08-01-2002
1 Minutes Board of Trustees Meeting August 1, 2002 Present: Sandra Criner Eleanor Grace Mosley-Byrd Ann Griffith Bernhard Thuersam John Haley, Ph.D. Richard Trask Jerry Mannen David
Brownlow, Ex-Officio eier Absent: Virginia Chiarello, Parks Griffin, Kimberly Mash, Ruth Haas. Also Present: Pat Melvin, Assistant County Manager Jenean
Todd, Museum Exhibits Coordinator Pat Voelker, Administrative Support Specialist Rebecca Dotterer, Museum Education Coordinator Jeffrey Zuege, Museum Educator The Board of Trustees of
Cape Fear Museum held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, August 1, 2002, at 5:00p.m. in the Williston Auditorium, with Mr. Bernie Thuersam, Chairman presiding. I. Consideration
of Absences: Parks Griffin and Kimberly Mash, excused. Virginia Chiarelloexcused or unexcused? II. Corrections/Additions to July Minutes: Mr. Thuersam asked for additions or deletions
to the corrected minutes of the July meeting. There being none, he entertained a motion to approve. Dr. John Haley moved, Mr. Jerry Mannen seconded and the minutes were unanimously approved.
III. Associates Report: Mr. David Brownlow reported that the primary topic of discussion at the Associates board meeting on July 22nd was the issue of hiring a full time director. If
the Associates as an entity are going to raise the kind of money needed in order to ensure the museum stays at its current level of excellence, having a full time person in this position
will be necessary. One option would be to make this a County position, which would be funded by a grant from the Associates to cover the 1st
executive committee and other interested board members to examine the issues
involved. The
2 Associates are asking for input and participation from the Trustees on this committee. Mr. Thuersam recommended the ad hoc committee work with the finance committee of the Trustees
on this. The Board discussed the clarification of the position as a development director, what the salary and bonus range would be, and the Associates approach to fund raising. The general
consensus of the Board was that the salary for the position should be in the $35,000 range and include bonus incentives based on fund raising performance. The recommendation was made
to hold a joint meeting of the Associates Board and Trustees Board and Ms. Pat Melvin stated that Ms. Haas is exploring having Rob Gerlach as the facilitator for the meeting. The Associates
passed a budget for the new fiscal year beginning July 1st. This budget is tenuous based on whether a decision is made to make significant changes to their structure and staffing. Mr.
Thuersam thanked Mr. Brownlow for his report. Mr. Thuersam then introduced new museum staff member Jeffrey Zuege, Museum Educator. Mr. Zuege provided a brief background bio and said
that he is very happy and excited to be at the Museum. One of the first projects he will be working on is the Starlab outreach program at the schools. Mr. Thuersam welcomed Jeff on behalf
of the Board. Ms. Rebecca Dotterer, Museum Education Coordinator, added that we are excited to have Jeff on board. Mr. Thuersam stated
that committee assignments have been made based on the preferences Board members had expressed. If the chair is unable to attend the committee meeting, the next person named becomes
the chair for that meeting. Our goal is to insure that we get a report from the committees at each Trustees meeting. A copy of the proposed schedule for board and committee meetings
was distributed. Mr. Thuersam asked that Board members take their committee assignments seriously, as the committees are the backbone of the Trustees. Mr. Thuersam outlined his two priorities
for the coming year: The first is to strengthen our committee structures and he welcomes any suggestions to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of the Trustees. The second would
be to strengthen our local history emphasis of the Museum. He asked that as we consider matters before us, we ask the questionwhat
does this decision have to do with local history and our mission as Trustees. How do we interpret and present local history and how do
V. Committee Reports: Building and Grounds Committee Ms. Ann Griffith reported that on July 23rd, a meeting was held with Bruce Bowman
of BMS Architects to review bids submitted for the exterior renovation project. At the meeting the 6 bids submitted were opened and recorded. We received a letter from Bruce Bowman recommending
that we accept the bid of Paragon Building Corporation. The base bid was $454,940 with a
n 3 alternate G2 credit of $10,000, which brings the total to $444,940. He stated at the end of his letter, that at the end of the project, if there is any contingency remaining, we
could explore less comprehensive measures to improve or stabilize the repair work on the steps included in Alternate G-1. A lengthy discussion was held on the condition of the external
stairs, the insurance liability and safety hazards they represent and what the cost would be to repair the main steps, the emergency exit steps and the handicap ramp. They asked Ms.
