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Home My WebLink About04/08/2015 - Museums Bayham MUSEUMS BAYHAM Minutes of April 8, 2015 Meeting Bayham Municipal Office, Straffordville,Ontario Present: Chair-Bev Hickey, Vice Chair- Chuck Buchanan, Secretary- Lynn Acre, Matt & Anna Schafer, Ray Maddox, Susan Start, Albert White, Ron Bradfield, Lynda Millard. Regrets: Kimberly Legg Absent: Council rep 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00 2. DECLARATION OF PECUNIARY INTEREST: None 3. AGENDA: It was moved by R. Bradfield and seconded by M.Schafer that the agenda be approved as presented. Motion Carried. 4. MINUTES: It was moved by L.Acre and seconded by C.Buchanan that the minutes of the March 11, 2015 meeting be approved as presented. Motion Carried. 5. CORRESPONDENCE: none 6. MATTERS OUT OF THE MINUTES a) Colorful Communities Dulux paint give-back: Both chairman B.Hickey and vice-chairman C.Buchanan separately visited the St.Thomas store to investigate how we might take advantage of this free offer of paint. Although they both spoke to the manager, they were both told that they would be contacted with the details. Neither has heard back as yet. b) 175"'Anniversary Celebration of Lighthouse: Plans are going forward to commemorate this anniversary on July 1, along with our regular Canada Day celebration. S.Start distributed posters to members for displaying throughout the community. The usual parade route will be changed so that it will pass by the lighthouse before returning to the Legion. C.Buchanan will submit to Council an amended parade route plan. The Elgin County Town Crier will lead the parade and give a "cry" at the lighthouse. The organizers are looking for an actor to represent Col. Mahlon Burwell. They plan to contact Rev. Nick Wells to represent Col. Thomas Talbot. They will also invite the Amish carpenter who did the major restoration of the lighthouse. S.Start contacted the editor of the international magazine, Lighthouse Digest, and has submitted information and photos for a free article. -2- c) Hamilton Boat & Fishing Show 2016: Defer until next meeting. d) Tillsonburg Home & Garden Show 2015: We are too late to reserve a table for this year. e) Hercules Boat Model Loan: The owner has been notified of our interest. We are waiting for the response. f) Summer Students: L.Millard has applied for various government grants to subsidize the wages for 5 summer students. It is unknown how many we will receive approval for. Interviews are expected to take place in early May. L.Millard will notify the entire committee of the possible dates and seek to enlist the help of a few committee members for the interview process. In regards to the students creating a `Slog" for the website, our municipal CAO advises against it until a process is put into place whereby all submissions to the website are screened. S.Start is still interested in seeking a workable process for this to take place, with committee members volunteering to screen the website submissions first. It was noted that both museums still have recent artefact acquisitions that need to be catalogued and numbered. g) New Committee Member: Although this committee recommended to Council the appointment of Kimberley Legg in March 2015, Council will not be making any appointments to any committees until it decides if the current committee structure will remain intact. This is expected to happen after the budget process is completed. In the meantime, K.Legg is invited to continue in her non-official capacity as a member of Museums Bayham. h) Membership to OMA and CMA: In regards to our recent inquiries, L. Millard ensured that we are already current members of both of these organizations. C.Buchanan reported that he has recently completed and submitted surveys for both of these organizations, so that they may better design programs for the future. NEW BUSINESS: a) Edison Building Committee Report: M. Schafer reported that the Edison Building Committee met on Saturday April 4 at 10:30 am to discuss an appropriate response to Bayham's Facilities Study report. The Building Committee produced two recommendations. The first represented their preferred course of action and follows; -3- It was moved by Harris Teal and seconded by Ray Maddox that the Edison Museum Building Committee hereby recommends and requests that the Museums Bayham Committee support and recommend to Council the following; 1. While the Edison Museum Building Committee appreciates the fact that there are savings to be had by relocating facilities under one roof, it strongly feels that the Edison Museum should be located on the property at the north end of Vienna, purchased for such, being 6342 Plank Road. This superior location was chosen for its excellent exposure to tourists traveling on our major north/south route. The size of the lot is sufficient to accommodate the new building,plenty of parking and outdoor activities and presentations. All necessary services (water, sewer, electricity and natural gas) are presently located at the roadside. This site has a direct connection to both the Edison family and to the village of Vienna, adding another layer of rich historical significance. We encourage Council to consider how moving this piece of heritage away from Vienna would affect the