Two longtime museum advocates urged Roswell city leaders to form a planning task force and to use the flood recovery as an opportunity to reimagine the Roswell Museum’s future.

Cheryl McArthur, who described the spring event as a "500‑year flood," told the council that the river surge submerged museum galleries and archives and thanked community members who helped with emergency response. "If a river can run through our museum, then surely our voices can run through every decision that follows," she said, urging proactive planning.

Laurie Ruth, a former Roswell Museum director who said she had 40 years of museum experience, urged transparency and a broad planning group that would include local government, museum staff, trustees, architects, engineers and economic development staff. She suggested the New Mexico Military Institute campus has merit as higher ground but asked that options be thoroughly evaluated.

Nut graf: Commenters emphasized the museum’s cultural and economic role and asked that any rebuilding or relocation be driven by a transparent, multidisciplinary planning process. Several councilors expressed support for forming a task force, but Mayor Tim Jennings said federal processes must run their course first.

Mayor Jennings told the speakers the city cannot begin major reconstruction until FEMA and other agencies complete damage assessments and funding determinations; he said the city needs an established funding plan before fully undertaking reconstruction. "FEMA has to determine that our museum is not salvageable and to what level they're going to be able to fund it," the mayor said. He noted the city’s constrained bonding capacity and said he intends to seek state assistance.

Councilors asked staff to prepare options for a task force and noted that donors and community members have expressed interest in helping. Staff said some works and collections are being stored in climate‑controlled locations and that temporary storage and conservation work is underway.

Ending: The council agreed to explore a task force concept and asked staff to provide a status update on FEMA, insurance and short‑term artifact storage at a future meeting.