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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Museum Of Science And History Advisory Committee - 11/06/2003 ‘,"• \^4 .„1-T3 h 25262)28 MINUTES P:... Corpus Corpus Christi Museum of Science and I1 tor%? ' Advisory Committee Meeting November 6, 2003 ' w� The Museum Advisory Committee met in the Museum at Noon on Thursaay,NRyggibtrfi, 2003. Members Present: Grady Price Blount, Henry Brennecke, Sharon Brower, Tony Diaz, Margaret Bolick, Angie Flores, Anna Peterson, and Phyllis Riddle. Also present was Assistant City Manager Margie Rose. Upon motion by Tony Diaz and seconded by Angie Flores the minutes of the October 2, 2003 meeting were unanimously approved. Upon motion by Angie Flores and seconded by Tony Diaz the absence of Sharon Brower was excused for good cause. Business: I. Upon motion by Grady Price Blount and seconded by Sharon Brower the Committee unanimously encouraged staff to accept the donation of a 1948 IH McCormick Farmall tractor. 2. At the October meeting the Advisory Committee asked that a discussion of the SWOT analysis be the only item on this agenda. Rick reviewed the SWOT analysis. As requested by the City Manager, the Museum staff went through a SWOT analysis process on September 19, 2003. This information will be used during the City department head retreat in January to review the mission of the City and its component parts. Rick suggested and suggested a slightly different approach from that taken by the staff. As a service organization, the Museum needs to recognize the audiences that were being served. Based on attendance statistics, the Museum audiences can be divided into: Schools 26% Local 16% Tourists: Texans 37% Out of state & foreign 21% SWOT analysis is fundamentally a marketing process that identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats based on a comparison with competitors in the marketplace. Rick suggested that a better approach for the cultural/educational service provider would be to identify partners rather than competitors because partners might help us take advantage of our strengths. Who are our partners? City Council City Departments (Park and Recreation, Library, Water) Port of Corpus Christi (Ortiz Center) RTA- Regional Transportation Authority SMG-Convention Center/Auditorium/Arena CVB - Convention and Visitor's Bureau (hotels, restaurants, etc.) Attractions (Lexington, Aquarium, Art Museum) SCANNED yalf Advisory Committee Meeting November 6, 2003 Page 2 Rick suggested that the Advisory Committee focus on Museum strengths. It is more feasible for the Museum to build on strengths than reverse weaknesses. Weaknesses are much more likely something for which the Museum should call upon its partners for assistance. The Committee members discussed the strengths identified by the staff There were no additions suggested to the staff list. Each Committee member cast five votes to establish the order of priorities: What are our Strengths? 7 Bayfront location 6 Unique history and natural history collections 5 Variety of educational programming 5 Professional staff 5 Private support-Friends/Auxiliary volunteers 4 Columbus ships 3 City Support 2 State and national recognition (Accredited, State Marine Archeology Repository) 0 Family place The Committee members discussed the weaknesses identified by staff which Rick restructured by grouping related weaknesses. What are our Weaknesses? Marketing and advertising/not attracting local people Low budget/ small staff/facility maintenance WEB page capacity and maintenance Outdated exhibits Condition and display of the Columbus ships The Advisory Committee added a couple weaknesses: High cost of Admission Lack of mission and vision provided by the City Council, e.g.: Columbus ships Lack of outreach There was a long discussion about Museum weaknesses and how assistance from partners might help address them: 1) Lack of mission and vision and for the Columbus ships Key partner-without clear direction from the City Council the Museum cannot move forward. 2) Lack of Marketing Key partner-Marketing the Museum and the Columbus Ships is a priority issue of the City Council. Based on the budget, all City tourism marketing dollars go to the CVB. 410 kid Advisory Committee Meeting November 6, 2003 Page 3 Yet, there is no action on the part of the City Council or the CVB to address this priority even in the face of a dramatic drop in attendance and admissions revenue to the Museum and the Columbus ships. It was suggested that staff could tour the new CVB director and Sparklers as well as the Airport's new royal ambassadors through the Museum. Change the name—"Museum" connotes something that does not change and is not exciting. One suggested new name was science and history"center". 3) Lack of Outreach Key Partner—It might be possible to partner with the University to write grants for outreach. It also might be possible to provide opportunities for students to fulfill their community service requirements through projects at the Museum It might be possible to develop a closer relationship with RSVP to provide senior citizen volunteers for outreach assistance Advertise that university class activities could be conducted in the Museum. Send a letter to teachers letting them Imow about free admission for school groups 4) WEB page capacity and maintenance Key Partner -Partner with Miller High School to improve the web site. Put a link on school web sites to the Museum web site 5) Low budget/small staff/ facility maintenance It was suggested that the Museum obtain money from fines imposed on various refineries by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. This could be especially fruitful in the development of natural history exhibits and programs. This is something on which staff will report back. It was suggested that the Museum ought to become a member of the Chamber of Commerce independent from the City At this point Rick suggested that the Committee move on to a discussion of Museum strengths as a beginning step in a long range planning process that could involve the Friends of the Museum and staff. Those members present were not supportive of developing a long range plan until issues of mission and vision from the City Council vis-a-vis the Columbus ships had been resolved. It was also thought that without the CVB as an active partner, the mission of the Museum might be better redirected to serve the local audience and schools who can be reached through low cost public relations efforts. Developing a long range plan in this environment was not thought to be productive because it would not likely be possible to implement the full scope of the plan. NNW 'S ' Advisory Committee Meeting • November 6, 2003 Page 4 Ms. Rose pointed out that these issues were beyond the scope of the process in which we were currently involved. She promised to pass their input along to the City Manager for inclusion in the discussion of City mission at the Department Head Retreat in January. There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m.