City council accepts $300,000 more for downtown mob museum

By Dave Toplikar

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 | 11:01 a.m.

Another $300,000 will go toward the controversial downtown mob museum, thanks to action taken today by the Las Vegas City Council.

The city council unanimously decided to accept funds from the Commission for the Las Vegas Centennial, which awarded the funds for the project in April.

The funds come from revenue the commission makes from selling Las Vegas centennial license plates.

The museum has been a target of the city's largest employee union, the Las Vegas City Employees Association. The union complained in late May about the city spending general fund dollars on the museum, located about a block west of City Hall at 300 Stewart Street.

The museum is expected to cost about $42 million to construct and is being funded through local, state and federal grants, according to the city.

About $12.4 million comes from the city's general fund sources. Another $8.3 million is from matching local, state and federal grants that were awarded following the city’s financial commitment from its general fund, as well as a Redevelopment Agency funding source that can only be spent on projects located in the city’s redevelopment area, according to the city.

The mob museum, officially known as the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, is expected to open to the public in the spring of 2011.