After two months of votes and debates, city council has approved $202,000 in grants for an extensive renovation at the Museum of the Aleutians. But a separate plan to pay off the grant using funds for tourism and cultural projects failed.

That means that the grant will be paid from the general fund. And typically, nonprofits don’t receive money from the general fund outside the regular nonprofit funding cycle. When Council considered the grant as part of a budget package last month, it failed by a 3-1 vote, since four votes are needed to approve any legislation. Councilor Zac Schasteen, who cast the “no” vote, said he couldn’t support the grant as long as the city faced expensive capital projects.

When city manager Chris Hladick brought the grant back this month in another budget package, he paired it with a repayment plan. The general fund would be reimbursed over time from the bed tax fund, which pays for the community and visitors bureau. The repayments won Schasteen’s support -- but they prompted new debate at the meeting Tuesday.

Jeff Hancock was the only member of the public who signed up to speak. As the owner of Aleutian Adventure Sports, an outdoor tourism company, Hancock said he would rather see bed tax money used for new attractions. He and councilor Tom Enlow also questioned whether the museum draws new visitors to town, or whether it serves those who already live here. Either way, councilor Dennis Robinson said, the city owns the museum and should support it using the general fund.

The repayment plan failed 3-2, with Robinson and Enlow voting no. The museum’s grant passed 5-0, along with grants to public safety and reimbursements to public works for two new power transformers. The $370,000 budget amendment was approved 5-0, with Councilor Dave Gregory excused from the meeting.