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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 28, 2014 o0 Minutes/Meeting Summary Pickering Museum Village Advisory Committee Tuesday, January 28, 2014 PI KERIN 7:00 pm Main Committee Room — Civic Complex Attendees: Laura Drake, Chair, Pickering Village Museum Village Advisory Committee Donald Hudson, Pickering Museum Village Advisory Committee Dragos Nita, Pickering Museum Village Advisory Committee Graham Lowman, Pickering Museum Village Advisory Committee Karen Emmink, Pickering Museum Village Advisory Committee Paul Savel, Pickering Museum Village Advisory Committee Karen Chalmers, Pickering Museum Village Advisory Committee Andrew Doucette, Pickering Museum Village Advisory Committee Marisa Carpino, Director, Culture & Recreation Tanya Ryce, Supervisor, Cultural Services Katrina Pyke, Coordinator, Museum Operations Devin Poole, Clerk Typist (Recording Secretary) Terry Arvisais, Co-Chair, Pickering Museum Village Foundation Absent: Bill McLean, Regional Councillor, Ward 2 Brian James, Pickering Museum Village Advisory Committee Item/ Details & Discussion & Conclusion Action Items/Status Ref# (summary of discussion) (include deadline as appropriate) 1. Meeting called to order at 7:00pm by Chair L. Drake L. Drake advised the committee that B. James has resigned from the committee. 2. Election of Committee Chair M. Carpino noted that all Advisory Committee members were notified of the election of the chair. M. Carpino informed the committee that L. Drake was the only member that put her name forward therefore she is acclaimed as the incoming chair. M. Carpino suggested that the committee recognize and adopt the position of vice chair given the fact that L. Drake may be absent at times. L. Drake and the committee members supported this notion resulting in the election of a Vice Chair. P. Savel was the only individual to put their name forward therefore he is acclaimed as the Vice Chair. Page 1 CORP0228-2/02 3. Approval of Agenda & Minutes Motion: That the agenda for January 28, 2014 be approved. Moved by K. Emmink Seconded by P. Savel Carried Motion: That the minutes from October 22, 2013 be approved. Moved by P. Savel Seconded by G. Lowman Carried 4. Budget Update M. Carpino advised that the Craftsman Cottage project has been complete in terms of funding — currently, there are no additional funds available. The office desk has been purchased, and the picnic shelter is complete - the cost was $76,000. D Hudson raised a concern about the cost of the shelter and thought that there may be public unease. M. Carpino noted that the Advisory Committee supported this development at a previous meeting and everyone knew ahead of time what the associated cost would be. Additionally, the public is able to access budget information on the City's website. T. Ryce commented that the City went through all proper processes to build the structure, had this not been done the shelter would have been in need of constant repair or replacement due to soil conditions on the site. M. Carpino noted that the drafts for proposed projects for 2014 have been completed, printed and prepared for Council consideration. The Executive Committee Budget meeting is taking place on February 13th and February 14th (if needed). The craftsman cottage is still included at $35,000 and the Oddfellows Hall re-stabilization project is still in the budget. M .Carpino advised that the current budget included additional hours for the Volunteer& Event Programmer. Architectural study costs reduced from $20,000 to $5,000. vehicle repair increase. Ground repairs and maintenance reduced from $5,000 to $2,000. This is through additional support from the operation department who will assist with road grading. R. Holborn, Director, Engineering & Public Works, has confirmed that the operations department will do the grading free of charge. K. Pyke noted that the septic system at the Redman House is showing its age and is not draining properly. It will require Page 2 CORP0228-2/02 annual maintenance, which will have an impact on the budget. 5. PMV Foundation Report T. Arvisais noted that he's trying to set up a meeting with T. Ryce to discuss the request for funding for the craftsman house in the amount of$80,000. T. Ryce advised that through discussion with the clerk the restoration work noted on the plan provided to the foundation had been approved by the City Clerk. T. Arvisais noted that he attended a PROBUS meeting and requested to speak about the Foundation. He added that he would be taking along the Team Leader of the Woodwrights Guild for a volunteer recruitment opportunity. K. Pyke advised T. Arvisais that Public speaking engagements by volunteer groups must be booked through the Museum, and a staff person must accompany. The PROBUS speaking opportuntity should focus specifically on the Foundation, and board member recruitment. T. Arvisais advised that the Foundation AGM is scheduled to take place in meeting rooms 1 and 2 at the Pickering Recreation Complex on Thursday, March 20th at 6:00 pm. T. Arvisais noted that the Foundation is currently looking for board members and that he's still in the process of trying to find a guest speaker. 