The Museum Conversation Continues,,,and So It Should.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Look At The Whole PIcture":

To 10:15pm

Have you noticed that these talks pop up when the heat on the Cultural Center is hottest.

It dose not take a genius to see that long time members of the Historical society have sold out.


If they had not then they would have been screaming when their museum and funding disappeared..

*******

I don't think it's as simple as that. A few weeks ago a message was sent to  Society members. It was after the Mayor's resolution ,after private talks he and the CAO had with Society spokespersons about surrendering the collection and possibly responsibility for Hillary House.

The message informed members the Society had been working for the past two years, without success, to restore the museum to its rightful place.

A few weeks after after the  grand opening , I  became aware  the museum was still out of sight. I asked at the Council table when it would be up and running. The former Mayor's eyes slid uneasily from side to side in an amazing manner and my question was referred to the Chief Financial Officer.

Who offered no response.

I had to call the  young curator who took Cathie Malloy's place to  discover the door had been firmly closed on  the museum. The discussion was at a staff level. Not being there when the deal went down, the curator was at a total disadvantage in the talks. Possession is nine-tenths of the law.

I clearly re-call the explanation.

A Museum doesn't make money. The Centre is charged with realizing revenue.

At the same time the new president, who is now the old president, informed Council the Society was withdrawing its commitment to operate the museum, a request for consideration of a budget similar to the Library Board was made.

That was before renovations were  completed and  after an executive change. The previous executive had negotiated a contract with the town  to protect the Society's financial investment . They also  demanded Leisure Services be excluded from any responsibility within the building. The contract gave them complete authority to operate the facility. They had held a fund-raising campaign  and had a substantial investment in the building.Also abequest to the Historical Society had alredady been invested.

After they withdrew their commitment,they were apparently persuaded to abandon the contract that protected their investment.

Seems unlikely they consulted their lawyer before they agreed to that inexplicable decision. Who was the artful dodger who persuaded them is not known to me at this time.

There have been three presidents since the town resolved to put up the latest $2.3 million dollars to renovate the building. Previous millions had been spent to keep the building standing and the roof intact.

According to the president. who withdrew the commitment, reason for withdrawal was because Society membership was only fifty-nine. I remember being surprised.

Why on the one hand, there was an argument, the Society had insufficient members s to operate the museum but on the other hand, they should receive a budget like the Library Board. Why would there be a need for a budget if the Society wasn't going to operate the museum.

Not for a moment did it occur there had been an agreement there would be no museum.
That it was intended the Hillary House would become the jewel in the crown of the Aurora Historical Society.

It seems clear to me now, there  had to  have been  previous discussion: a commitment made and a commitment withdrawn.But not everyone in on the plan on either side.

Considering how it all  turned out, whatever that was thought to be an advantage is obviously long lost.

Les Oliver, probably the longest serving member of the Society, a former pupil of the school, also an original Culture Centre Board member. has written fulsome praise of the current arrangement in a letter to the editor of The Auroran. 

I doubt however he was privy to the negotiations.I worked with Mr. Oliver almost fifty years ago on the Local Architecture Conservation Association. He would be  the last person  to sell out the town's museum.

We have a mystery  and I think, a betrayal of trust.  Neither  is acceptable  by anybody's standards.

Whatever the reason, the problem needs to be fixed.