The Edmonton Heritage Council was told Monday to seek partners to share the $35 million cost for two proposed facilities for the city's historical artifacts.

The proposed City Collection Repository, with museum-quality storage conditions, is budgeted to cost $29.5 million. A smaller facility for storing historic vehicles at Fort Edmonton Park has a price of $5.4 million.

The materials are currently being stored inside the old O'Keefe Brewery building near the Kinsmen Sports Centre.

"Some of them are in quite bad condition," said Virginia Stephen from the Heritage Council.

"There's been standing water in the facilities ... and infested with various little critters that do their damage as well."

City archivist Katherine Ivany said a new building would allow staff to sort through all the items they have and begin gathering new ones.

"A lot of the development in the city, the oil industry, a lot of commercial and business developments have happened in the city that we haven't really systematically gone after, collections that would represent that history," she said.

But councillors on the city's community service committee said the price for the facilities is too high and asked the Heritage Council to seek a cost-sharing partnership with the University of Alberta or the provincial or federal governments.

Administration was also directed to find out if the city has a vacant building which could be renovated at a lower cost to properly store the items.