.

The $343,726 base bid by SP Windows of Burnsville for windows on the first and mezzanine levels of the museum was recommended by the Miller Dunwiddie, a Minneapolis architectural firm. The base bid was below the budget amount. The original $269,088 Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant approved Nov. 19 with a $91,891 cash/in-kind match totaled $360,979.

Old World Windows of Duluth bid $496,750 for the project approved on a motion by Commissioner Brian Braun, seconded by Scott Windschitl.

The window project is part of the effort to continue preservation of the museum and its content.

New Ulm Mayor Kathleen Backer, acting as Brown County volunteer to oversee the project, wrote a grant application for phase 4 of the museum restoration that included $769,566 in grants and $246,539 in matching funds.

“It’s a beautiful building. As with any building, you have to maintain it. The windows are in disrepair. In addition to preventing water and insects from entering the building, there are long-term benefits for completing the restoration project. Brown County owns the museum building that was formerly the New Ulm Post Office before it was repurposed,” Backer told commissioners in November.

She said the grants support Brown County’s responsibility to preserve the iconic 1910 New Ulm Post Office building placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

In a June 6, 1974 New Ulm Daily Journal story, Minnesota Historical Society Executive Director Russell Fridley called the building “one of the most distinctive architectural structures in Minnesota. This handsome building with its strong German style, deserves to be perpetuated and continue to service a vital purpose.”

Backer said water is entering the building through damaged window seals and frames. Backer said the building renovation work does not affect the tax levy. The first three phases included repairing brick walls and third floor window restoration.

Backer said museum restoration assures the BCHS has suitable space for museum operation plus storage and management of its extensive collections including more than 15,000 artifacts related to Brown County history.

She said phase 5 of museum restoation will including remaining basement, first and second floor masonry work.