A little museum lease prompted a big discussion Monday among the Sparks City Council.

At the end of the day, the council approved a new lease agreement for the Sparks Heritage Museum that will last until 2039. However, the approval came with a caveat: The museum must enter into discussions with city staff on the possibility of the museum buying the building outright.

“This is something we haven’t even heard yet,” said Les Ede, a member of the museum’s board of directors, of the proposal.

The museum has been operating on a month-to-month lease agreement with the city since 2006, receiving free rent in exchange for its cultural contributions to the community. The city also has picked up the tab for all power, sewer and other utilities, raising a few concerns from Councilman Ron Schmitt.

“I want cost controls,” Schmitt told the chamber of museum supporters. “We are writing a blank check for this ... for maintenance, upkeep, utilities.”

According to city of Sparks real property agent David Vill, the historic building on Victorian Avenue cost the city $9,500 in utilities and $9,000 in maintenance over the past year.

The question that the 15 museum board members must now ask in considering the purchase of the building is whether or not the nonprofit organization can afford $18,500 per year on its own.

The museum is funded entirely by donations, membership fees and admission money, according to museum director Anthea Humphreys.

According to Ede, the board’s executive staff will meet on Nov. 2 to discuss the proposal. Then the full board will meet on Nov. 9 to add its input.

Ede was one of 22 people who submitted their comments to the council on the lease. Discussion of the agreement waxed on for hours.

“We owe it to the citizens to make sure that this is preserved,” said Councilman Phil Salerno in the midst of exchanges among council and staff.

His statements were met with a round of applause.

According to Vill, the museum logged about 4,400 paid visitors last year, as well as more than 7,700 volunteer hours.

“Hundreds of thousands of hours have gone into preserving the history of Sparks,” Humphreys said.

Others who spoke on the topic of the museum lease included University of Nevada, Reno student Kayla Kohhinen. The history major spent one year interning at the museum.

“These people have the most amazing commitment (to) and love for their city,” Kohhinen said of the museum volunteers. “(They are) why we get people who spend two hours in the museum.”

Monday’s vote also could have affected the museum’s ability to qualify for state and federal grants, according to Humphreys.

The museum is starting to seek funds to remodel its recently acquired top floor, which is an almost half-million dollar venture. The floor was previously used by the Sparks Parks and Recreation Department as office space.

The remodel would restore the top floor to its roots as a library, a haven for quiet readers and community events.

Humphreys sent a grant request to the State of Nevada Commission on Cultural Affairs asking for $115,000. However, she added that in order to qualify for that first initial funding for the remodel, the museum would need to have an acting lease, which it now does.

The lease item was originally denied by a vote of two for and one against at the Oct. 12 Sparks City Council meeting. Council members Phil Salerno and Mike Carrigan were missing, meaning that in order for the lease to be approved, the vote would have to be unanimous.

Sparks Mayor Geno Martini requested that the item be revisited at Monday’s meeting.

The vote for approval was three for and two against, with Schmitt and Councilman Ron Smith casing a no vote.

Smith later said that he dissented because he wanted to see a timeline approved for when the museum would come back and discuss the feasibility of purchasing the building.

According to Vill, the Frederick DeLongchamps-designed building was assessed at $850,000.

According to an annual report presented to the city on Dec. 15, 2008, about 41 percent of those visiting the museum were from Sparks, 44 percent came from other areas in northern Nevada and 15 percent of visitors came from other states.

Since it was a library from 1930 to 1965, the building has had a history of sharing space with other city functions. In its early days, the library shared space with the Washoe County Justice Court, with the court taking the downstairs and the library filling the second floor. In 1965, the library moved out entirely and left the building all to the justice court. Then, in 1992, the justice court moved out and city of Sparks administration moved in. In 1996, the county turned over the building to the City of Sparks. It was not until 1997 that the Heritage Museum moved into the building.

The approved lease agreement also means that a representative from the city of Sparks will sit on the museum’s board and act as a non-voting member.