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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/08/2014 - Museums Bayham MUSEUMS BAYHAM Minutes of October 8, 2014 Meeting Bayham Municipal Office, Straffordville,Ontario Present: Chair-Bev Hickey, Vice Chair- Chuck Buchanan, Secretary- Lynn Acre, Matt Schafer, Anna Schafer, Ron Bradfield, Susan Start, Albert White Regrets: Brian Masschaele Absent: Ray Maddox, Councillor Tom Southwick/Cliff Evanitski 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm Chairman B.Hickey welcomed L.Acre back from her summer travels. He thanked C.Buchanan and S.Start for filling in as secretary during her absence. 2. DECLARATION OF PECUNIARY INTEREST: None 3. AGENDA: It was moved by M.Schafer and seconded by C.Buchanan that the agenda be approved as presented. Motion Carried. 4. MINUTES: It was moved by C.Buchanan and seconded by M.Schafer that the minutes of the September 10, 2014 meeting be approved as written. Motion Carried. 5. CORRESPONDENCE: An application & flyer for the April 2015 London Home & Garden Show arrived. The cost of a 10' X 10' booth is $825. A decision will be made at the November committee meeting. 6. MATTERS OUT OF THE MINUTES a) Wheel House Acquisition: A sub committee consisting of B.Hickey, C.Buchanan, S.Start, A.White, Barry Wade met to discuss the possibility of acquiring the wheel house as an artifact for the Marine Museum. B.Wade made a conceptual drawing for the wheel house's possible position on the existing site. The sub-committee members offered $5,000 plus some free advertising to the owners. This was accepted. The Port Burwell Historical Society has offered to fundraise the money for its purchase as well as an additional $5,000 to cover the expense to have it moved and set up properly. Two options have been suggested to move the structure to the Marine Museum site; i)put the wheel house onto a barge and float it to Port Burwell or ii) dissect the wheel house, load the parts onto a flatbed truck and drive to Port Burwell for reassembling. The wheel house will be an external artifact, not an addition to the building. MUSEUMS BAYHAM October 8,2014 -2- b) Native Plantings at Marine Museum: On September 18th, Council approved the creation of a suitably-sized bed of native plantings around the butterfly plaque at the Port Burwell Marine Museum, subject to ongoing maintenance by the Polestar Group and the Pt.Burwell Horticultural Society under the supervision of a museum board member. c) No Parking signs at Marine Museum: Council has directed the Manager of Public Works to install permanent signage at the Pt.Burwell Marine Museum by May 1, 2015. The signage will say "Museum Parking Only ,LLA During Operating Hours". b ( � d) Flags for Museums: A new "OPEN" flag is needed for the lighthouse. Both the Canadian and Ontario flag at the lighthouse are threatening to fall off but it is expected that public works will remove them soon. All three flags at the Marine Museum seem to be in good condition and can be reused for 2015 season. Edison Museum's flag needs to be stored for the winter. e) Lifeboat Painting: B.Hickey contacted 2 local tradesmen for quotes on painting the lifeboat artefact. Neither one carries Workman's Compensation and therefore is not eligible to work for the municipality. Due to these limitations, committee members felt that they could do the required work themselves in the spring. In the meantime, the lifeboat will be covered for the winter. f) Doors Open 2014: Due to the Municipal Election, this year's Doors Open East Elgin has been cancelled. g) Church Pew Loan: The Edison Museum has loaned a wooden church pew to the Aylmer Museum until December 2014. NEW BUSINESS: A) HMCS Ojibwa Sub Days Event: On Sept.27 & 28 the Marine Museum was opened to accommodate visitors who attended the Ojibwa's special weekend event. C.Buchanan & S.Start staffed the museum. Approximately 30 visitors attended with a total donation of$50 collected. Committee members will re-evaluate whether or not to participate in this event again next year. MUSEUMS BAYHAM October 8,2014 -3- B) Membership Replacement: B.Masschaele has indicated his intention to resign his membership on this committee at the end of the 2014 term due to family demands. Three names were suggested as a possible replacement, all with professional curatorial experience. However, some members expressed hesitancy about including staff members from other museums as this may present a `conflict of allegiance'. It was agreed to seek advice from L.Millard regarding our current membership by-law and whether or not we must have professional representation. C) Curatorial Services: The former discussion prompted a suggestion that rather than inviting a professional curator/archivist into the committee, it would be more prudent to contract professional curatorial services from the County of Elgin. It was estimated that two half days per week would suffice from April until September. This person would train the summer students, set up schedules, plan & oversee new displays, and apply for government grants. This would free up L. Millard workload and prepare the museums for her eventual retirement. D) Certificate of Appreciation: B.Hickey will request municipal staff to prepare a certificate of appreciation for B.Masschaele. E) Lighthouse Repairs: It was noted previously by R.Bradfield that the paint on the north side of the lighthouse was bubbling from the constant moisture. Since then, some of the bubbles have disappeared but C.Buchanan has attempted to contact the contractors for follow-up maintenance. So far he has not had a response. F) Capital & Operating Budget 2015: The committee will discuss the 2015 budgets at the November meeting. G) Gay Lea Dairy Museum Offer: The Gay Lea Dairy Heritage Museum is in the process of deaccessioning items from their collection that are duplicates. Several items were listed for our consideration, however only the cameras may fit our mandate. C.Buchanan will check our current collection of Brownie cameras. Then he and B.Hickey will attend the Gay Lea Museum to see if any of theirs will enhance our collection. H) Edison Dinner Night Fundraiser: L.Acre reminded members of the up- coming Edison fundraiser scheduled for Sat. Nov.15, 2014 at the Vienna Community Centre. Tickets are $30/person and include a perch dinner, silent auction, door prizes, live entertainment and a cash bar. MUSEUMS BAYHAM October 8,2014 -4- I) Lighthouse's 175th Birthday celebration: S.Start informed the committee that our lighthouse will turn 175 years old in 2015. The Pt.Burwell Historical Society is planning some sort of celebration and invites this committee to assist. J) Absentee committee members: B.Hickey will contact R.Maddox to see if he's OK. 9. NEXT MEETING: Wednesday November 12, 2014, at 7:00 pm Municipal office. 10. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Ron Bradfield that the meeting be adjourned at 8:35 pm. oak1 Chairman Bev Hickey .ecret: rAcre