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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Museum Of Science And History Advisory Committee - 11/02/2006 MINUTES . • Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History Advisory Committee Meeting November 2, 2006 The Museum Advisory Committee met in the Museum's DeDietrich Conference room at Noon on Thursday, November 2, 2006. Members Present: Margaret Bolick, Sharotfr iowe Cheryl Gillenwater, Robert Hatherill, Jonda Halcomb, Nelida Ortiz, and Phyllis Riddle. Upon motion by Phyllis Riddle and seconded by Margaret Bolick the minutes of the September 7th meeting were unanimously approved. Upon motion by Phyllis Riddle and seconded by Robert Hatherill the minutes of the October 5th meeting were unanimously approved. Upon motion by Margaret Bolick and seconded by Phyllis Riddle the absences of Sharon Brower and Cheryl Gillenwater were unanimously approved for good cause. Chairman's Remarks: Cheryl introduced and welcomed new members Nelida Ortiz and Jonda Halcomb. She then congratulated Robert Hatherill, Linda Tomo, and Margaret Bolick on their reappointment. Members must complete the Open Meetings Training by December 31, 2006. It was decided that the training video will presented for all those who have not yet completed the training at 11 a.m. prior to the December 7th meeting. Lunch will be provided for the December meeting. Chairman Cheryl Gillenwater called for nominations for Chair and Vice Chair for the upcoming year. Ms Gillenwater was nominated for chair and Phyllis Riddle was nominated for vice chair. Upon motion by Margaret Bolick and seconded by Sharon Brower the two nominees were unanimously elected by acclamation. Business: a. Collection Manager Joe Ettle presented the staff recommendation for the deaccession and/or disposal of: live Sharp's rifle cartridges, 14 unaccessioned bird specimens for disposal to San Angelo State University for research purposes, and a large number of other animal specimens for disposal that have no data and/or have been in the freezer beyond the point where they would be considered for preparation (most over ten years) and accessioning into the collection. Upon motion by Phyllis Riddle and seconded by Margaret Bolick the deaccession and disposal was unanimously approved. b. Rick Stryker presented a Powerpoint prepared by the Gignac/Sasaki team with input from Ralph Appelbaum and Associates of the SEA Side area plan and the way-finding plan for the area. This is the same presentation that was given to the City Council on October 10th. Slides from this presentation will be included in the visualized concept study being prepared by Appelbaum. It is expected that there will be one more preliminary presentation by Appelbaum to enable the Friends to determine which of three alternative concepts ought to be identified as the final plan to the pursued by the Museum. This is the Friends decision since it will be their responsibility to develop a funding plan for implementation. c. Under the City Ordinance Code, Article III Section 36-6, the Museum admission fee"schedule SCANNED 1■+ r.I shall be reviewed on an annual basis. Said fees and charges shall bear a reasonable relationship to fees charged for admission to other similar attractions and similar facilities, and shall be neither excessive nor grossly deficient by comparison; except that special provisions to assure access to all children shall be made, such as free periods of admission for children and free admission for school groups." In the fiscal year that ended in July, 18,253 school children were admitted free of charge while an additional 545 children under age 12 were admitted during the free period from 10 a.m. to Noon on Saturdays. There were two free days, St. Nicholas Day in December when 394 people were admitted free of charge and Water Day in May when 1,000 people were admitted free. The current admission fee schedule was adopted by the Advisory Committee in January 2002. Since that time General Fund expenditures to support the operation of the Museum have increased by 38%, an even greater rate than the Consumer Price Index which increased byl 5%. The Museum experienced a decline in attendance in line with the national trend after 9/11. However, paid attendance increased slightly(2%) in FY 2004/05 and showed a marked improvement (4%) in FY 2005/06. The logic that it made no sense to increase admission fees in the face of dropping attendance is no longer applicable to our current situation. Our admission rates are low compared to the USS Lexington Museum and the Texas State Aquarium which, locally, might be considered"similar attractions"based on rate structure, tourist audience(Museum: 74%) and average length of visit (Museum: 2.6 hours). Our admission rates are high in comparison to the Art Museum, Asian Cultures Museum, and Botanical Gardens which do not share those similarities. Our rates are low compared to museums with similar missions and rate structures in Ft. Worth, Houston, Dallas, and Austin while they are high compared to a museum in San Antonio. Museum staff recommends that a new rate structure be adopted by January. Implementation of the rate structure would occur after the approval of the City Manager. The Friends of the Museum are considering implementation of a new rate structure for membership that would go into effect at the same time as the new admission fee schedule. d. A new strategy envisions recruiting honorary curators (as was done in the past), adjunct curators, and/br collection committees. The responsibilities outsourced under this strategy include assisting the director in the development of collection plans, policies and procedures; recommending acquisitions; performing research and conducting classes utilizing the collection; using results of research to catalog, publish, and exhibit the collection; recommending deaccessions and providing input into requests for loan; making attributions and authenticating objects; making conservation recommendations. This strategy would be codified in a revision of our Collection Management Plan. e. Director's Report • Performance measures will be discussed at the December meeting. • The Museum's 50`h anniversary celebration will be discussed at the December meeting. • The Fire Suppression Project—Phase 2 is being designed. Installation will follow. 1111110The meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m..