HomeMy WebLinkAboutMuseum Board MinutesMINUTES OF THE MAY MEETING OF THE
OSHKOSH PUBLIC MUSEUM BOARD
(Minutes approved at the June 3, 2010 Board meeting)
The regular May meeting of the Oshkosh Public Museum Board was held on Thursday,
May 6, 2010 in the Lecture Room of the Museum. Board President Carol Fenrich called
the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. The roll was taken:
Present: Absent:
Ms. Drew Mr. Becker
Mrs. Fenrich
Mr. Haffeman
Mrs. Kujawa
Mr. Metz
Ms. Moldenhauer (came in at 4:15 p.m.)
Mr. Rego
Mr. Winkler
Also present: Museum Director Brad Larson, Assistant Director Michael Breza, Museum
Curator Debra Daubert, Leadership Oshkosh representative Steve Vickman and Brenda
Hauber recording the minutes.
Ms. Drew was designated to fill the vacancy of Mr. Becker and Mr. Haffeman to fill the
vacancy of Ms. Moldenhauer.
There were no Citizen Statements.
The minutes of the April 1, 2010 meeting were presented. Eugene Winkler moved that
the minutes be approved. Carol Kujawa seconded the motion. There being no
discussion or corrections the roll call vote was called for which went as follows:
In favor: Ms. Drew Opposed: None
Mrs. Fenrich
Mr. Haffeman
Mrs. Kujawa
Mr. Metz
Mr. Rego
Mr. Winkler
The roll call vote was unanimous in favor. The minutes of the April 1, 2010 were
approved.
The May 2010 bill listing was then presented. Ron Metz moved to approve the bill
listing, and Eugene Winkler seconded the motion. After a brief discussion, Mrs. Fenrich
called for the roll call vote on the May bill listing. The vote went as follows:
In favor Ms. Drew Opposed: None
Mrs. Fenrich
Mr. Haffeman
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Ms. Kujawa
Mr. Metz
Mr. Rego
Mr. Winkler
The vote on the approval of the May 2010 bill listing was unanimous in favor. The May
2010 bill listing was approved.
As requested by Mr. Metz the board was presented with the first quarter of 2010
reports from the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation. Eugene Winkler moved that
the board accept the reports. There was no discussion about the reports, but there
was discussion on whether or not the Board needed to formally accept the reports.
There was no second to Mr. Winkler's motion. Mr. Larson said he would check with City
Attorney Lynn Lorenson regarding this question.
Ms. Moldenhauer came into the meeting at this point
Next on the agenda was the request by Mr. Larson and staff to use Collection Fund
earnings to purchase a collection of paintings by Christian (Chris) Olson. Mr. Larson
then asked Ms. Daubert to give the Board some background on Mr. Olson and the
significance of the paintings to the museum's collection. At the end of her presentation,
Eugene Winkler moved that the board authorize expenditure from the Collection Fund in
the amount of $6,000 to purchase the collection of Chris Olson paintings. Janet
Moldenhauer seconded the motion. After a brief discussion, Carol Fenrich called for the
roll call vote:
In favor Ms. Drew Opposed: None
Mrs. Fenrich
Ms. Kujawa
Mr. Metz
Ms. Moldenhauer
Mr. Rego
Mr. Winkler
The roll call vote was unanimous in favor. The motion to approve the expenditure of
$6,000 from the Collection Fund earnings was passed.
Mr. Larson then announced that a copy of the proposed Photography Policy was in each
board member's folder. This policy will be scheduled for a vote at the June meeting of
the board.
Mr. Larson then announced that the Irion (Theodore and Hildegarde) Family Trust left a
bequest to the Museum in the amount of $30,000. It was Mr. Larson's
recommendation that the funds be put into the Exhibition Fund so that the museum
may continue to plan for future exhibits. Ron Metz so moved and the motion was
seconded by Eugene Winkler. During the discussion, Carol Fenrich mentioned that it
might be a good idea to start a contingency fund with 5 -10% of future bequests under
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$50,000. Since this was not on the agenda, Mr. Larson said he would check with the
City Finance Department about this. Eugene Winkler seconded the motion. The roll
call vote followed:
In favor Ms. Drew Opposed: None
Mrs. Fenrich
Ms. Kujawa
Mr. Metz
Ms. Moldenhauer
Mr. Rego
Mr. Winkler
With the vote unanimous in favor, the motion was passed. The bequest from the Irion
Family Trust will be allocated to the Exhibition Fund.
The next topic on the agenda was the use of Membership funds to cover the cost of
educational opportunities for two staff members, and to support the costs of
honorariums and programming for the Sherlock Holmes and fall deer hunting exhibit.
