Combining the Forrester Gallery and the North Otago Museum on the art gallery site in Oamaru is being investigated by the Waitaki District Council as a long-term project.
On Wednesday, the council will consider a recommendation to provide up to $1.5 million as its contribution to the project to be included in its 2015-25 long-term plan, which is to be finalised next year.
The council has been considering what to do with its cultural facilities, particularly with increasing pressure on the North Otago Archives, museum and gallery for space.
Initially, the Oamaru Library was included, but work has been done to it and the focus has now shifted to the art gallery and museum.
Earlier this month, proposals were outlined at a workshop of councillors, and a report for Wednesday's meeting is the result.
In the report, community services group manager Thunes Cloete recommends the museum be combined with the gallery on the Forrester Gallery site.
Storage for the gallery and museum would be combined with the North Otago Archives on the museum site.
To progress the project, a cultural facilities redevelopment committee would be established with deputy mayor Hugh Perkins as its chairman and including three councillors, community representatives from the museum and gallery and appropriate managers.
Dr Cloete said the process so far had confirmed the need to upgrade the gallery and museum to better meet the community's needs.
The option of combining the museum and gallery gave the option to retain existing buildings in the central business district and create revenue-gathering activities to lessen the effect on rates.
The project was approved in 2012 as part of the long-term plan but got held up, partly because of decisions being made nationally on earthquake-prone buildings.
As part of the 2012 long-term plan, the project was open to public comment, but will again be under public scrutiny when the 2015-25 long-term plan goes out for consultation next year.
Details of how the project will cater for both the museum and gallery on the one site will be part of the brief of the new subcommittee.
This year, the council appointed a combined museum-gallery director, Jane Macknight. The archives used to come under the museum, but library manager Philip van Zijl is now also archive manager.
