Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04. Museum Board Minutes July 12, 2012 MINUTES OF THE JULY MEETING OF THE OSHKOSH PUBLIC MUSEUM BOARD (Minutes approved at the August 2, 2012 board meeting) The regular July meeting of the Oshkosh Public Museum was held on Thursday, July 12, 2012 in the Lecture Room of the Museum. Board President Eugene Winkler called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. and asked that the roll call vote be taken: Present: Ms. Drew Absent: Mr. Haffeman Ms. Fenrich Mr. Metz Ms. Kujawa Ms. Moldenhauer Mr. Moore (in at 4:09 pm) Mr. Rego Mr. Winkler Mr. Mack (Superintendent of Schools) Also present: Museum Director Brad Larson; Assistant Director Michael Breza; Membership/Marketing Coordinator Megan Del Debbio and Intern Casie Brooks; Auxiliary President Barb Shirtz; Garden Club representative LeeAnn Lilly; museum neighbors Bonnie Marousek and Justin Dlugolenski; and Brenda Hauber recording the minutes. Mr. Winkler designated Ms. Drew to fill the vacancy of Mr. Rego. Mr. Larson then introduced the new Superintendent of Schools Mr. Stan Mack to the board. At this time, Mr. Larson introduced Mr. Jim Schaefer of Schaefer Landscape Design. Mr. Schaefer began his presentation of the preliminary landscape design. Mr. Schaefer then explained the plans for the various areas of the grounds. Questions from the board and visitors were put forth and answered. At the conclusion of the presentation everyone seemed pleased with the design and Mr. Schaefer was instructed to move forward with the plan. Mr. Larson thanked Mr. Schaefer for his presentation. At 4:09 pm Mr. Moore came into the meeting and was designated to fill the vacancy of Ms. Moldenhauer. The minutes of the June 7, 2012 board meeting were read Carol Fenrich moved and Carol Kujawa seconded a motion to accept the minutes. There being no discussion Mr. Winkler called for the roll call vote which went as follows: In favor: Ms. Drew Opposed: None Ms. Fenrich Ms. Kujawa Mr. Winkler Mr. Mack The vote was unanimous in favor and the motion was passed. The minutes of the June 7, 2012 board meeting were accepted. The July 2012 bill listing was presented. Diana Drew moved to approve the bill listing for payment. Carol Fenrich seconded the motion. Following a brief discussion, Mr. Winkler called for the roll call vote which went as follows: In favor: Ms. Drew Opposed: None Ms. Fenrich Ms. Kuj awa Mr. Moore Mr. Winkler Mr. Mack With a unanimous vote in favor the motion was passed. The July 2012 bill listing was approved for payment. Mr. Larson then introduced Megan Del Debbio and intern Casie Brooks to the board and explained that they have been working on the results of the survey sent to members and non- members alike. They both commented on the excellent return of the survey forms, which was close to 50%, making the results an accurate reflection of the membership as a whole. Ms. Brooks began with a PowerPoint presentation which graphically demonstrated the results of the survey. Ms. Del Debbio then explained that these results will be used as a major part of the reworking of the membership program. The outline and recommendations for the revised membership program will be presented at the September meeting. Megan then went on to discuss the October fundraiser titled "Party of the Decade." This year's decade will be the 1930s and the evening will include a swing band, signature drinks, 1930s foods, photo booth, and actors. Attendees will be urged to come dressed in 1930s-styles. There will also be basket raffles and a live auction. The funds raised will benefit the Exhibition Fund and raise awareness of the Museum. The autumn exhibit, "Oshcars," will be tied into the event. Mr. Larson and the board thanked them for their presentations. Mr. Winkler then asked Mr. Larson to present his Director's Report. He began with an update on the proposed 2013 Capital Improvement Project (CIP) requests that was discussed at the June meeting. Mr. Larson is still waiting on a couple of cost estimates, but noted that the combined estimate for the six projects is about$400,000. Project requests will be reviewed by Mr. Rohloff. After the project review at the July meeting, Mr. Larson said that he had to expand our CIP requests due to ongoing, serious problems with our air conditioning system, and the need to have a security system in place at the armory building (to be used for collections now housed in the Fire Barn) in the event the city acquires the property. With the excessive heat the last couple of weeks, the air conditioning system verged on breakdown. The newest condensing unit was seriously overheating so Nick had to keep a lawn sprinkler on it so it would not burn out or shut down. Keeping it running was essential because it would help keep the other, older unit from overworking and icing up. With the use of the sprinkler on the roof, it was discovered that was a leak in the roof in that area, causing water to come through the roof and into a gallery. The icing problem may be caused by issues with or in the coolant lines that run from the roof to the basement blower room. Maintenance access is very difficult since the lines run in a small chase between the Sawyer Home and the Steiger Wing. Nick has been working the Gartman Mechanical technician that has been assigned to the museum and is learning about our two old systems and teaching Nick how to do some of the basic repairs. Since Nick started working at the museum 17 months ago, Mr. Larson estimates that he has spent about 80% of his time with problems with the mechanical systems. Additionally, there was a problem with the humidification system in the archives. With the collections so crowded in there, when this unit malfunctions Scott has to move collections to make the unit available for servicing. The next topic on his Director's Report was the Toys exhibit which has now been open to the public for a month. We had higher attendance expectations based on its popularity at other venues. So far it has attracted just over 1,000 paid visitors. With such low attendance figures we will not be able to meet this year's admission goal and consequently, our income is down significantly. The exhibit has attracted a significant number of families with children under 6, which we have no way to track, and young children are free and do not therefore contribute to admission income. He explained that Megan purchased a mailing list of families with small children in the area and mailed a post card announcing the exhibit. We have contracted for a 30- second ad on Time Warner Cable and radio announcements. The lower than expected attendance figures is a recurring pattern which is neither because our exhibits are unappealing or a lack of advertising. We hope to have the reasons for the low attendance come to light when we participate in the Museum Assessment Program (MAP). The subject of the program is "Community Engagement". The program is designed to first reveal any problem and if so, how to strengthen community participation. Ms. Shirtz then gave the Auxiliary Report. First she reported that the Auxiliary raised $445.00 at their "Pie on the Lawn" event on Sunday, July 8. She then made two announcements: Scott Cross will present the Auxiliary program in November and their autumn gala is now scheduled for November 15. With no further business before the board, Dewey Moore moved that the meeting adjourn. Carol Fenrich seconded the motion. Mr. Winkler called for a voice vote on the motion which went as follows: In favor: Ms. Drew Opposed: None Ms. Fenrich Ms. Kujawa Mr. Moore Mr. Winkler Mr. Mack The motion was carried with a unanimous vote in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 6:08 pm.