Mr. Larson then listed the classes involved: Megan Del Debbio - $2,900 to attend the
AASLH seminar on Historic Administration in Indianapolis; Bill Radig - $1,135 to attend a
seminar at The Campbell Center in northern Illinois on the repair and restoration of
picture frames; and finally $2,500 for programming associated with the Sherlock
Holmes exhibit and the fall 2010 deer hunting exhibit. Diana Drew so moved and
Eugene Winkler seconded the motion. A short discussion followed. During the
discussion, Mrs. Fenrich asked the Board to look over the items needed to furnish the
apartment of the actor that accompanies the Sherlock Holmes exhibit and see if they
could loan or give any listed item. Mrs. Fenrich called for the roll call vote:
In favor Ms. Drew Opposed: None
Mrs. Fenrich
Ms. Kujawa
Mr. Metz
Ms. Moldenhauer
Mr. Rego
Mr. Winkler
The vote was unanimous in favor and the motion passed. The use of the membership
for educational opportunities and programming in the amount of $6,535 was approved.
The next item on the agenda was the review of the bids for the replacement of the
handicap lift.
Access Elevator: $16,995
Braun Thyssen -Krupp $21,500
Both units are ADA compliant and Mr. Larson noted that a comparison table of the two
units and bids was in their board folders. Ron Metz moved that the low bid from Access
Elevator be accepted. Eugene Winkler seconded the motion. A discussion followed,
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during which Mr. Larson said that the hydraulic replacement unit would function more
quietly and reliably. Carol Fenrich called for the roll call vote:
In favor Ms. Drew Opposed: None
Mrs. Fenrich
Ms. Kujawa
Mr. Metz
Ms. Moldenhauer
Mr. Rego
Mr. Winkler
The roll call vote was unanimous in favor. The bid from Access Elevator in the amount
of $16,995 for the replacement hydraulic handicap lift was accepted.
Mrs. Fenrich then asked Mr. Larson to give his Director's Report. He began by updating
the Board on the progress with the Sherlock Holmes exhibit. The truck will arrive on
Monday, May 24. The actor, Allen Meyer, will arrive on Sunday, May 23 and curator
Debra Daubert will pick him up at the airport. He continued by saying that the museum
will not be charging admission during the week of May 24 since much of the museum
will be involved with the Holmes exhibit installation and therefore not accessible to
visitors.
Mr. Larson continued with the update on the Sawyer House porch project. We have
found out that the original and C.R. Meyer blueprints do not show the specific
construction of the porch, so the ceiling of the porch will have to be opened by Terry
Laib of Laib Restoration. Laib will pull the wood covering from the foundation windows
and get under the porch to determine the condition. This inspection will determine if
an engineer will be necessary for the project. If there are structural deficiencies, Mr.
Larson explained that we will have to hire someone to do a more in -depth investigation
in order to prepare specifications and blueprints for the bidding process. The key stone
for the south arch has dropped slightly over the years; about 10 years ago quality
Building Restoration secured it in place as a temporary measure. With the unknowns
we are now faced with, it appears that the repair and reconstruction phase of this
project may have to be delayed until 2011.
Mr. Larson said he had also talked with Mr. Laib about the water pooling on the porch
roof, soaking in next to the foundation and eventually entering the basement. He
suggested our hiring someone who understands and specializes in drainage problems
and solutions. Mr. Larson explained that the ideal long -term solution would be to
incorporate improved drainage in a new site plan which would include a larger parking
area.
As the final item in his monthly Director's Report, Mr. Larson brought to the board the
latest developments on the Frederick S. Durow bequest. The trust company that was
handling the charitable portion of the estate are puzzled over Mr. Durow's
arrangements for his estate. Evidently Mr. Durow had divided his estate into two
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trusts: administrative and charitable. He indicated that Northern Trust Company, Mr.
Larson and Peggy Steeno, City Finance Director, will have a conference call next week
to hopefully come to consensus. This concluded his report.
Since Mrs. Fenrich had asked the board to help with the furnishings for the actor
previously in the meeting, she did not have anything else to report.
Mrs. Fenrich then announced that the election of the board officers for 2010 -2011 was
the next item on the agenda. Ron Metz moved that Rick Rego be nominated for Vice
President and Carol Kujawa for Secretary and Mrs. Fenrich continue as President and
that the nominations be closed. Diana Drew seconded the motion. Mrs. Fenrich then
called for the roll call vote:
In favor: Mrs. Fenrich Present: Mrs. Kujawa
Ms. Drew Mr. Rego
Mr. Metz
Ms. Moldenhauer
Mr. Winkler
The motion was passed with a unanimous vote in favor and two voting present. The
2010 -2011 slate of officers will be: Board President Carol Fenrich, Vice President Rick
Rego and Secretary Carol Kujawa.
With no further business before the board, Ron Metz moved that the meeting adjourn.
Eugene Winkler seconded the motion. The voice vote went as follows:
In favor Ms. Drew Opposed: None
Mrs. Fenrich
Ms. Kujawa
Mr. Metz
Ms. Moldenhauer
Mr. Rego
Mr. Winkler
The voice vote was unanimous in favor and the motion was passed. The meeting was
adjourned at 5:22 p.m.
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