December 21, 2004
The meeting of the Douglas County Historical Society Board was called to order at 5:00 P.M. at the Watkins Community Museum Of History. Chairman John Simmons presided. Attending were Napoleon Crews, Dennis Dailey, Charles Derby, Martha Harris, Stan Hernly, Phillip Humphrey, Ralph King, Jim Martin, Bill Myers, Bob Piller, Steve Sublett, Pennie Von Achen, and Lynne Zollner. Museum Director Rebecca Phipps was also present.
Simmons thanked new members for agreeing to serve on the board. Special thanks were extended to Patty Johnson and Jerry Niebaum for their distinguished board service. Meeting notices and other pertinent information will be emailed to members or sent through regular mail if needed. He can be reached at his campus office (Natural History Museum) or home.
The minutes of the November 23, 2004 Board meeting were approved as printed.
SCHEDULE FOR FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS
Board meetings are currently held the fourth Tuesday of each month from 5 – 7 P.M. The question became whether the current schedule should be maintained or changed. The only alternative suggested was to change the meeting time to 4 – 6 P.M. A vote was taken and the majority of the board members supported maintaining the meeting time of from 5 – 7 P.M., the fourth Tuesday of each month.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The museum’s reputation in the community has improved. The museum is considered to have a first-rate staff, a stimulating schedule, and many public programs have been established. The board needs to do more to continue the improvement process, including being more generous in its support of the museum. Finances are in good shape and need particular attention in order to stay that way.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Piller a more detailed report was requested and provided. The museum is still showing a net loss, as of November 30, 2004, of $5,024.51. However, we should still end the 2004 year in the black and not with the projected deficit of $35,273.00. We are doing well on the corporate membership side, which is $29,230.00 higher than last year. Personal memberships are close to the annual goal of $28,850.00.
Compliments and appreciation expressed to Piller for his good work.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Phipps - question posed whether there were membership benchmarks that could be utilized. We have not done a good job in soliciting personal memberships. Dailey questioned whether the public knew what the museum has to offer because a number of university professor’s don’t. The response was that the newsletter and other press have helped to get the message out. The following ideas were presented: a monthly general membership meeting; programs and presentations of historical items; more newspaper coverage. Museum attendance figures have been going up: (2004) - visitors 4272, programs 1879, tours 1577, meetings 1301, researchers 405, gift shop 541, for a total of 9839. Membership Drive figures are:
Phipps Director’s Report Continued
Corporate = $63,300.00 ($53,800.00 cash – $3,000.00 in-kind – $6,500.00 pledges) Personal = $15,625 (8,800.00 cash – 1,000.00 in-kind - $5,825.00 pledges) Total = $78,925.00
Dick Martin will be with us until February. If another grant is awarded to fund Dick’s position, then we can extend his position with the museum for six months. The annual report went to the printers. Visitation Update provided: visitors 4272, programs 1879, tours 1577, meetings 1301, researchers 405, gift shop 541, for a total of 9839. Staff is responsible for garnering $69,311.00 in grants. Provided and reviewed job descriptions for the Curator of Collections/Registrar and Archivist/Exhibits Coordinator. There is no job description for the Director. When archivist was hired, there was no inventory of materials, no finding aids, storage was poor, and materials were not categorized. The community sees a problem with the archive system. Staff is doing everything it can to correct the problem. Items have been lost. Archival budget estimate provided, which will bring the archives current in care and accessibility ($10,375.00 plus 3-4% annual increase). The attic would be okay as a storage room. Curator collections have no inventory, no record of collections, and storage is inappropriate. We are required to start over. Collections Care Estimations provided: collections consist of about 10,000 objects; it would take thirteen years to rehabilitate the collection at a minimum annual cost of $8,299.33. Ideas: have donors gift particular items or equipment to museum; a good de-accession policy is needed.
DIRECTOR’S SALARY FOR 2005
The Board is not ready to move forward with this item. A motion was made to move this item back to the Administrative Committee for further discussion and work. The motion passed.
DISCUSSION OF COMMITTEES - 2005
A membership list was made available to the chairman. The Events and Hospitality Committee is to work with museum staff to plan public events. Rebecca can run public events using her own judgment. Simmons provided 2005 committee list.
BOARD RETREAT
Simmons said that the museum tour will be the first event of the retreat this year. The retreat purpose would be to orient board members to strategies for 2005. Potential retreat dates were January 29th, February 5th, or February 19th, 2005. A vote was taken and January 29, 2005, Kansas Day, passed as the date for the Board Retreat. Retreat hours will be from 8 A.M. to 12 P.M. It was suggested that the board members wear good walking shoes. It was further suggested that the auxiliary storage at Allen Press be included in the tour.
DISCUSSION OF ANNOUNCEMENTS OF BOARD MEETINGS
The suggestion was made that the Board meeting announcements be printed in the Journal World prior to the meeting. The suggestion was approved by executive prerogative. Board member contact list was distributed.
OTHER BUSINESS
The annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce will be held soon, and the board needs to send a representative. The suggestion was offered to send Director Phipps to the annual meeting, and the motion was made. The motion passed. It was further suggested that a board member or two attend the annual meeting with Director Phipps and at their own expense.
The next Board Of Director’s meeting is Tuesday, January 25, 2005 from 5 – 7 P.M.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Napoleon Crews
Secretary