6. Staff Updates K. Pyke noted that staff are well on their way for exhibit planning. The upcoming theme is Ebenezer Burrell who was a Greenwood Resident. The second exhibit is "Keeping the Home Fires Burning" and will reflect what our Pickering residents were doing on the home front during WWI. K. Pyke is hoping to develop a partnership with the Legion as well as senior residences. M. Smiles is underway with planning for the History in Action Saturdays; all events have been posted on the PMV Facebook page. This year, artists will be in the village during the Birrell exhibits. M. Smiles is trying to partner with the art community. Tricks and Treats - this Hallowe'en event was held for the first time this season for season pass holders only. There were 70 people that RSVP'd for the event however only 48 came—the weather was cold and rainy. Christmas in the Village had 444 people in attendance despite Page 3 CORP0228-2/02 the fact that it was an extremely cold day. K. Pyke noted that she attended the Ontario Museum Association conference and was proud that during a session on social media, out of all of the Ontario municipal museums, the Pickering Museum Village ranked 2nd in terms of interactivity on Facebook. The museum was also used as the example of how to promote social media platforms on a webpage. L. Drake noted that the $1,000 that was committed to social media by council has improved our reputation within the museum community. K. Pyke advised that the museum currently has 2 cooperative education students from York University. One student is researching Quakers in the community in terms of the first black settlers in the early 1840's. The second student is researching WWI and is helping to support the creation of the exhibit and the development of a WWI Education Day. 7. Sub-Committee Updates Feasibility Study Update K. Chalmers noted that the feasibility study RFP is near completion and that the Pickering Museum Village Foundation is funding the study. Motion: That the committee accept the Visitor Services Centre Feasibility Study RFP as presented. Moved by D. Hudson Seconded by G. Lowman Carried P. Savel noted that the Collections Committee conducted two meetings, which took place on November 11, 2013 and January 21, 2014. P. Savel advised that the committee has approved the donation of a bed, 6 East Lake chairs and a settee from the McIntosh family. These items well be placed in the craftsman cottage. Motion: To accept into the collection as artifacts, the items from the McIntosh family. Moved by P. Savel Seconded by K. Chalmers. Carried P. Savel gave an overview of the planned conservation treatment of the museum's 1930-31 Model A Ford closed car, Page 4 CORP0228-2/02 which was donated by the Fuller family. The Conservation Treatment Plan was provided to all members prior to this meeting for review. Paul noted that it was requested by the family that the interior of the car be restored, and that the car be made road worthy. The conservation treatment process will be lead by and documented by E. Tayles, Conservator. The Gas & Steam Club volunteers will be undertaking much of the work and logging it. E. Tayles will be working with them and monitoring progress one day a week. T. Ryce suggested that the committee make a motion to accept the conservation plan document. Motion: To accept the Conversation Treatment Plan of the 1930-31 Model A Ford closed car as presented, with the understanding that it is a living document, and subject to change at the Conservator's discretion during the project. Moved by P. Savel Seconded by K. Chalmers Karen Carried G. Lowman noted that he was part of the initial process on the Ministry of Citizenship volunteer awards. He needs a copy of the short list from M. Smiles. G. Lowman indicated that since the committee is less than formal he can only report that the process has been fair and equitable. K. Pyke distributed and reviewed the draft copy of the Museum Advisory Committee Duties & Responsibilities document. T.Ryce drew members' attention to the expectation that committee members are expected to participate in five event days during the year, and that those can include History in Action Saturdays. K. Pyke noted that there is an expectation that committee members play an active role on the days that they come out to an event. At the request of the committee, K. Pyke has removed the Special Event/Volunteer Activities sub committee and has added the Volunteer Recognition sub committee as a new committee. Committee edits were noted and will be made to the document by K. Pyke for distribution. Page 5 CORP0228-2/02 T. Ryce noted that the City needs members on the Volunteer Recognition Committee given the fact that it's extremely important to recognize the contributions of the volunteers, which currently sits at 290 individuals. Motion: That the City Clerk receives the Duties and Responsibilities as amended by the committee. Moved by D. Hudson Seconded by P. Savel Carried M. Carpino requested that the sub committee designations be identified. Sub committee designations: D. Hudson — Capital Projects Chair D. Nita — Capital Projects Committee G. Lowman —Volunteer Recognition Committee Chair A. Doucette —Volunteer Recognition Committee L. Drake—Volunteer Recognition Committee K. Chalmers—Volunteer Recognition Committee and Capital Projects Committee P. Savel —Collections Committee Chair K. Emmink— Collections Committee • 8. Review of 2014 