Town of Olds council discussed a business plan put together by the Olds Historical Society (OHS) at it policies and priorities meeting on May 22.
The plan calls for, among other things, an injection of $30,000 into the OHS for the Mountain View Museum and archives to stay open. Donna Erdmann, chair of the Olds Historical Society, told councillors that since the last presentation to council in February, the board has raised $10,000, but that more is needed to keep the doors of the museum open.
“It's a matter of letting the public know it's important,” she said, adding that if the museum keeps giving the public a reason to drop by, that would help.
The business plan identifies a need to recruit a part-time manager who could achieve the vision of the museum over the next three to five years, provide professional development opportunities and add three to four more community members to its board. Currently, there are seven members on the board, out of a total maximum of 12 seats.
Erdmann told the committee members that while there are grants available through Museums Alberta to help keep the museum afloat, they require matching funds, which the OHS currently does not, in large measure, have. The business plan notes that as a non-profit society, the OHS qualifies for casinos to be held once every 34 months, but that the next casino won't take place until the last quarter of this year and the funds wouldn't be received until the first quarter of 2013. The plan projects that the OHS could receive up to $25,000 from the casino but that “we cannot count on projections of revenues from each casino.”
Town administration suggested that if council goes forward with support for the OHS, it could be contingent upon several targets the OHS hits with regard to its operations. The targets, administration suggested, could be worked out between administration and the OHS, and money could be doled out quarterly. Some of the targets suggested by administration include recruiting an additional six OHS board members for a two-year term while the board rebuilds; development of a short- and medium-term plan with achievable milestones to move the society forward; and participation in a governance workshop for the board and staff to ensure there is a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities, among other targets.
Council members generally were supportive of the OHS and wanted to assist it in achieving its goals.
“I am a supporter of the museum. We need to inspire some citizens to come on board with you,” said Mary Jane Harper.
Harvey Walsh said he supported giving the OHS the full $30,000 it was asking for. But he said he would have liked to have seen more detail in the business plan regarding how the OHS plans to flourish, not just sustain itself.
“Looking at their future and how they see … making that future come true is an important part of the governance process that they need to go through when they're looking at re-organizing their governance. When they come back, that's what I'll be looking for is some indication that they've looked into the future and said, ‘this is where we can go, this is the kind of money we're looking at, the kind of (museum) space we need to make it work.' But just trying to sustain a small place like that, I think, is overly optimistic,” he said.
Walsh said the museum has a lot of artefacts that it isn't displaying due to space limitations at the current museum, and he would like to see a bolder vision that would put the OHS in a much better position and be able to show off more of the town's history.
“They have a nice space there, but it's too small for them and I think they need to really look at that, recognize that, and see how they can work around that,” he said.
"Looking at (the Olds Historical Society's) future and how they see ... making that future come true is an important part of the governance process."Coun. Harvey Walsh, Olds town councillor
