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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Minutes of the November 7, 2013 Board Meeting (Approved at the December meeting of the Museum Board) The November meeting of the Oshkosh Public Museum Board was held on Thursday, November 7, 2013, in the Willow Room of the Oshkosh Seniors Center. President Gary Haffeman called the meeting to order at 4:10 pm. The roll was taken by Theresa Books. Present: Absent: Ms. Cryan, alt. Mr. Haffeman None Ms. Drew Mr. Rego Ms. Fenrich Mr. Metz Ms. Kaufman Mr. Daggett Ms. Thierman, alt. Mr. Winkler Mr. Mack Mr. Wiedenhoeft All members of the Board were present. Mr. Larson introduced Leadership Oshkosh representative Greg Daggett as our newest member of the Board. Also in attendance: Director Brad Larson, Assistant Director Mike Breza, Auxiliary Liaison Barb Shirtz, and Administrative Assistant, Theresa Books recording the minutes. There were no citizen statements as no citizens attended. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS For the consent agenda, the Board has been furnished with background material on each item or has discussed it at a previous meeting. These are acted upon with one vote without discussion. If a Board member wants to discuss any item, it will be pulled out of the consent agenda and will be voted on separately. Mr. Metz asked that the Bill List for the October bills be pulled out of the consent agenda for further discussion. The Board will consider approval of: A. Minutes of the October 3, 2013 Board Meeting rd B. Receipt and filing of the 3 quarter Oshkosh Area Community Foundation reports. Mr. Mack moved that the Consent Agenda be approved. Mr. Winkler seconded the motion. The roll call vote went as follows: In Favor: Against: Ms. Drew Mr. Metz None Ms. Fenrich Mr. Winkler Ms. Kaufman Mr. Mack Mr. Haffeman Mr. Wiedenhoeft Mr. Rego Mr. Daggett The vote was unanimous in favor and the Consent Agenda items were passed. Oshkosh Public Museum 1331 Algoma Boulevard Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 Page 1 of 4 The Board then discussed the Bill List. Mr. Metz asked about the larger number of dollars spent toward marketing during this time period. It was noted that with the holiday exhibit soon to open there has been an extensive marketing effort focused on that exhibit. Mr. Larson expressed that the Membership/Marketing Coordinator is watching her budget closely and staying within budget and is using a visitor survey as a way to learn which ad locations bring in the most visitors. Mr. Mack moved that the Board approve the November Bill List. Second by Mr. Winkler In Favor: Against: Ms. Drew Mr. Metz None Ms. Fenrich Mr. Winkler Ms. Kaufman Mr. Mack Mr. Haffeman Mr. Wiedenhoeft Mr. Rego Mr. Daggett The vote was unanimous in favor and the November Bill List was approved. Discussion followed regarding the UW- membership for their students to be able to use the Museum through the 20132014 semesters. Currently student admission is $5 per student. Mr. Larson explained that the History Department approached the Museum requesting a membership that will allow about 110 students to visit over the course of an academic calendar year. Mr. Larson suggested $1,000 for a year, but when the History Department met and discussed it they came back that they can afford $300 in their budget. The Museum would be provided a list of students who would have access to the Museum via this membership. The list would be kept at the admission desk to be used to know which students are a part of that membership. Mr. Haffeman stated that he sees this as a good way to further establish our relation with the University. Mr. Mack noted that while it is a 40% discount, it is also guaranteed attendance and further connection with the University. All Board members agreed we would like to work with the History Department in this way. Mr. Mack moved that the UWO History Department can have a one year membership for their students for the price of $300. This will be an experiment to see how this can work; to potentially offer it to other departments at the University in the future. Ms. Drew seconded the motion. The roll call vote went as follows: In Favor: Against: Ms. Drew Mr. Metz None Ms. Fenrich Mr. Winkler Ms. Kaufman Mr. Mack Mr. Haffeman Mr. Wiedenhoeft Mr. Rego Mr. Daggett The vote was unanimous in favor to provide the History Department with a $300 membership. stating that at this time it seems likely that the 2014 budget will include the loss of one position (the Assistant Director). He noted that in developing the budget the City faced a $2.8 million shortfall and all departments were asked to present a 5% reduction as an option for City Manager Oshkosh Public Museum 1331 Algoma Boulevard Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 Page 2 of 4 Rohloff. Alternatively, we could present a plan for increasing revenue by that amount. Because the Museum struggles to meet revenue goals now, the only way we could