Strategic Plan Projects K. Pyke noted that of the 49 tasks that were identified to be completed in 2013, 18 were deferred due budget restrictions, 28 were completed, and 3 tasks remain incomplete. This represents a 90% implementation rate for 2013. K. Pyke reviewed Strategic Plan Objectives and Tasks for 2014: She advised that the development of a travelling exhibit may not be feasible due to a lack of development and storage space. T. Ryce noted that there are currently 10 language options on the City's website and therefore the objective to make languages available on the museum's website can be considered completed. K. Pyke noted that staff will continue with podcasts and blogs on social media and that virtual online training has been considered for uploading onto the website. T. Ryce noted that there are certain areas where she would like Page 6 CORP0228-2/02 to see sponsorships for various events. Some businesses have been very interested and she's currently in negotiations with them. There will be no corporate branding in the museum village for heritage aesthetic reasons; however, items such as ice cream cups can be branded, which won't be intrusive. . K. Pyke will be continuing to look at grants and funding to support collections work. She and the Conservator will be working with the Collections Committee to develop a Collecting Plan. K. Pyke advised that she will continue to build and sustain educational partnerships. Tourism and marketing goals will include the development of a web-accessible collection and artifact podcasts. Rebranding of the museum, however, will be deferred to 2015 when the new Visitor Services Centre is forecasted to be built. Social events/rentals will be capitalized on through a photographer's • day, which will hopefully translate into rental revenue through use of the new picnic shelter. K. Pyke noted that she's working diligently on the expansion of on-site education programs to include the underground railroad and First Nations interpretation because teachers are now being encouraged to seek field trip locations that include those themes. The underground railroad focus could draw a new grade level to the site. The anticipated WWI Education Day would bring in high school students given the fact that these historical items are part of their curriculum. She hopes to launch those additions in the fall. 9. 2014 Calendar L. Drake submitted and reviewed a draft work plan for the PMVAC for 2014. K. Pyke suggested the removal of the following items from the Volunteer Recognition Committee section and place them in the All Members section: • Research and monitor Durham Transit development plans • Research sponsorships, government grants, etc. • Support all activities related to WWI celebrations • Attend training programs along with other volunteers to really see the full view of the scope of the operation Approved Page 7 CORP0228-2/02 T. Ryce requested to remove the following items from the Volunteer Recognition section: • Continue to connect with colleges and universities for mutual benefits • Support staff to develop Education Advisory Summit, anticipating program development with new facilities • Assist with development of Photographers Day by collecting • contact and mutual benefits • Have staff present changes in curriculum that impact our education programs Approved L. Drake submitted an overview of the work plan and proceeded to request that the March meeting be cancelled and all agenda items be deferred to the following meeting, which is scheduled to take place in April. The request was approved by the committee. D. Nita suggested deciding upon the date of the next meeting at each meeting instead of having a yearly schedule. M.Carpino noted that a yearly schedule is necessary to book the meeting room. T. Ryce suggested meeting at The Bentley house or the.museum as an option for the meeting schedule to • take place in April and June if the main committee room is unavailable. The meeting that was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 29 has been rescheduled to Wednesday, April 30. The meeting that was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 27 has been rescheduled to Wednesday, May 28. The meeting that was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 24 has been rescheduled to Wednesday, June 25. 10. Report to Council L. Drake and P. Savel advised that they are ready, in part, to make their presentation at the Council meeting on Tuesday, April 22nd M. Carpino to advise the City Clerk so that this item can put on the agenda. Page 8 CORP0228-2/02 11. New Business G. Lowman advised that there was an IT issue when he attended the museum. T. Ryce noted that the museum has had fiber installed and that the situation has since been rectified. D. Nita questioned if there's wifi in the museum. T. Ryce replied that it is not currently available to the public; however, she will look into the cost of making it accessible to the public. Motion: That the Wifi at the museum be made accessible to the public. Moved by D. Nita Seconded by P. Savel Carried 12. Adjournment Next meeting —April 30, 2014 at 7:00 pm at Pickering Civic Complex—Tower Meeting Room. Motion: This meeting is adjourned at 9:30 pm Moved by P. Savel Seconded by K. Emmink Carried Meeting Adjourned: 9:30 pm Copy: City Clerk Page 9 CORP0228-2/02