local community and any future attempts of fund raising. Therefore the Edison Museum Building Committee and the members of Museums Bayham support the relocation of the Edison Museum, within a new building, at 6342 Plank Road. 2. And That Council utilize the following methods of support, as deemed necessary, *use of Edison Museum Reserve Funds, and *proceeds of sale of museum property at 14 Snow Street, (including abutting lot to the south). Motion Carried. A second motion was also approved by the Building Committee, to act as a secondary option, in case the preferred option was rejected by Council. It was moved by Lew Acre and seconded by Lynda Millard That the Edison Museum Building Committee hereby recommends and requests that the Museums Bayham Board support and recommend the following to Council: 1. That, although the Edison Museum Building Committee confirms that the preferred location for a new museum facility is on the lot at the north end of Vienna, purchased for such, being 6342 Plank Road, the Committee members and the members of Museums Bayham, support the inclusion of the Edison Museum in a new municipal services facility, or, in a converted shared municipal services facility, that includes suitable and sufficient museum space to accommodate the existing and potential future Bayham/Edison artifact collection; 2. And That Council utilize the following methods of support, as deemed necessary, either of which must include a suitable allocation of space to a Bayham/Edison Museum *use of Edison Museum Reserve Funds, and *proceeds of sale of museum properties at 6342 Plank Road, 14 Snow Street, (including abutting lot to the south). Motion Carried. -4- b) Bayham Facilities Study comment: It was agreed that Museums Bayham should submit only one recommendation to Council. The following motion was then presented for discussion and a recorded vote was requested. It was moved by Matt Schafer and seconded by Lynn Acre that Museums Bayham hereby recommends and requests that the Bayham Council consider and support the following; 1. Whereas Museums Bayham appreciates the fact that there are savings to be had by relocating facilities under one roof, And even though it continues to strongly feel that the Edison Museum should be located on the property at the north end of Vienna, purchased for such, being 6342 Plank Road, acknowledging that this superior location was chosen for its excellent exposure to tourists traveling on our major north/south route, and that the size of the lot is sufficient to accommodate the new building, plenty of parking and outdoor activities and presentations, and that the lot has all necessary services (water, sewer, electricity and natural gas) located at the roadside, and whereas it realizes that this site has a direct connection to both the Edison family and to the village of Vienna, adding another layer of rich historical significance to the collection, And while it respectfully encourages Council to consider how moving this piece of heritage away from Vienna would affect the local community and any future attempts of fund raising, Notwithstanding the above arguments, the Museums Bayham Committee members would support the inclusion of the Edison Museum in a new municipal services facility, or, in a converted shared municipal services facility, that includes suitable and sufficient museum space to accommodate the existing and potential future Bayham/Edison artifact collection; 2. And That Council utilize the following methods of support, as deemed necessary, either of which must include a suitable allocation of space to a Bayham/Edison Museum *use of Edison Museum Reserve Funds, and *proceeds of the sale of both museum properties (6342 Plank Road and 14 Snow Street, -including the abutting lot to the south). Recorded vote; Lynn Acre in favour Chuck Buchanan in favour Ron Bradfield opposed Ray Maddox opposed Anna Schafer in favour Matt Schafer in favour Susan Start opposed Albert White opposed Bev Hickey in favour Motion Carried 5-4 -5- c) What to do with the Edison Artefacts During Museum's Closure: Since the artefacts are not deemed to be in any danger, it was decided not to move them to another location. The Bayham Historical Society may want to consider moving their artefacts and property to another location though. Static displays of some of the Edison artefacts could be merged with the Marine Museum's collection for the 2015 season and also at Edison Fest. d) Donation of Artefact: Chairman B.Hickey has received from Louis Toth a donation of a 1917 cheque in the amount of$9.96 made payable to a Mr. Samuel Shipp which was payment for one week's wages in 1917. It was moved by R.Bradfield and seconded by R.Maddox that we accept this artefact and that the appropriate acquisition papers be filed. Motion Carried. e) Historical Society Guest Speaker: R.Maddox advised that tomorrow night, April 9, 2015 a gentleman from Tavistock is coming to the Vienna Community Centre to speak about Edison phonographs. Everyone is welcome. 9. NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, May 13, 2015, at 7:00 pm Municipal office. 10. ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Albert White that the meeting be adjourned at 8:50 pm. Motion Carried. apj97.),166:6,6(/ Chairman Bev 1ickey pec •t Lynn Acre