The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors is considering a $1 million pledge to help the Mississippi Children’s Museum-Meridian reach its $13.5 million goal.

The museum, which will be built on site of the old Sears building on 22nd Avenue, is now about $3 million short of its goal.

At a Thursday morning work session, MCM-Meridian project coordinator Liz Wilson told the board that all pledges made to the museum go directly toward the facility’s construction — with no franchise fees paid to the main facility in Jackson.

“Every pledge, every bit of money has come into our account here at Citizen’s,” Wilson said. “One hundred percent goes to MCM-Meridian.”

Wilson said the pledge could be collected over several years — the same way the City of Meridian set up payments for its $1 million pledge.

Of the $10.7 million MCM-Meridian has raised thus far, $4 million has come from the Riley Foundation, with an additional $3 million from the Phil Hardin Foundation.

The museum has also asked the state to pledge $3 million.

This fall, the county will begin asbestos abatement and demolition of the current structure, with groundbreaking set for “some time in 2019,” Wilson said.

The board is also considering the following agenda items for Monday’s regular meeting:

• The purchase of a computer server from Dell Network Solutions in the amount of $174,570.18

• The purchase of a Secure Cloud Backup from Iland in the amount of $729.40 per month for 36 months.

• The purchase of an E911 PSAP Upgrade from ComSouth in the amount of $460,773.50