CHAPEL HILL - Plans to possibly move the Kidzu Children's Museum are back on track after its chairman recently warned the town time was "slipping away."

The museum at 105 E. Franklin St. needs room to grow. Last September the two sides signed a non-binding agreement that laid out plans for the museum to move to the top of the Wallace parking deck at 150 E. Rosemary St.

But nearly a year later, Jonathan Mills, the chairman of the museum board of directors, recently wrote the town concerned about the delay. The museum wants to follow up last year's agreement with a contract in early September.

"We see no concern by the town to adhere to any deadlines and unfortunately we need to make a decision and cannot contnue on this process open ended," Mills wrote in the July 27 letter.

The letter got a quick response from Mayor Kevin Foy, who assured him the town remains committed to the September timeline for considering a formal contract.

"I think it's a great idea," Foy said Monday.

But the town needs to consider what it might be giving up, as well as other issues.

"It's valuable space," Foy said. The Town Council needs to weigh Kidzu against other development scenarios as it did with Parking Lot 5, where an eight-story condominium and mixed-use project is planned.

"It's more complicated than it appears at first," Foy added. For example, "what if the deck doesn't last as long as the building?"

The draft agreement calls for the town to lease the space at little or no charge. It specifies that the museum would be built with money raised by Kizu.

Mills said a building that size would cost several million dollars and require a major fundraising campaign.

That's one of the reasons he was concerned about making the September deadline. The museum can't begin raising money until it knows where it's going.

Visits to Kidzu are up almost 30 percent year to date, Mills said. The museum would like to build 15,000 square feet atop the deck, more than four times its current space.

Other possibilities have been mentioned.

At one point, museum officials said someone had offered a site in Carrboro. Jon Wilner, the outgoing director of The ArtsCenter has floated a possible collaboration, and Ed Camp, the incoming director, said he too plans to talk with Kidzu soon.

"That will be part of what we discuss in the next 30 days,' Camp said.

But Mills said he's not sure the timing of the ArtsCenter's development plans meshes with Kidzu's.

"I'd love to be on the rooftop in three years," he said.

Kidzu's budget is about $400,000 a year, one fourth earned and three-fourths contributed, Mills said.

A bigger museum would bost income by bringing more people in, he said. At 15,000 square feet, Kidzu could add programming for children 7-12 years old, as well as accommodate school field trips.

Some didn't think a children's museum would succeed on Franklin Street, where panhandlers have outnumbered parents and strollers.

But Kidzu has begun changing downtown's image, Mills said.

"The impact is not one family," Mills said. "It's the 20 cars that saw the kid walking down the street, skipping down the street, wearing the hat made out of a paper plate and macaroni. That's the image change."