HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Museum Of Science And History Advisory Committee - 09/02/2010 RECEIVED
MINUTES OCT 012010
Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History
Advisory Committee Meeting
September 2, 2010 CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE
The Museum Advisory Committee met in the Museum's DeDietrich Conference Room at Noon
on Thursday, September 2, 2010. Members Present: Jonda Holcomb, Robert Hatherill, Kathy
Juneau, Tom Kimes, Shannon Madden,Jim Moloney, and Scott Sutherland.
Upon motion by Kathy Juneau and seconded by Tom Kimes the minutes of the August 5, 2010
regular meeting were approved as presented.
Upon motion by Shannon Madden and seconded by Tom Kimes the absences of Jim Moloney,
Kathy Juneau, and Scott Sutherland were excused. Upon motion by Tom Kimes and seconded
by Kathy Juneau the absences of Robert Hatherill and Jonda Holcomb were excused.
Business:
a.The terms of Tom Kimes, Shannon Madden, and Jim Moloney end with this meeting. All
have agreed to serve another term, if appointed. Kimberly Harris-Ward, whose term also ends,
has not yet made her wishes known.
b. We have received a response to the Self Study we submitted to the American Association of
Museums in preparation for consideration of our application for subsequent accreditation. There
are a number of issues that must be addressed:
- We have been asked to resubmit our Museum Profile to reflect the museum as having a
parent organization. This has an impact of other areas of the Self Study such as the
Leadership and Organizational Structure and Financial Stability. To remain consistent
with our status as an integral department of the City, the response will better explain our
status rather than try to make the Museum something that it is not.
-The Museum's institutional code of ethics no longer meets the expectations of the
Accreditation Commission. It will have to be rewritten.
- The Strategic Plan lacks an analysis of the human and financial resources needed for
implementation. Some changes to that plan will be necessary.
- AAM staff, in response to our protest, agrees that the initial issues with the Leadership
and Organizational Structure are not valid.
-Some issues with deaccession portion of our Collection Management policy will have to
be addressed.
- Some way will have to be found to better explain the financial structure of the Museum
and concerns with the way Museum finances are audited.
Advisory Committee members will be asked to consider some policy changes that address these
concerns in the next couple months. A visiting committee of two museum professionals will be
selected and a visit will be scheduled within the next six months. They will meet with the
Museum Advisory Committee, Friends Board, and City Manager, with the Museum Director not
present, to validate their roles as reflected in the submittals for the subsequent accreditation.
SCANNED
c. School group attendance included 15,546 students this past year, up from 13,383 the previous
year. Although last year's attendance was negatively impacted by the H I Nl flu pandemic,
attendance still lagged behind that of the three previous years. 54% of the students came from
Corpus Christi ISD largely due to the grade level programs for CCISD First and Fifth grade
students. 1 I% of the students came from other Corpus Christi schools continuing a long term
decline in attendance from that audience. The remaining 35% of student attendance came from
60 other south Texas communities. That number was up from last year but continues an overall
downward trend.
Paid summer attendance was the lowest it has been in five years for June and July and August
attendance was down from 2009. The March/spring break attendance is usually an indicator of
how things will go in the summer, but the Museum's strong March attendance this year gave us
no clue that this summer would be such a disappointment. A significant(7%) increase in the per
capita admission rate suggests that admission fees are probably contributing to price resistance.
d. In May, at the request of the City Manager who was seeking revenue enhancement strategies,
the staff proposed and the Advisory Committee adopted five changes to fee policies. Those
changes were not considered as part of budget deliberations. The adopted changes were
reviewed by the Museum Director and the Assistant City Manager after budget adoption in
August and three were submitted to the City Manager and received his approval. The number of
free admission days was reduced from 14 to 10 and changes to the birthday party policy and the
room rental policy were approved. The proposal that the free admission age for young children
be narrowed and the proposal that the ordinance excepting school group tours from the
admission policy be changed were not submitted to the City Manager for his approval.
d. Staff Reports
• The Bond 2008 Project revising the HVA/C systems should wind up in September ending
the troublesome disruption to the visitor experience.
• Ni ha is undergoing repairs at a shipyard in Aransas Pass funded by the City prior to
transfer to the Columbus Sailing Association when it returns to the Marina.
• A temporary exhibit, Images of Valor: U.S. Latinos and Latinas of World War II is in the
Kenedy Gallery through September.
• The Friends will be hosting a Night in the Museum fund raising event on October 13.
• The September Friends lecturer will be Tom Kreneck who will talk about the book he
recently edited about Texana collectors and the impact of collections.
The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
2010 Meeting Schedule: Thursdays: November 4, October 7, December 2