City of Jacksonville Heritage Cultural Center Board met Sept. 3.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
Due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, the September board meeting was held at the Jacksonville Area Museum building (Old Post Office) with a teleconferencing option available in accordance with the suspension of the requirement of the Illinois Open Meetings Act requiring in-person attendance by members of a public body during the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation. The meeting was called to order at 5:15 p.m. by David Blanchette, Chairman. Those present included David Blanchette, Cynthia Boehlke, John Clancy, Patsy Erickson, Diane Hollendonner, Laura Marks, James Pisell and Charles Rice. Absent were Michael Burke, Kyla Hurt, Samantha Sauer, Brittany Henry (Ex-Officio), and Judy Tighe (Ex- Officio). Steve Varble attended as marketing consultant.
The minutes of the August 6, 2020 board meeting were approved as distributed.
Treasurer James Pisell reported that the checking account balance was $14,958.82 with an expense of $11.72 for tags for objects in the collection. He has ordered face masks and hand sanitizer in preparation for the October 10 opening, and is willing to donate $46.00 of the expenses, asking for approval of an additional $100.00 spent on those items.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Administrative: Cindy Boehlke reported that funds from the Jacksonville Children’s Foundation need to be spent and receipts turned in before the Foundation’s October 19 meeting. Plans were made to ask Gary Donovan to build a frame/stand and Steve Varble to make a photo display to accompany the Mrs. Tucker puzzle in order to complete the grant.
Although the MacMurray Homecoming event has been postponed until June 2021, there was enough discussion in local media about a museum event on October 10 to move forward with limited viewing (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.) of at least one exhibit and concepts for other exhibits on that date. Steve Varble and Laura Marks will work on finalizing the “story” for the Industry exhibit featuring the water pipeline dedication and the industries that came to Jacksonville.
The floor treatment material cost estimate turned out to be more than the originally-proposed carpet, and will continue to be studied. Jim Pisell and Steve Varble will get estimates for cleaning the marble floor in the front exhibit area; the board approved paying up to $1000 for the job with David Blanchette and Jim Pisell arranging the scheduling of the work. The front entryway needs cleaning and a new rug.
Once the East State Street renovations are completed and the new i3 broadband installed, the museum will receive broadband service through i3’s agreement with the city.
The name of Jane Breen (an active member of the Rotary Club) has been sent to the Jacksonville City Council for approval at the next council meeting.
Fundraising: Nothing new.
Collections: The contract for the MacMurray College collection (adjusted to 10 years, with a 10-year renewal) is still under review. If approved by the City Council, the MacMurray Foundation and the City of Jacksonville have each pledged $6000 in yearly support to the museum for the housing and development of the collection.
Jim Stice is preparing to sell the Stice Grocery Store contents, and has agreed to make a sale offer to the museum for all or part of the collection before opening it to the general public.
The City Council approved a request for funding (not to exceed $4000) for Benton & Associates to evaluate the building and prepare an estimated cost for completion, to assist with proposed fundraising efforts.
The board voted to approve the acquisition of a 1918 Illinois railway map and a piece of china from Northminster Presbyterian Church (donated by Kathleen Cook), and photographs of downtown Jacksonville (donated by Linda Donavan). US Bank also agreed to donate the Coke machine from the old Elliott State Bank building.
Exhibits: Nothing new to report on the October 30 – December 11, 2021 Smithsonian Voices and Votes exhibit.
Steve Varble is ready to start developing the “Industry” exhibit, which will show how the construction of the water line from the Illinois River stimulated growth of major industries in the community. Rich McCoy and a friend have offered to build the base structures for the themed exhibits. The other themes will include Institutions, Events, People, and Agriculture.
The website design is next in line on the developer’s work schedule. The board approved a down payment of $300 towards the website construction to Georgie Samaras. The web domain has been purchased and is ready for insertion of content.
Promotion: A social media post of the water main dedication in downtown Jacksonville photograph has received the largest response ever, with second place accorded to a posting of a photo of a Butterick Pattern business interior. The site is experiencing around 600-700 followers (has doubled since the first of the year).
OLD BUSINESS: None.
NEW BUSINESS: None. There were no public comments.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, October 1, 5:15 p.m., at the Old Post Office building, 301 E. State Street. Social distancing rules will be observed and call-in option available upon request.
With no further business or announcements to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
http://cms6.revize.com/revize/jacksonvilleil/city_government/boards_commissions_and_committees/docs/Boards%20Commissions%20Committees/HCC_Minutes/2020/Heritage%20Cultural%20Center%20Minutes%2009032020.pdf
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