Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2012 06 20

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Historical Commission Minutes April 18, 2012 Page 2 of 3 Bridget also stated that the Historical Commission for many years has had the dual roles of being both an advisory board to City Council and a 501c3 fundraising board. She noted that as a fundraising board, the Commission raised over $23,000 in 2011 with no specific fundraising events taking place. These funds came from the three sources of membership dues, sales of merchandise, and monetary donations. Bridget stated that in 2004, Louisville voters approved strong open government provisions that affect the Commission’s activities. These provisions were intended to ensure that policy decisions are made in the open, but because the Historical Commission is also a 501c3, the Commission is required to follow these rules about posting meeting agendas well in advance and not having informal meetings of more than two members, even for fundraising discussions. Because the Historical Commission is an official City board, it is also not supposed to have its own volunteers who are not under the supervision of City staff, even for fundraising events or educational community events. She noted that the Commission, as a 501c3, currently has about $50,000 in its accounts. B. Where Are We Headed? Chris Petrizzo invited meeting participants to reflect on what will happen to the Museum if nothing changes. Wide ranging discussion ensued. Off-site storage options were explored as a possible alternative to pursuing the construction of a new building. It was noted that off-site storage would not address all of the issues that a new on-site building could address, such as adding sufficient work space, space for student visitors, and an ADA compliant restroom. Commission members indicated that they hoped that there would be City support for the Museum to grow in terms of size and staff in order to meet the needs of attracting and serving the public as well as the need to maintain the collection. Meeting attendees discussed how if nothing changes, the Museum’s space restrictions could render it unable to accept donations to the collection, which would frustrate the public and erode support for the Museum and erode its reputation. The consensus was that if nothing changes and no additional staff or storage are made available, then despite the best intentions, the Museum and the City will eventually be unable to fulfill the mission. C. Where Do We Want To Go? The group reviewed the general mission of the Museum to promote, collect, and preserve Louisville history, and the Commission’s separate mission statement was also noted. Discussion ensued. Meeting participants focused on such discussion items as the need for more storage space and other types of space needed for a public building; the ways in which having a new building would address these needs; whether a building on the Museum campus could be large enough to meet needs; the goal of freeing up space in the Jordinelli House in order to make it at least partially accessible to the public; the importance for the Louisville Museum to comply with general museum standards; how to accomplish more cataloging and storage given the current levels of part time staffing, such as by the Museum staff enlisting additional volunteers; where and on what computers these volunteers might be able to work using the museum cataloging software; and whether the Commission should consider using its funds for a consultant on space needs. Bridget was asked for her number one desire for the Museum as Museum Coordinator, and she stated that staff time, storage, and cataloging needs are intertwined together. Jennifer Strand noted that of all the many issues, staff time seemed to be the most important because with additional staff at least cataloging could be attended to so that in the event that storage is resolved, the Museum could install an already catalogued collection. Meeting participants showed a consensus that “Where We Want to Go” is towards a museum that is able to successfully fulfill its mission. Some Commission members indicated an interest in pursuing a new kind of organizational structure so that the two