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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMuseum MinutesMINUTES OF THE AUGUST 2009 MEETING OF THE OSHKOSH PUBLIC MUSEUM BOARD (Minutes approved at the September 3, 2009 board meeting) The regular August meeting of the Oshkosh Public Museum board was held on Thursday, August 6, 2009 in the Lecture Room of the Museum. Board President Carol Fenrich called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. The roll was taken: Present: Ms. Drew (Alt) Absent: Mr. Becker Mrs. Fenrich Mr. Haffeman Mrs. Kujawa Mr. Rego Mr. Metz Ms. Moldenhauer (came in at 4:10 p.m.) Mr. Winkler Also in attendance: Museum Director Brad Larson, Assistant Michael Breza and Brenda Hauber recording the minutes. Ms. Drew was designated to fill the vacancy of Janet Moldenhauer. When she came into the meeting Ms. Drew was designated to fill the vacancy of Mr. Rego. There were no Citizen Statements. The minutes of the July 9, 2009 meeting were read. Mr. Winkler moved that the minutes be approved. Mrs. Kujawa seconded the motion. There being no discussion, Mrs. Fenrich called for the roll call vote which went as follows: In favor: Drew Opposed: None Fenrich Kujawa Metz Winkler The motion was passed with a unanimous vote in favor. The minutes of the July 9, 2009 museum board meeting were approved. The bill listing for August 2009 was then read. Mr. Winkler moved to approve the bill listing as presented. Ms. Drew seconded the motion. There being no discussion, Mrs. Fenrich called for the roll call vote: In favor: Drew Opposed: None Fenrich Kujawa Metz Winkler The vote was unanimous in favor and the motion was passed. The August 2009 bill listing was approved for payment. Mr. Larson then noted that each board member had been given a copy of the proposed Exhibition Policy. A short discussion followed. Mr. Larson explained that the adoption of the policy would be a September agenda item. The next item on the agenda was the allocation of the residual funds from the Orville Sherman estate. Mr. Larson said that he had two projects which need funding. The first was the completion of the DVD about the expansion. The second was the funding of the production and mailing for the educational offerings for the 2009 -2010 school year that Megan had prepared. The board inquired about what the costs for these two projects might total. Mr. Larson estimated that the mailing would cost under $500. The estimate on the DVD would be much harder to estimate, but Mr. Larson felt that the remaining $8,000 should cover it. Mr. Winkler moved that the Orville Sherman Estate funds recently received ($8,461) should be designated for expansion DVD project and the production and mailing of the educational offerings for the 20009 -2010 school year. Mrs. Fenrich seconded the motion. Following a brief discussion, the roll call vote was called for: In favor: Drew Opposed: None Fenrich Kujawa Metz Moldenhauer Winkler The motion was passed with a unanimous vote in favor. The Orville Sherman funds were designated for the expansion DVD and the production /mailing of the 2009 -2010 educational offerings. Mrs. Fenrich then asked Mr. Larson to present his Director's Report. He began by reporting on the process for the 2010 operating budget. Except for step increases and an increase in health insurance, the budget will be submitted with no line increases. One capital outlay item was included: the purchase of a new lawn tractor. A number of possible budget enhancements were also submitted. These requests included the addition of part -time staff, software for store /membership /fundraising, and start up money for traveling exhibits. On the other side of the coin, departments also had to submit proposals on 3% and 5% cuts. The review with the City Manager and Finance Director would take place the week of August 17 or 24. After this meeting, the proposed budget will be sent to the board members. Mr. Larson next discussed the Public Enemies exhibit. He noted that the excitement over the movie seems to be waning and an effect of that has been a decline in our attendance. The museum also was the beneficiary of the media coverage prior to the premiere of the movie. We now average about 80 visitors per day, and their spending averages about $2.00 per person. The museum's limited marketing budget cannot support continued intensive advertising for this exhibit, since the budget will have to stretch to cover the upcoming holiday exhibit, and two more events associated with The Era of Public Enemies During the discussion Mr. Metz commended the staff on the presentation of the exhibit. The last topic on the Director's Report was the Oshkosh Brewing Company emblem. The emblem will be installed at the southwest corner of the entrance. A stainless steel support system has been contracted for. The cost of this is $7,790. In addition Quality Building Restoration will be hired to install the emblem pieces into the stainless steel circle (Cost: about $1,000). When the emblem is completely installed a Lexan cover will be added to protect it from the elements (Cost: about $500). Lastly the Garden Club will landscape the area (Cost: about $200). The total cost for this project is in the neighborhood of $9,500. He noted that Ginny Gross has finished researching and writing the brochure which will be available to visitors. Information and photos of the emblem will also be added to our website. This concluded the Director's Report. Mrs. Fenrich noted that she did not have a President's Report and there were no board member statements noticed. With no further business before the board, Ms. Drew moved that the meeting adjourn. Carol Kujawa seconded the motion. The voice vote went as follows: In favor: Drew Opposed: None Fenrich Kujawa Metz Moldenhauer Winkler The voice vote was unanimous in favor and the motion to adjourn was passed. The meeting was adjourned at 4 :46 p.m.