The Dalles City Council, acting in its capacity as the Columbia Gorge Urban Renewal Agency board, approved purchasing the Elks Building in the downtown area so it can be renovated to house a neon sign museum.  The board approved having the agency purchase the building for $245-thousand dollars, then transfer the title to David Benko, the original curator of the American Sign Museum of Cincinnati.  His group, Rock City Neon, would then bear the cost of remodeling the building, estimated at over one million dollars.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says the quick two-year turnaround to complete the project was a major reason he supported it.  The Portland Art Museum is going to be a primary fundraiser for the project.  One condition for the sale outlines the right of Urban Renewal to recover the building if the museum is not open within two years.