West Central Reporter

City of Jacksonville Area Museum Board met Dec. 5.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Thursday, December 5, 2024 meeting of the Jacksonville Area Museum Board was called to order at 5:15 p.m. Those present in person were David Blanchette, Chad Boehlke, John Clancy, Nick Little, Lisa Hall, Jo Ann Nelson, Laura Marks, James Pisell and Allan Worrell. Present by phone was Diane Hollendonner. Absent were Rebecca Houston, Kyla Hurt, consultant Steve Varble, and ex officio members Brittany Henry and Judy Tighe.

A motion was made by Jo Ann Nelson and seconded by Lisa Hall to approve the minutes that were submitted for the November 7, 2024 board meeting. The motion passed unanimously via voice vote.

Treasurer Laura Marks submitted the monthly financial report that showed a beginning balance for November 2024 of $42,810.45 and an ending balance of $47,466.74. The museum had 152 visitors during November 2024. A separate account is being established specifically to pay bills associated with the museum’s Phase Two expansion project. Laura Marks moved and Lisa Hall seconded a motion to pay consultant Steve Varble his annual stipend of $5,000 for marketing services. The motion passed unanimously via voice vote.

David Blanchette reported that Zoom interviews have been scheduled on December 10 and December 13 with three candidates for the vacant Museum Manager position. Those who are part of the interview team are Blanchette, Allan Worrell, Jo Ann Nelson and Laura Marks. In the interest of time, James Pisell moved and Chad Beohlke seconded a motion to give the interview team members the authority to offer the job to one of the candidates at their discretion following the interviews with a suggested start work date of January 4, 2025. The motion passed unanimously via voice vote.

A motion was made by Jo Ann Nelson and seconded by John Clancy to approve the 2025 slate of board officers: Allan Worrell as Chairman, James Pisell as Vice Chairman, Laura Marks as Treasurer and Diane Hollendonner as Secretary. The motion passed unanimously via voice vote.

Allan Worrell will investigate hiring a professional cleaning service to clean the dust left over from the Phase Two construction.

Allan Worrell, David Blanchette and Nick Little reported that the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee did not look favorably upon the board’s request to have the city take ownership of the old Post Office building and pay the utility bills for the building. The committee asked for more information to help guide any possible future decisions about city ownership of the building but declined to recommend the board’s request to the full City Council.

Nick Little reported that the third annual Lego exhibit opened on December 1 with 28 visitors coming to see it on the first day. There are more entries in the exhibit this year and the exhibit has been receiving much publicity in Jacksonville and Springfield.

David Blanchette reported on the state Tourism Attraction Program (TAP) grant he is applying for through the City of Jacksonville for $100,000 to help with Phase Two exhibit construction and to utilize Taylor Studios to create realistic trees for the “Elm City” gallery. Blanchette reported that

Jacksonville Area Museum Foundation funds, combined with tracked volunteer hours, will provide the required match for the grant application. He stressed the grant is highly competitive but feels the city has as good a shot as anyone to get the grant. The application deadline is December 20.

Laura Marks reported that the recently completed museum membership drive was successful with new and renewed memberships raising more than $2,000 over the 2023 campaign.

Laura Marks reported on the Jacksonville Area Museum Foundation meeting held earlier in the day. With cash in hand and confirmed pledges and gifts on the way, the Foundation will have $224,153.18 to pay for the Phase Two exhibits during 2025. Thus, the funding is there to hire a finish carpenter, purchase the materials, and construct all of the planned Phase Two exhibits during 2025.

David Blanchette moved, and Lisa Hall seconded, a motion to accession a historic metal Jacksonville Driver’s Ed student driver sign to the museum’s collections. The sign bears the name of now-defunct McCurdy Ford Sales in Jacksonville, and Nick Little will keep the sign at his Old Market House Antiques until it is ready for display at the museum. The same motion included the accessioning of a blue candle made by Jacksonville Developmental Center residents for sale in the facility’s cafe. The motion passed unanimously via voice vote.

Steve Varble submitted a written report. The museum had a very active month on social media, with one of the posts, about the Lego exhibit, reaching more than 16,000. The Lego exhibit received news media coverage in both Jacksonville newspapers, WLDS Radio Jacksonville, WICS TV 20 in Springfield, and WAND TV 17 in Decatur.

The museum’s podcast series reached 1,448 all-time plays and had 41 followers/subscribers. The top five episodes were: Bob Freesen, 120; Judge David Bone, 109; Russell Scofield, 88; Carnation/Nestle, 87; and Helen Baldwin, 75. The newest episode, Bob Crowe, had 31 plays

The Lego Exhibit expenses went slightly over budget, due to Bound to Stay Bound charging for panels. Moving forward, exhibit panels will be approximately $50 each.

Varble has contacted finish carpenter Todd Birdsell, and will start meeting with him about the various Phase Two construction projects. Varble has also reached out to Jamie Cosgriff of Graham and Hyde architects. He has offered up his firm to do design charrettes on our spaces, bringing some new ideas to the planning of the exhibit spaces.

Light fixtures for Phase Two will be ordered soon. Carpet and flooring choices are still being explored for Phase Two. Most of the museum will be carpet squares. The Grierson Shop will be a wood floor. MacMurray will have a different color to make it feel more refined. The Elm City entrance will possibly retain the current floor, modified to be a “street.”

Laura Marks moved and John Clancy seconded a motion to spend $287.50 from the South Jacksonville Tourism Grant to buy a quarter-page ad in the Illinois Times to advertise the Lego exhibit. The motion passed unanimously via voice vote.

Laura Marks noted that volunteers from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will visit the Jacksonville Area Museum at 10 am on Wednesday, December 18.

A motion to adjourn was made by John Clancy, seconded by Chad Boehlke, and the meeting was adjourned at 7 p.m.

https://www.jacksonvilleil.com/government/agendas___minutes/index.php