HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Museum Of Science And History Advisory Committee - 02/02/2012MINUTES FEB 2 4 2012
Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History x
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Advisory Committee Meeting
February 2, 2012 CITY $CRARY'S OPF�GE
The Museum Advisory Committee met in the Museum's DeDietrich Conference Room at Noon
on Thursday, February 2, 2012. Members Present: Pablo Garza, Jonda Halcomb, Robert
Hatherill, Kathy Juneau, Tom Kimes, and Shannon Madden.
- A few corrections were made to the minutes of the previous meeting. Upon motion by
Kathy Juneau and seconded by Pablo Garza the minutes of the January 5, 2011 regular
meeting were approved as amended.
- Upon motion by Pablo Garza and seconded by Kathy Juneau the absence of Shannon
Madden was excused for good cause.
Business:
a. Museum staff requested the input of the Advisory Committee on two issues.
1. Room rentals typically happen on weekends. Room uses for those exempt from rental
fees typically happen on week days. Recently there has been a demand for both on
Saturdays. In response to the question of whether there should be preference given to
revenue rentals, the consensus of the committee was that so long significant revenue is
not at stake, the current first -come firs- served policy should stand.
2. Public programming during Spring Break and during the summer is designed to
encourage increased paid attendance. Increasingly there have been group leaders
bringing groups of children which qualified them for free education group admission.
The Committee felt that the issue was one of supervision and recommended that the ratio
of adults to children should be enforced to avoid problems with unsupervised children.
b. Rick signed an agreement with aRes Travel that will enable the sale of Museum tickets on the
CVB web site as well as that of the Museum. The agreement with this company will facilitate
ticket packaging and make possible the sale of discounted museum tickets with the purchase of
tickets to Hurricane Alley. It is anticipated that a discounted ticket package will be developed
for the Art Museum, Corpus Christi Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
c. Captial Imrpovement issues
1. The City Council approved a contract with McKinstry for an Energy Efficient
Conservation Retrofit Project. All this work will be completed this year.
The existing HVAC control systems will be integrated into a new city -wide graphical
user interface. New variable frequency drives and demand - controlled ventilation technology
will be installed on the air - handling equipment. McKinstry will retro - commission the
existing equipment to improve the overall energy performance of the facility. This will cost
$132,182 with an annual savings of $36,881 enabling a 3.6 year payback.
Existing interior and exterior lighting systems will be upgraded with new, more efficient
lighting technologies including controls where applicable. This will cost $279,866 with an
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annual savings of $24,864 enabling a 9.4 year payback.
A software solution will be installed on museum computers which will reduce energy
consumption during periods of inactivity. This will cost $480 with an annual savings of $200
enabling a 2.4 year payback.
2. The Planning Department recently moved into the Museum and there is a proposal on the
table to add office space at the north end of the Museum to accommodate at least two more
individuals.
3. The rusting guard rail on the Plaza has been repainted several times over its 17 year life.
It has now been determined to have reached the end of its useful life. Scraping a repainting
will not address the deterioration of the metal which has already resulted in one of the light
poles falling over. A contractor estimated that it will cost nearly $300,000 to replace this
metalwork with anodized aluminum which will last longer and require less maintenance.
4. The Committee reviewed the various items on the Museum's proposed capital
improvement funding request. Upon motion by Shannon Madden and seconded by Pablo
Garza, the Committee unanimously approved the priorities associated with this list and
recommended that these needs of the Museum be addressed.
c. Staff Reports
- The Committee reviewed the chart showing the reorganization necessitated by the staff
reductions this fiscal year and anticipating the filling of the second Exhibit Project
Manager position later this month.
- The Friends have established a Policy Committee that will address the responsibilities
that are currently the realm of the Advisory Committee. Once the City Council approved
the MOU with the Friends and rescinds the ordinance establishing the Advisory
Committee, members of the Advisory Committee will be invited to become members of
the Friends Board and asked to serve on this committee continuing their current
responsibility.
- The Land and Sea Odyssey will continue through February providing reciprocal
privileges to members of the various participating cultural organizations.
- Ashley Henderson reported on the online database project including the increase in the
number of records accessible and the visitor use statistics,
The meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m.
2012 Meeting Schedule: Thursdays: March 1, April 5, May 3, June 7