Crews are preparing to break ground on a U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith, but its future is uncertain.
Museum CEO Jim Dunn said they still need to raise around $30 million to pay for it.
Dunn said they have about $19 and a half million raised.
“We still need to raise probably in the vicinity between $25 to $35 million,” Dunn said.
The museum’s price tag comes in at around about $50 million, according to Dunn.
Dunn said a separate foundation is in place to raise funds for overhead fees. That could be around $2 million annually.
Fort Smith businessman Bennie Westphal donated the 14 acres of land to the museum.
“My great, great grandfather was a deputy U.S. Marshal,” Westphal said.
Dunn said they are taking new donations daily.
“There are a lot of people that still haven`t given up yet,” Westphal said.
Despite the amount of funding still needed, museum officials hope to have the museum up and running by 2017.