Minutes and agenda archive

Historic Shepherdstown Commission

Board Minutes

January 9, 2008

The meeting was called to order at 7:32 by President E. Moore.

Members present included: L. Cox, M. Lehman, A. Levitan, E. Moore, J. Shank, V. Smith, A. Wayt,  & R. Winkel.  Also present was C. Cook Administrator & Michael Austin, guest.

E. Moore introduced proposed board member Michael Austin. M. Austin is a retired naval commander who also spent 11 years oversea as a planner for FEMA. He is an amateur artist and a gardener, belongs to 12 community organizations, is president of the Eastern Panhandle Beekeepers’ Association, and is married to Bonnie Austin. Following the introduction to the board Austin was unanimously accepted as a board member upon a motion by M. Lehman, second by V. Smith.

The Treasurer’s Report was given next. Administrator C. Cook said the Profit and Loss statement for January 1-9, 2008 which showed expenses of $3,059. 20 and a gross income of $3,086.00 did not reflect $2,500 worth of additional expenses for the month. These unpaid expenses include quarterly payroll taxes, sales tax, and salaries.  Historic Shepherdstown also owes President E. Moore $3,000 for a bridge loan he gave the organization in December.

Cook said Historic Shepherdstown has been operating at a deficit for the past five years. The organization survived these deficits, she said, because former HSC President Jim Holland had the foresight to buy CDs with money secured from Delegate John Doyle 15 years ago. “For the last five years we have been living off of those CDs,” Cook added, “but we have used the last of these moneys and the CDs are now zeroed out.”

Cook said that there was $3,000 remaining from a $25,000 grant the Corporation of Shepherdstown had given to Historic Shepherdstown. “But it is already spent,” she said.

The Treasurer’s Report was unanimously accepted on a motion by L. Cox, second by A. Wayt.

The proposed 2008 budget for Historic Shepherdstown was presented to the board by President E. Moore and Administrator C. Cook. The budget outlines proposed income of $102,209. Expenses for 2008 are estimated at $107,100 leaving a deficit of $4,910.  A discussion of the proposed budget ensued. Cook said the budget was proposing a $25.00 across-the-board increase in office rents. She said the last rent increase was in 2005. E. Moore said the increase in rents could be justified by the increase in electric bills which have been incorporated into office rents since 1998.

Cook said one of the reasons for the increase in electric bills was the use of the large meeting room on the ground floor of the Entler by the Corporation of Shepherdstown. However, Cook said, Historic Shepherdstown could not charge the Town for using the room since a mandate in HSC’s lease of the building calls for its use as a community meeting place. Cook also added that while the lease calls for the Town to furnish maintenance for the Entler if a provision is made in the Town budget there is little likelihood of any money coming from the Town this year since the Town is planning to spend money on a new Town Hall.

Moore informed the board that Historic Shepherdstown faces a $50-100,000 capital investment in the next two years expenditure. He said the organization needs a “signature fundraiser” to raise money for the repairs. “We need someone to run a capital campaign,” he added.

The 2008 budget was unanimously accepted with the reservation that a revenue source to make up the $4,910 deficit be determined upon a motion by M. Austin, second by R. Winkle.

A motion to charge $2-$3 admission to the museum by M. Lehman, second by J. Shank, and amended by M. Austin to structure the fee at the February board meeting passed with seven members approving and two members, A. Levitan and V. Smith, opposing. Smith said she was not sure an admission fee was a good idea because some people could not afford the fee. “I don’t want anyone unable to get in,” she added. Levitan said he as not against charging admission but felt an admission fee should be a meaningful amount and not just $2 or $3. Since approximately 4,000 visitors tour the museum yearly Lehman said an admission fee could “help to balance our budget.”

The new Collections Policy and Scope of Collections Policy for the Museum were presented to the board by V. Smith. A. Levitan asked that the phrase in the Collections Policy reading "The Museum will not accept objects with conditions relating to their sale, Trade or manner of display." be amended to read, "The Museum reserves the right to accept or refuse objects donated to the Museum." The Scope of Collections Policy and the amended Collections Policy were accepted unanimously by the board upon a motion by Mary Lehman, second by Lou Cox.

C. Cook reminded members that a tremendous amount of work needed to be done on the museum before it reopened in April of this year. She asked for everyone to volunteer in some capacity to make this possible.

Board members then toured the museum and left the meeting individually. No formal motion for adjournment was made.

.Respectfully submitted,

Mary Lehman

Secretary