City of Jacksonville Heritage Cultural Center Board met June 9.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
Due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, the June 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, Chad Boehlke, John Clancy, Diane Hollendonner, Nick Little, Laura Marks, James Pisell, Samantha Sauer, and Tiffany Warmowski. Absent were Jane Breen, Patsy Erickson (Emeritus), Kyla Hurt, Greg Olson, Brittany Henry (Ex-Officio), and Judy Tighe (Ex-Officio). Steve Varble attended as marketing consultant. Also present were McKenna Servis, museum manager, and interns Frankie Boston and Megan Walker, plus Allan Worrell as a guest.
The minutes of the May 12, 2022, board meeting were approved distributed.
Treasurer Laura Marks reported that the checking account balance was $36,905.04 at the end of May. Expenses included monthly bills (George Alarm, I3Broadband, and garbage pickup), $290.00 to Lawson’s, and $264.21 to Gaylord for archival storage supplies. It was noted that the museum was now responsible for lawn mowing expenses, rather than the Morgan County Historical Society. She also distributed a record of museum visitors and donations October 2021 through May 2022.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Administrative: McKenna Servis presented the manager’s report and introduced the summer interns. Lomelino Sign provided an estimate for fabrication and installation of an aluminum sign based on a design provided by Steve Varble. It was voted to hire Lomelino Sign to proceed with the sign at a cost not to exceed $1000. Scott Jess has completed the light project and submitted a final bill for it.
No new developments on the county/city bicentennials. Jim Pisell thought it would be good to start assembling a shelf with Jacksonville-inscribed items for a future display.
The MacMurray Foundation submitted a usage form for homecoming activities during the weekend of June 17. It was voted to approve the application for the social event with a waiver of the usage fee (with Tiffany Warmowski abstaining).
Chuck Murphy would like to plan a small exhibit about Gold Star Mothers over Memorial Day Weekend next year. Tiffany suggested it that it stay up at least a month. It was referred to the exhibit committee for discussion. The Dominican Sisters exhibit, focusing on the first 20 years of their founding, is scheduled April – July 2023. Ann Segan, daughter of photojournalist Arthur Rothstein, has offered a collection of his photographs if the museum is interested in them.
Laura Marks passed out a proposed timeline for the Capps exhibit, with a projected July 13 opening date, and a proposed handout with detailed information on members of the Capps family. The exhibit will be on display at least two years, with special events to include a walking tour of the Capps factory neighborhood and a panel discussion. Preparations for visitors will include ordering more museum pens, updating some of the decorations with sewing related décor, and perhaps ordering a small sewing kit with the museum logo as a give-away souvenir. Steve Varble reported that the panels for the windows were under production. There was discussion about a possible connection between the Capps Kevlar vests and the Gerald Ford attempted assassination by Squeaky Fromme. McKenna had contacted the Ford museum but they were unable to find a label that indicated the vest came from Capps.
It was decided to take part in the Central Park Market on July 7 and move the board meeting to July 14.
Chad Boehlke reported that four loads of trash have been hauled to the city cleanup site, and more will be hauled this week. David Blanchette expressed appreciation for all the work done sorting and hauling the trash.
Under discussion of winter hours, it was decided to consult with Brittany Henry at the Convention and Vistors’ Bureau to coordinate with other tourist sites in Jacksonville.
Fundraising: Blanchette has applied for a $5000 grant from the Community Foundation/Land of Lincoln to assist in setting up the Stice Grocery exhibit. Laura Marks suggested developing a bicentennial fundraiser through the Museum Foundation to raise money for construction of the Phase 2 plans for the museum, perhaps 200 donations of $2000 each. Steve Varble would develop the campaign with a projected date of October. Suzanne Verticchio has agreed to join the JAM Foundation. Other members of the Foundation are Bob Chipman (chairman), Jane Breen, Joy French Becker, and Laura Marks.
Nothing new to report on the Gift Shop.
Collections: It was voted to accept donations of a G. Vardiman Black dental cabinet/tools and other items from the Drennan family, an AC Humko shirt, jacket, and desk accessories from Raymond Day (employee through all the company’s history in Jacksonville), and the letters from the Passavant Hospital sign. It was voted to “de-accession” an old metal desk from GTE that has no historical value and try to sell it for scrap.
Exhibits: (See above actions.)
Promotion: Steve Varble reported that there have been 147 downloads/plays of the podcasts so far, with the Tom Schierl interview about Nestle being the most popular. Pat Kennedy talked to Laura about Illinois College and the Jacksonville experience with Dutch Elm disease, which could be developed as another podcast. The new website is ready to launch after board members review it for errors and added content. The social media posts are all receiving good attention with several over 1500 views/shares.
OLD BUSINESS: McKenna will send out information on a cleaning day before the MacMurray Homecoming events.
NEW BUSINESS: Jim Pisell has been working in the basement and has an area approximately 400 square feet in the offices under the west wing that will be designated for temperature controlled storage. It was voted to authorize spending up to $200 for supplies (lights, paint, etc.) for that area. McKenna has identified many framed items which need to be hung rather than leaving them stacked in the south room. Jim also requested furniture moving devices to assist with moving display cases, etc., around in the museum. It was voted to authorize spending up to $100 to purchase two sets of wheelies, and Tiffany promptly ordered them from Amazon.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Allan Worrell thanked the board for allowing him to observe the meeting.
NOTE CHANGE IN MEETING DATE: The next meeting will be held on Thursday, July 14, 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 6:35 p.m.
http://cms6.revize.com/revize/jacksonvilleil/city_government/boards_commissions_and_committees/docs/Boards%20Commissions%20Committees/HCC_Minutes/2022/Minutes%206.09.2022.pdf
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