Melvin what the process would be for getting approval for this work. Ms. Melvin said that the general process would be that if the Board accepts the recommendation by BMS Architects,
they would also move to submit the information and their concerns with their recommendation to the County Commissioners on a contingency plan to repair the steps. At that time, Max Maxwell,
County Engineer will make a presentation along with Bruce Bowman concerning the bid and they will also discuss the items in the alternate that have not been included. The Commissioners
will look very seriously at that situation and try to make a decision on how to move forward based upon the information provided. At the conclusion of their discussion, the Board voted
unanimously to accept the report from the Building and Grounds Committee. Ms. Melvin added that Ms. Haas is working with Mr. Thomas Herrera-Mishler from Airlie Gardens to assist with
developing a landscape plan to accompany our new building exterior, since landscaping was not included in the bid proposals. The Building and Grounds Committee will meet again on Monday,
August 5th, to hear David Sims give his estimate for HVAC renovations and what these renovations will consist of. Collections Committee Ms. Grace Mosley-Byrd said that the Committee
has not met but are working on a meeting schedule. A memo included in the Board packets stated that CFM has been invited to participate in a collections management colloquium to be held
on November 16th 17th in Washington, DC.
this year. The colloquium organizers recommend having two people from an organization attend and the second representative could be a Board member. Application
deadline is September 13th and Ms. Haas had asked that the Collections Committee discuss this at an August meeting. Education Committee Dr. Bart Williams reported that the Education
Committee met on July 24th, at which time they discussed at length the proposal that was put forth in May to hire a design team to assist in the development of a new 5-year exhibits
master plan. This is a proposal to spend $25,000 out of Grassroots Science funds to cover the study to assist us in planning for a long-term redesign of the Museum exhibits. The committee
is currently reviewing the 5 proposals. Two firms are emerging as the leaders and we hope to prepare a final recommendation for the next meeting. The Board discussed the issue of spending
$25,000 for an outside firm to do the exhibits design planning. It was agreed that staff did not have the time to do this in-house and extensive planning needs to be completed before
committing to an expenditure of $1 million or more. They also discussed that the Associates development director, if hired, would play a key role in fund raising for this project.
4 with
one contingency, which was put on hold until more information on the Living Southern program with UNCW can be obtained. We felt we needed to know more about the topic that is going to
be presented in order to support it. We should have this at our next meeting. The Committee also discussed the policy and procedure for home school students. The recommendation was made
that as long as the group was scheduled in advance, the home school students, who are residents of New Hanover County, would be given the same free access to the museum as public school
students. Groups consisting of less than 10 would not receive guided tours. One last item discussed was a 20th Century World War II exhibit that had been proposed for possibly the end
of this year or early 2003. Since we do not have the funding or the plan, the committee recommends that the exhibit be shelved until the money is available to do the project in a manner
befitting of the topic. Finance Committee No report. Long-Range Planning Committee Dr. Haley stated that the Long Range Planning Committee did not meet but that he and Mr. Parks Griffin
talked regarding the proposal made at the last Trustees meeting that the Board meet �
�Strategic Planning Committee recommends to amend the Cape Fear Museum Board of Trustees
�
�approved, the proposed proposed by law change will
take effect in September. This issue will be addressed at the next meeting. Public Relations No report. �
�
Ms. Haas has participated in during the previous month. Also included in an update on the goals,
objectives and performance measures for Cape Fear Museum. One issue requiring Board attention was a recommendation from the Education Committee requesting that the museum submit a proposal
for $5,000 to the North Carolina Humanities Council requesting funding for a forum on 20th Century Wilmington. The forum will include 5 scholars who would have knowledge in diverse aspects
of the Southeastern North Carolina history. Ms. Haas wants to be sure we have Board endorsement to move forward with the
5 application because a draft proposal would be due September 1st. It was her desire to seek approval and endorsement from the Board today in order to take it to the County Commissioners
at their August 19th meeting. Mr. Meier entertained a motion that the Board support the request for the grant. Mr. Jerry Mannen seconded. Mr. Thuersam called for a vote and the motion
passed with no opposition. Ms. Melvin concluded by saying that, based on measurement of the overall goals, her opinion is that Ms. Haas is doing a great job as director of the museum.
Mr. Thuersam thanked Ms. Melvin for her comments. VI. Unfinished Business: Mr. Thuersam thanked Mr. Richard Trask for the funding for the flag badge activity and stated that the Board
appreciates it. Ms. Todd mentioned the museum fact sheet that was included in the Board packets. Dr. Haley said that he thought the mission statement was changed as a result of the long
range planning sessions. Ms. Todd will check on any modifications. VII. New Business Ms. Melvin said that Ms. Haas asked be informed as to the dates for the committee meetings so that
she could be in attendance. Mr. Thuersam asked the Board chairs to review the proposed committee meeting dates with their committee members and let Ms. Haas know the if schedule is feasible.
We will then formalize it at the next meeting. Adjournment: Mr. Thuersam entertained a motion to adjourn. Mr. Mannen moved, Dr. Williams seconded. The motion passed unanimously and the
meeting concluded at 6:10p.m. Mr. Thuersam was congratulated on his first meeting as Chairman.