City of Jacksonville Heritage Cultural Center Board met Feb. 3.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
Due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, the February board meeting was originally scheduled to be 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. However, a winter storm dumped 8.5” of snow on Jacksonville and the meeting was conducted entirely under the teleconferencing option. The meeting was called to order at 5:16 p.m. by David Blanchette, Chairman. Those present on the call included David Blanchette, Diane Hollendonner, Kyla Hurt, Nick Little, Samantha Sauer, and Tiffany Warmowski. Absent were Chad Boehlke, Jane Breen, John Clancy, Patsy Erickson (Emeritus), Laura Marks, James Pisell, Greg Olson, Brittany Henry (Ex-Officio), and Judy Tighe (Ex-Officio). Steve Varble attended as marketing consultant. Also present was McKenna Servis, museum manager.
The minutes of the January 6, 2022 board meeting were approved as amended by Samantha Sauer to note that no additional reports to the Illinois Humanities Council were needed.
Treasurer James Pisell sent a report that the checking account balance was $50,912.10 at the end of January. Receipts were $6966.00 (donations and memberships) and expenses were $3378.28 including monthly bills (George Alarm, GoDaddy, I3Broadband, and garbage pickup), fire alarm installation, and purchase of office computer/backup system. It was noted that the computer expense was $160.48 over the previously approved amount ($1500) but it is a better computer and included sales tax. There is a State of Illinois webpage to apply for tax-free purchases and the museum should have a tax number by the end of February.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Administrative: McKenna Servis presented the manager’s report. Attendance has been fairly low, and the museum was closed on February 2 for a snow day due to bad weather. Steve Varble mentioned that future closings should be posted on social media.
A MacMurray College reunion is planned in June, but plans to hold a function at the museum may be on hold now that the planners are aware of food/drink/space limitations in the building. Visitors will probably still want to tour the museum and the MacMurray displays.
The museum sign is finished and waiting for better weather to be installed. Jess Electric submitted an estimate of $3000 for an initial investigation of electrical needs. It was voted to approve spending up to $3000 for initial electric work. Nick Little reported that the electrician now has power running to the safe room and safe, new outlets in the storage room, and hot water available. He should be able to finish up work on Monday. There is a continued odor in the basement and Ameren needs to be called to rule out a gas leak.
City of Jacksonville regulations for contracts or purchases were reviewed. Samantha Sauer reported that the museum committee is still developing a spending policy and should have something drawn up for discussion at the March meeting.
Samantha presented a possible timeline for the hiring of student interns for summer. The committee (Samantha, David Blanchette, Tiffany Warmowski, Jim Pisell, and McKenna Servis) will discuss a job description to present at the March meeting so there will be time to advertise to students, interview, and make hiring decisions before school lets out in May. It was voted to approve spending $4000 for two summer interns ($2000 each) and to check with the MacMurray Foundation to see if the cost and work could be shared.
Steve Varble reported that he, Laura Marks, and Greg Olson had discussed an approach to the Capps exhibit “A Common Thread” and things should come together quickly after Laura returns from Florida. He has contacted Bound to Stay Bound about the cost for producing photo panels but hasn’t received a response. They plan to expand the William Jennings Bryan display with additional information (Steve recently visited a museum in Tennessee dedicated to the Scopes Monkey Trial which featured considerable information about Bryan). Susan Weller contacted the museum about possibly reestablishing the Greene Vardiman Black dental office display, but there isn’t space available now for an expanded display.
David Blanchette has received a proposal for the museum to host a book talk by author Sarah Angleton on “White Man’s Graveyard” and possible hold a book sale at the same time. One of the characters in the book is Rev. Peter Akers who was connected to MacMurray College. Dave will contact the author for more information and available dates for the book talk. Our Town Books might also assist with selling the books.
Items from the Chapin history museum may be looking for a home. Everything has been in storage for several years. Blanchette is waiting to hear from someone with connections to the collection.
Fundraising: Blanchette is submitting another grant request to State Farm.
There were no updates on the Jacksonville Area Museum or souvenir sales. Varble mentioned that Our Town Books currently sells books for the Morgan County Historical Society and might be able to help the museum with inventory.
Collections: It was voted to accept several new items into the museum’s collection, including a donation from Cindy Davidsmeyer (teacher contracts from local school districts and a ledger covering 1890s – 1905). A donation sheet needs to be signed.
Exhibits: (Covered above.)
Promotion: Steve Varble said the website is still under construction. The developer has suggested switching to a Word Press program to offer better ability to make changes in content and to add pages. He will have a price quote by the March meeting. Work continues on podcasts and the new emails. Social media is receiving good interactions. The museum needs to develop a constant marketing presence in Illinois Times, The Source, Journal-Courier, and other media to be constantly available to tourists.
OLD BUSINESS: None.
NEW BUSINESS: McKenna requested business cards. Steve will gather her information and send to Faith Printing, and also order an Open/Closed sign for the front door.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 3, 5:15 p.m., at the Old Post Office building, 301 E. State Street. Social distancing rules will be observed and call-in option is 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/2022/Minutes%2002.03.2022.pdf
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