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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Museum Of Science And History Advisory Committee - 10/04/1994 . V V MINUTES Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History Advisory Committee Meeting October 4, 1994 The Museum Advisory Committee met in the Museum at 12 : 00 Noon, Tuesday, October 4, 1994 . Members Present: Dr. Linda Mora, Alicia Perez, Alda Klett, Ruth O'Brien, Gene Pennebaker, Cindy Gamez, Deborah Kobelan, and Dwayne Dean. Members Absent: Delbert Hooper and Gwen Henzi . Chair Linda Mora called the meeting to order. The minutes of the September 1, 1994 meeting were unanimously approved as written. The absence of Dwayne Dean from the last meeting was excused for good cause. Mr. Stryker stated that the City Council will appoint members to fill vacancies if the Advisory Committee does not . CCISD still has not appointed Sharon Brower's replacement . Committee members expressed willingness to help recruit interested nominees . Business: a. The Museum must adopt an ethics policy compatible with the American Association of Museums Ethics Policy. When the Museum' s Collections Policy was revised, the ethics section was left unchanged. A committee must be formed to revise the Museum' s ethics policy to make it compatible with the AAM policy. Mr. Stryker advised that staff will be available to assist with this project, but it should not be handled by staff alone. Deborah Kobelan and Gene Pennebaker volunteered to work on this commit- tee. b-c . A second committee which must be formed is one which will review and make suggestions regarding operation of and a Long Range Plans for the Museum. Next Tuesday, City Council will discuss the Columbus Fleet being moved closer to the Museum, and when the Fleet becomes an adjunct to the Museum, there are many questions which will need to be answered. Do we charge one ticket or two? Should there be two gift shops or only one? A high-level of inventory control and cash management will be needed. On a policy level, we need to look at operations and see what the impact will be on the Museum. Many items are not now in our Long Range Plan. The Columbus fleet proposal will add 10, 000 sq. ft . on to the Museum. Mr. Stryker is asking for thoughtful consideration of these issues, as decisions must be made which. will effect the Museum for years to come. The Santa Maria and the Pinta were due a bottom job in September. This was extended through November 1 . The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) certifies the safety and security of a ship' s hull . The Coast Guard then permits people to board that ship. However, between the two ships, there is currently in excess of $1 million in damage. The time period required to fix each ship is 7 months . The Pinta and Santa Maria are no longer SCANNED `r Advisory Committee Meeting October 4, 1994 Page 2 certifiable. They must either be repaired or put on dry land. The Columbus Fleet Association does not currently have the funds to repair the ships or perform the bottom jobs . Therefore, the only option is to put both ships on dry land. The ships will need to be properly cradled, and to earn revenue, they must be publicly accessible while being repaired. Attendance this last summer dropped noticeable due to negative publicity (there was nationwide coverage about the April 12 barge accident) . This year, the ships brought in 38% less attendance than last year. A slip to house the Nina while the other two ships are on land will also have to be built . The ships will need to be worked on one at a time on the site. The concept being considered now is that a repair facility and marina be built at the North end of the Museum to house the ships . The cost could be between $4-5 million. d. Mr. Stryker showed a concept sketch of the Seeds of Change exhibit layout and proposed museum addition. This included a concept of how we might add on to accommodate the Columbus Fleet . If we have two admission fees, there would be two separate gates with a separate door going to the ships . The Museum' s Carpentry and Exhibit Design area would have to be moved. The placement of a new gift shop and a food service area also must be considered. Mr. Stryker explained all of the above so that the Advisory Committee could begin to consider the many questions which need to be addressed and answered, and the City Council will look to the Advisory Committee for input . Mr. Stryker stated he feels the City will not assume any financial responsibility for the ships . The City will likely build the addition to the Museum. Operationally, the Columbus Fleet has to pay its on way. The City will not likely increase the Museum budget . This operations/long range plan committee needs to make a list of issues and decide what is in the best interest of the Museum. The time frame requires that the critical decisions be made by January. Ruth O'Brien, Linda Mora and Rick Stryker have volunteered to serve on the operations/long range plan committee. Ruth stipulated that her participation would need to begin after November 1 . Mr. Stryker advised he would be talking with the Auxiliary and the Friends Boards to get volunteers who will serve. These issues will have an impact on every aspect of the Museum operation. e . Report on Museum Attendance Trends - A marketing study was conducted last summer on Corpus Christi . The findings are back. However, due to time constraints, this report was postponed until next month. ' . V Advisory Committee Meeting October 4, 1994 Page 3 f . Mr. Stryker advised that the RTA' s Water Taxi will begin 7- day per week operation on March 1, 1995 . Also, the Museum has been approached by the Economic Development Corp. and the consul- ate of Mexico to do an exhibit on the States of Mexico (one-half cultural and one-half industry and business in that state; this will help fill the informational needs created by NAFTA) . Mr. Stryker will go to Mexico in November to make arrangements for a temporary (approx. two month) exhibit which could open in the spring. The next meeting of the Advisory Committee will be held on Tuesday, November 1, 1994, at 12:00 Noon. With no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 1 : 10 p.m. /sso