Moving forward: Milwaukee Co. committee approves $500K for repairs to "Show Dome"

MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee County committee approved on Tuesday, March 8th $500,000 for repairs to the Show Dome at the Mitchell Park Conservatory.

Officials with Milwaukee County Parks are expected to come back to the County Board in May to provide an update on the project -- and possibly request additional funding to repair the other two Domes (Arid and Tropical).

The goal is for the Show Dome to reopen in May, and for the other two Domes to reopen by the end of the year.

Long-term, a rough estimate for a full restoration of all three Domes ranges from $60 million to $71 million.

The Mitchell Park Domes have been closed since January 29th, after a piece of concrete fell from the Arid Dome.

In September 2015, Milwaukee County Parks Director John Dargle testified in support of a $500,000 plan to put up safety nets in the Domes. The nets were never installed.

Parks officials say the $500,000 available for Domes repairs will cover the nets in the Show Dome, which hosts the majority of events in the Domes.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele on Tuesday announced the creation of a "Domes Long-Term Planning Steering Committee" that will "help seek public input and create a vision for a facility which serves the needs of a broad spectrum of Milwaukee County residents and organizations, as well as create recommendations on how to proceed."

Abele said this in a statement: