Minutes

Museum Board Meeting

Wednesday November 7th, 2007

 

In attendance:, Bob Baird, Genny Landis, Monica Peel, Ardy Reid, Jim Wicks, Lorne Smith, John Ryerson, Anna Rose, Councilor Moretti, Allen Seabrooke, Linda Irvine, Bruce Cudmore, David Ecclestone, Peter Burton, and Steven

Regrets: Randy Barber, John Bayfield, John Buie, Susan Smitko, and Gunter Langhorst.

 

 

 

Item #

Item

Description

1

Call to order

Meeting called to order 7:01pm – Monica Peel chairing in place of Gunter Langhorst.

2

Minutes

·        Approval of minutes skipped until after discussion on New Collections Building.

·        Jim Wicks moved to approve minutes and they were seconded by Councilor Moretti, all were in favor.

3

Additions

·        The Landscape Master Plan was added to the agenda.

·        Wine Tasting Report was removed and will added on to next months agenda

4

Landscape Master Plan – Linda and Bruce

·        Linda explained that the Landscape Master Plan should go hand-in-hand with the new collections building plan and with the Ward Building renovation so that the site flows together.

·        There is currently only enough in the budget for the building and not for site works but as is stated in the Master Plan other site development needs to take place.  Therefore increased funds are needed to complete.

·        Councilor Moretti voiced concern at requesting more money for the project as she was under the impression that landscaping would be coming out of the budget discussed.

·        Allan Seabrooke expressed that the landscape plan and the building plans on site have been disconnected when really they should go together and council should know upfront.

·        Alan Wolfe stated that the budget did however include Furniture, Finishing & Extras (FF&E) but no LEEDS.

·        Councilor Moretti stated that she thought the grant for the new collections building stipulated that it must have LEEDS certification.

·        When all the different parts are brought together Alan Wolfe states that it will cost $8 Million.

·        John Ryerson affirmed that the Master Plan was approved by council and that now it is being pulled together instead of being looked at in separate parts.

·        Monica Peel requested that all figures be presented to the board in a clearer manner.

·        Linda reiterated that she felt it was prudent that in order to have a functioning collections building the site must also be improved.  The cost of the works relating directly to the Ward Building (including front of Ward) and the New Collections Building is $1.25-$1.5 Million, which excludes other future investments.  For the remainder, if the full concept is endorsed cost will be $4-$5 Million through today’s pricing.  This is with an order of magnitude of + or – 25%.  Linda also explained that they would be looking into different ways to fund the landscaping such as sponsored tree planting and using elements of the parks budget.

·        Bruce presented the conceptual master plan which was accompanied by a hand out with all key points from the presentation.

5

New Collections Building  – Bruce, David Ecclestone and Peter Burton

·        Based on previous presentations to the board it was established that Option B was the preferred building design.  However, it was discovered that due to the soil conditions it needs to be removed and therefore looked into the idea of a basement.  Therefore they have combined options 2 & 3 to create option 4.

·        The advantages of option 4 are; additional parking, landscape front, future expansion, receiving area at ground level, saves money due to below grade envelope, more efficient ratio surface area to volume, energy conservation, reduced operating costs, and reduced engineered fill.

·        Estimated cost of Option 4 (16,000 square feet, split level configuration with mezzanine) = $3,850,000.00 with a 10% design configuration.

·        Still trying to fit wish list which is likely to cost $300,000 - $400,000 which includes; covered porch, LEED certification, covered entry, connection to utilities, and renovation to the Reception Center.

·        Order of magnitude stated by Peter to be + or – 15 and contingency of 10%.

·        Alan Wolfe stated that they can start the process once there is consensus then a report with detailed budget will go to council and once council approves it everything can start.

·        Peter Burton reassured board that the building has been designed to be flexible big space with three dimensional views.

·        Jim Wicks motioned to approve in principle Option 4 for the new collections building and to go forward.  This motion was seconded by Ardy Reid, all other board members present were in favor.

·        Therefore it is now going to council first thing in the new-year and if it gets passed with the amount of money required it will go ahead.