realistically reach the 5% total was through personnel costs. Mr. Rohloff looked at Museum positions as part of the larger package of city-wide reductions. The 2014 City budget will be adopted by the Common Council on November 26. It is Mr. it would not be restored to our budget the following year (2015). Mr. Larson noted that there is no question that this loss will impact operations. Exhibit responsibilities currently held by the assistant director would be primarily assumed by Mr. Larson, as would various administrative tasks. No one would be available to visit schools in costume. Mr. Larson will explore restructuring the exhibit team this winter. The Durow curator position is scheduled to be filled in spring 2014. ity is to fill the graphic artist position so he does not expect to tackle the exhibit team restructuring until February or March 2014. In response, the Board discussed the possibility of having Mr. Breza fill the position of the Durow curator in order to keep a long-time employee. There is understanding that the Durow position must have knowledge of glass and ceramics and is mainly responsible for these specific el department and City Manager Rohloff. Mr. Mack made a motion that the Board have an advisory vote to make note that the Board is fine with the concept of having Mr. Breza fill the Durow curator position should the City and Mr. Larson believe it would be appropriate to do so. Seconded by Mr. Metz. In Favor: Against: Ms. Drew Mr. Metz None Ms. Fenrich Mr. Winkler Ms. Kaufman Mr. Mack Mr. Haffeman Mr. Wiedenhoeft Mr. Rego Mr. Daggett The vote was unanimous in agreement. Next Mr. Larson gave an update regarding the Capital Improvement Budget (CIP). The Museum has $75,000 included second floor of the carriage house. If approved, we will begin designing that in the winter with the idea of having it installed by this time next year. Mr. Larson then gave an update on the HVAC work. The HVAC project remains on schedule and some of the Sawyer home now has heat. The boiler is shut off at the end of each day because we have no thermostats to control temperature. The rest of the museum should have heat beginning the following Friday, November 15. There will be several weeks of balancing the system, and installation of the digital controls will also continue. Oshkosh Public Museum 1331 Algoma Boulevard Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 Page 3 of 4 Mr. Larson stated that while it has been a bit challenging at times, the staff is in high spirits about finally having a decent system. Aside from comfort, it will significantly increase our level of preservation because the Sawyer home will now have humidity control. Mr. Larson noted that the lower level of the Museum is extremely filthy from all the work and will take a serious amount of cleaning to make it presentable. Supplies and files were moved around to accommodate the tradesmen, so we have to put everything back in order in the coming weeks. the new holiday exhibit, Deck the Halls. The holiday exhibit is close to completion and it is superbly done. Mr. Larson gave the highest accolades to exhibit technician Bill Radig and curator Debra Daubert for the job they did on this project. It is really impressive and brings out the best toys and dolls in collection. Moreover, the exhibit has a direct and strong connection to community and the spirit of the holidays. Mr. Larson noted that this first year of Deck the Halls is the most time consuming and difficult. Because the store fronts were constructed to be taken apart and reused in subsequent years, next year will be far easier and quicker to install, and of course less costly. We will have to store the store front props off site and Joan Lloyd is looking into options and costs for renting a storage unit. Mr. Larson reminded the Board that part of Deck the Halls is the decorated light poles, called Get Polarized. All the poles are spoken for and being decorated, we have nonprofits wanting to enter in 2014. For this year we have a pledge of $300 in matching dollars for the winning nonprofit. Oshkosh has a fairly high number of nonprofit organizations and there is tremendous competition for local philanthropic dollars. For the museum to get this response in the first year is very encouraging. Ms. Shirtz gave an update on activities of the Auxiliary. Preparation for the Annual Gala is going well. The Auxiliary decorated one of the outside light poles as part of Get Polarized. The th Auxiliary meeting is tomorrow, November 8. Ruth Krumenauer turns 100 and will be honored th at the meeting. The Gala is Tuesday, November 19, 5:30-7:30 p.m. With no other agenda items, Mr. Haffeman asked for a motion to adjourn. Mr. Metz so moved and Mr. Wiedenhoeft seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous in favor and the motion was passed. The meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm. Oshkosh Public Museum 1331 Algoma Boulevard Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 Page 4 of 4