BellaOnline Forums Education Museums Hard Times

We have a partnership with the county. They own the buildings and we own the stuff. They pay a couple of part time staffers for the buildings and the rest is managed with volunteers. The three buildings are open five days a week. Well, with the cuts they are planning to close at least two of the historic buildings except for special events and lay off the staff. This just about puts us out of business.

Are you affected by the economy?

After Labor Day, we reduced our hours by closing at 4:00 instead of 5:00 daily. That gave us the savings of being closed 7 hours, which is almost a whole day, while still staying open every day of the week.

We have been watching expenses. No raises this year.

It's tough out there, for sure!

There is a meeting scheduled to discuss the situation coming up. We are affiliated with the county government and, therefore, cannot make the sole decision.

Maybe you should sit down together and come up with some alternatives that would save money without closing to the extent they have suggested. You might come up with solutions they didn't even consider!

Good luck -- I hate to hear about museums closing.

Kim, you are a busy writer.

Yes, we are going to present a case to discourage closing the two historic sites. We have worked too hard to let them be closed. Our visitation has been up. The gift shop is starting to do well. We collect sales tax and that goes into the coffers. Granted, we're not a Walmart but every little bit helps.

The buildings need to be cared for and you need staff to do that. You just cannot turn off the power and walk away - old buildings need TLC and certainly the contents do too.

I do not think parks and recreation have empathy for historic sites.

There are many, many issues associated with walking away from a historic building. Turning off the heat for long periods of time will cause all kinds of damage.

Do you have a preservation society nearby? They might be able to give you some information on the risks involved with closing a building like that for long periods of time.

Calling attention to numbers helps with government types. If your attendance has been up, that is a sure sign you're doing something right!

Also, be sure to play up your contribution to the community -- what you do to make you area a better place to live. It can be a tough sell to those who "don't get it" -- but you have to at least try!

Perhaps you could ask them for ideas for fundraisers or programs that would draw people in. That might make them feel "engaged" in what you do. Invite them to volunteer to help at an event so they can see first hand the value of what you do.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Thank you for the insightful response. I passed it along to some of the folks who would be attending the meeting. I am on the board (past president) but will be coming off in July. Since I had signed up for a class, I decided to pass on attending and let some of the others handle this situation. I'm sort of weaning myself from the front line. I am anxious to find out how the meeting turned out.

This month is budget discussion month for the public to come before the Board of Supervisors. It reminds me of a king sitting on the throne and his subjects coming before him asking for favors. Our board made a proposal to share in the cost of keeping the two part time personnel. I think this went over well. We'll see.

GOOD LUCK! Let us know how it turns out. I have my fingers crossed for you. I hate to see any museum close.