6

Ward Building Renovation – Allen Wolfe

·        Roof tender went out in October but there were only two bids, which were also higher then anticipated.

·        The priorities for this building are the building envelope and the furnace.  Currently, considering a geothermal system which is why the budget is raised but will create higher efficiency and therefore savings overtime.

·        Areas which will need to be delayed for now are the washroom upgrades, the service assembly area.

·        We will go back to tender early in the New Year and plan to start the process in March, which will then take 4-6 months.

·        Councilor Moretti voice concern at substantial budget increase from $170,000 to $310,000. 

·        Alan Wolfe stated that the original budget was done quickly and was a basic estimate and once it was looked at in more detail they realized it was more.  David Ecclestone stated that what they had priced was comparable but it we went with geothermal technology then we have to worry about the building envelope and not just the roof.

·        Alan Wolfe stated that he thinks there are sufficient funds and that they are going to try some creative tendering strategies.

·        Anna Rose confirmed that she had expressed concerns with the delay and that the museum had started the process of clearing out the Ward Building.  Fortunately, she heard of the changes 3-4 days away from the large move of artifacts and therefore has not incurred extra costs yet.  However, there has already been lost revenue and there will be more over the summer season.

·        Councilor Moretti voiced here disappointment with this construction not moving forward as its going to cost more now and due to the loss of revenue to the museum. 

·        Steve mentioned the geothermal heating had a big effect on the cost of the renovation but it can be reconsidered.

7

Councilor Moretti

·        Councilor Moretti addressed board to tell them about an article she agreed to do as long as the museum was promoted through it.  The magazine gave the museum a free half page ad.

8

Book Committee – Monica Peel

·        Lorne Smith stated that they haven’t heard anything back from Trillium about the grant. 

·        Trying to plan a book committee meeting for November.

9

Foundation Update – John Buie

·        Report sent in by John Buie as he was unable to attend meeting and therefore read aloud by Monica Peel. 

·        It will be another 4-6 weeks for more news.

·        John Ryerson explained that unfortunately due to some losses in staff in the legal department the foundation didn’t get the attention it should have but now there is more movement with it.

10

New Business

·        Councilor Moretti asked how we deal with liability with regards to the skating rinks.  Anna will be looking into this for this winter as last year Jim Sales headed this all up.  Councilor Moretti suggests that she talk to Fred Rich.

·        Lorne Smith suggested that a test drill be done with regards to using geothermal technology for the Ward Building renovation.  Bob Baird though expressed his concern with just drilling one whole as it only covers that small area.

·        John Ryerson told board about the major press conference the town recently had to launch CLICK with Markham and how important to get people to participate especially with regards to culture.

·        John Ryerson thanked Lorne Smith for starting to go through the collection with Marie to see who gave various items and when.

·        John also stated that there will be a delegation of students coming from Germany in late summer 2008 and we should put together a committee to help plan there itinerary. Lorne suggested Gunter be involved.

·        Anna Rose discussed the tree inventory from the front of the site which Chris Ward completed free of charge for the museum and handout the results of the study.  Everyone was given a copy and it will be discussed at the next board meeting.

·        The Christmas Parade (November 24th) will be ending at the museum this year and we would love the boards presence at the parade.

·        Volunteer Dinner is November 20th at Mr. Hungarian and all are invited.

·        Board agreed to send card to the family of Gloria Stretin who recently passed away and was a member of the historical society. 

·        Anna and other museum staff will be taking a trip to Dufferin County Museum and Bruce County Museum and all board members are invited to join us.  Councilor Moretti expressed that she would like to go on the trip.  Genny Landis has requested that pictures be taken so that board members who can not attend are still able to view the museums.

·        Lorne Smith informed the board that there were still tickets left to the Harvest Dinner on Monday December 12th at 6:45pm.

·        Bob Baird has requested that minutes get distributed earlier.

·        Ardy Reid expressed that everyone around the table deserves a big thank you because of the amount of passion everyone has for the museum.

·        Monica Peel entertained a motion to adjourn, Jim Wicks motioned to adjourn and Bob Baird seconded.  Meeting adjourned at 9:35pm.