MUNSTER | Heritage Park has taken a back seat to the new Centennial Park, but is still in the forefront of the town's plans for a $1 million museum.

For two years, the Park Department has applied for but was denied a matching $500,000 federal grant to help fund the project, Clerk-Treasurer Dave Shafer said.

Heritage Park, at the corner of Ridge Road and Columbia Avenue, is the site of the original Brass Tavern built in 1845 and burned in 1909.

Owners built the Kaske House, later turning it into the Heritage Park museum and housing artifacts from the 20th century.

The 11-acre park has a windmill, a gazebo, plus provisions for outdoor concerts, recreational programs and weddings, but has limited parking.

When Munster did not get the grant money, bond issues of $525,000 and $575,000 from 2006 and 2007 respectively, were reprogrammed for Centennial Park improvements, Shafer said.

The 2008 park bond hasn't been acted on, but the town would hold that amount for the new two-story museum, he added.

"You are allowed to reprogram money as long as it is something that is legal to spend bond money on," Shafer said.

The town hopes its third year in applying will be the charm. Last year, the application process began in April.

A substantial woodlands restoration project to rid the park of overgrown trees and weeds was done in 2006 and 2007 through a $75,000 federal grant, Shafer said.

But Parks and Recreation Director Robert O'Shaughnessy said securing local money for Heritage Park might be difficult because fundraising is still ongoing for Centennial Park.

O'Shaughnessy said he would like to pursue replica plans of the Stallbohm barn, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, that burned down in 2002.

"It was a nice addition to the park," he said. "I speak for a lot of people. It added character."

O'Shaughnessy said the barn rendition would be a historic site and used for storage and educational purposes.

"To build a functional barn would be considerably less," he said.

For more information on the restoration project or the museum's fundraising, visit the Web site, www.munsterhistory.com.