Chris McKeever

Staff Photo by Angela Lewis Chris McKeever looks at items that will be in the Catoosa Gallery, at the Sixth Calvary Museum. The gallery will feature items to tell the history of Catoosa County, and will be created with funds that the museum is receives from the county.

Part of Catoosa County’s new special local option sales tax will improve the 6th Cavalry Museum, including a facade face-lift and handicap-accessible bathrooms.

Chris McKeever, director of the 6,500-square-foot museum in Fort Oglethorpe, said $150,000 from sales tax first will be used to make the building accessible for everyone. In addition to the restrooms, engineers will look at installing an elevator, which would allow disabled guests to see exhibits on the second floor.

Currently, the museum cannot handle groups of seniors on bus tours or large school groups because of its limitations, Ms. McKeever said.

“That takes us out of the mix right now,” she said.

After the elevator and restrooms, the museum will spend remainding money on renovating its front facade, adding a Catoosa County history gallery and outdoor tourism kiosks in Fort Oglethorpe and Ringgold, Ga., she said.

“Of course, I’d like to see it all done tomorrow, but that’s not always going to happen,” Ms. McKeever said.

County Commissioner Ken Marks, who requested the funding at last week’s commission meeting, explained that the county had designated $750,000 of the county’s expected $53 million SPLOST revenue for historical projects.

The funding will begin to trickle in on a percentage basis once the SPLOST kicks in Wednesday, he said.

Shoppers would not see an increase on their sales receipts because the current 1 percent SPLOST ends as the new one begins, he said.

Putting money into the museum was an easy decision, Mr. Marks said, because the ability to lure tour groups will pay dividends for surrounding restaurants and gas stations, as well as the museum.

“I think, in the long run, we’ll recoup our money just through tourism,” he said.

The museum, which celebrates the U.S. 6th Cavalry and its time at Fort Oglethorpe from 1919 to 1942, charges $3 for adults and $2 per student. Last year an estimated 13,000 visitors came to the museum or events on its polo field, Ms. McKeever said.

Mr. Marks didn’t put a timeframe on when the funding might come in.

Ms. McKeever said she hoped most of the renovations could be complete by the regiment’s 110th annual reunion next summer.