Old Cowtown Museum has yet to draw the visitors and money city officials hoped to see when they took it more than a year ago.

Attendance is up this year – 10,598 through July compared with 7,210 last year at the same time.

The museum attracted 50,000 people a year on average before it began struggling in 2006.

Memberships have dropped from 500 two years ago to 210 this summer – in part because membership information was lost when a computer crashed.

Donations stand at $5,000 this year, down from roughly $10,000 to $30,000 in previous years.

City officials say bad weather and the economy have kept some visitors away this summer. They say they are committed to helping the living-history museum succeed.

They expect a new director – starting Sept. 2 after the position has been vacant two years – to bring new energy and direction.

“I think Cowtown has taken an upturn and is in better shape,” said City Council member Sue Schlapp.

It’s been a tough summer, however, at Cowtown. Rain has plagued the 17-acre complex, falling on some weekends when crowd-pleasing events like Rails to Trails were planned, officials said.

The economy also has been a factor.

“Right now, everybody in the country is looking, watching and holding onto their pennies,” Schlapp said.

The new director, David Flask, said he wants community input. Building Cowtown into a destination, he said, will take cooperation between the community, board, city and staff.

“The problems with Cowtown have been well publicized, but we are constantly looking for ways to make it more self-sufficient,” said City Council member Jeff Longwell. “We have to continually be thinking outside the box on how we can look at their operations.”