HomeMy WebLinkAbout5-15-20 Attachment 21 | P a g e
May 15, 2020
To the Board,
I hope everyone is well and enjoying this glorious spring day!
County government extended the “safer at home” order and the Museum cannot reopen until
authorized to do so. However, staff and I have talked through our preparations and we are ready to
open whenever that happens. We are following what some of the other museums around the state plan
to do relate to reopening. It varies from simply returning to “business as usual,” to restricting visitors by
requiring scheduled visits in specific time slots.
Life is full of hard decisions and as I informed you earlier, this week we made two. The most pressing
was canceling the June 20 Powwow, followed by Titanic. It looks now like Titanic will open in July 2021. I
contacted our primary sponsor, Amcor, as well to determine if that would change their funding. There is
ongoing concern about the danger posed by the virus and we are concerned that if we move ahead with
opening as planned, crowds could pose a health risk for visitors. As well, our attendance would be
weaker than anticipated, and, it has the potential of creating a negative perception of the Museum.
All that aside, I am pleased to report that the Alberta S. Kimball/Mary L. Anhaltzer Foundation awarded
the Museum a $10,000 grant in support of Titanic, which can be held over until 2021. And, the
Wisconsin Public Service Foundation awarded us $500. With Amcor’s funding, this means that we have
about 60% of the rental costs for the exhibition covered by sponsorship. I am also pleased to report that
Davis Painting agreed to paint all the wood bases for our cases. The bases are being sprayed in their
shop for a smooth, uniform appearance and an easily cleaned surface. This in-kind gift is much
appreciated and will contribute greatly to a professional look.
Continuing with positive news, this week Matt Reinke and Katrina Achilli completed sanding of the
gallery floor, and then did the varnishing. They did an excellent job and the floor looks awesome. Once
the finish has gone through the required cure time, it will be covered for protection and the wall work
will begin.
Looking at other exhibition work in progress, Katrina Achilli is working cooperatively with Daniel Fiser to
create the new interpretation in the Menominee Clan Story. Katrina is very competent in the
development of media based materials, and I am impressed. Whenever we move forward with Deep
Roots, Growing City, Katrina will be assigned the media elements. As a group, collection staff continue to
work on the sporting and recreation exhibition, heading toward our first look at the design on June 2.
We have selection of photographs and film ahead of us, which typically is enjoyable because of the
richness of our archives.
In other news, the contract for the masonry repairs on the Carriage House has been signed and Statz
Restoration (Menomonee Falls) will meet with Facility Engineering and work should begin shortly. The
City received one bid for the elevator upgrade and that will be an agenda item at the next Council
meeting on May 26. Foundation work should go out for bid shortly.
Our seasonal grounds worker, Matt Schallhorn, began work late last week and already the grounds are
starting to look as they should. There is a great deal of grounds work to do this year. Matt Reinke will be
busy on building maintenance this summer, replacing the rotten sections on the Carriage House cupula.
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I also anticipate that the old Sawyer home fountain and basin will be removed this year by the Street
Division when they are here as part of the foundation work. Removing that, and some of the over
grown shrubbery that surrounds it, will make a far better appearance for the grounds. That project
alone with keep the two Matts busy for some time. Looking ahead, Anna and I expect to have a look at
the next version of the landscape plan shortly. As I mentioned, the revised design will be an agenda item
for Board review.
In the miscellaneous paragraph, I submitted our 2021 capital improvement request this week, which is a
request for funds for design development of Deep Roots, Growing City. That is a very complex exhibition
with a great deal of engagement happening in those three connected galleries. If funded, I anticipate it
will take staff the entire year to do, perhaps longer with Titanic rescheduled. Last week I worked on a
script and associated images for a Memorial Day program created in cooperation with Oshkosh Media
Services. I used our archival materials and some of the audio files (letters read by community members)
from the 2018 exhibit on World War I. Oshkosh Media is using this material to create a program that will
air on the local access channel. It was an enjoyable but short-lived diversion from my administrative
duties, and a great use of our collections. I am eager to see the finished production. The new front desk
is almost ready for use. The Internet router finally arrived and was installed this morning, and the point-
of-sale system will be installed next week.
That ends the week.
Brad Larson