Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2012 06 20

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Historical Commission Minutes April 18, 2012 Page 3 of 3 current roles of the Historical Commission (advisory to City Council, and fundraising) could each be tackled by a separate group with its own board, thereby helping the Museum fulfill its mission going forward. Facilitator Chris Petrizzo summed up – staffing, cataloging, and storage including, perhaps, a new building, seem to be the primary items to address moving into the future. D. What Will It Take To Get Us Where We Want To Go? 1.Decision on Whether to Create A Foundation: The Commission discussed whether to create a museum foundation similar to how the Louisville Public Library Foundation is a private organization separate from the Library advisory board. The Commission asked a number of questions about what a foundation might be able to accomplish that the Commission and City working together could not. The City’s Library Foundation and its relationship with the Louisville Library Board of Trustees were most often cited as an example. In this relationship, the City provides for the Library building and staff, and the foundation is approached for specific funding for events and projects that the City cannot cover. With the Museum in need of staff hours as well as storage space which might require a new building, the parallels were not exact, yet they were instructive. The Commission discussed how to frame the question for a vote and then unanimously voted in favor of actively pursuing the creation of a museum foundation. It was explicitly noted that such a foundation would take over the Commission’s current role of fundraising for the Museum so that the end result would be a City advisory board (the Historical Commission) and a separate fundraising board, not two fundraising boards. The items to explore include how a foundation is set up; whether it could fund contract positions; and how it would function in the event of the pursuit of a new building for storage and other needs. Commission members expressed an interest in learning more from members of the Library Foundation and seeing how other museum foundations interact with city museum advisory boards. The Commission will take up these items again in the next meeting. V. Other items: A. The Commission’s City Council Study Session is in June and the Commission will need to allot time in the May meeting to address its presentation. VI. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 8:00.