The Plymouth County Supervisors agreed Tuesday Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) money already awarded cannot be redirected to help with chimney repairs at the museum.

"We've got a policy issue with that," Supervisor Craig Anderson said. "Money that is not used (for a specific project) should go back into the LOST fund."

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LOST money requested for a specific project must be used for that within the same fiscal year it was awarded, otherwise the money reverts back into the LOST fund to be used toward the next year's projects.

However, the supervisors did allocate $1,000 in new LOST money to help the Plymouth County Historical Museum with its repairs in a 4-1 vote.

Supervisor Gordon Greene voted against the measure because he doesn't think the museum is an "entity of the county."

He said giving LOST money to the museum would set a precedent for others like schools to ask the county for money.

Supervisor Don Kass disagreed.

"We examine on a case-by-case situation," Kass said. "The museum has always acted in good faith."

Supervisor John Schneider said he thought using LOST money to help with repairs at the museum was fitting as it does serve the entire county.

Wayne Marty, museum volunteer, said three backboards were donated to the museum, which is why the original $1,000 in LOST money was no longer needed.

Marty said he doesn't know how much the chimney repairs will cost. The chimney is not used, and could be removed to the roofline of the museum.

Doing that could mean damaging the historical quality of the building, Marty said, but some kind of repair must be done.

"It's a safety issue with bricks falling on the roof so that the whole thing doesn't fall some day," Marty said.