Duane Hicks
The Fort Frances Museum Advisory Committee is making a 2018 budget request to town council: hire a full-time assistant there.
In a letter which council received at its public budget meeting Monday night, the committee, including Debbie Ballard (chair), Mary Hickling, Caren Fagerdahl, Nell Laur, and Robert Schulz, noted the museum currently has one full-time employee–curator Sherry George.
And while the museum has made “significant progress in fulfilling [its] mandate to preserve and promote our rich heritage and culture, along with offering relevant programs and exhibits,” numerous problems have been identified due to the insufficient staffing level.
These include:
•hundreds of donated items waiting to be accessioned (i.e., recorded and added into the collection);
•no technical assistance for updates on the interactive programming;
•lack of time for scholarly research on exhibits;
•lack of time for adequate communication in all media, including social media;
•uncertainty regarding on-going volunteer help that is critical to operations (more than 4,000 hours last year);
•lack of manpower for the mandated education component of operations;
•loss of excellent, qualified people due to dependence on grants for interns and a sense of uncertainty over being approved for interns;
•safety issues regarding young students working alone; and
•the upcoming retirement of the curator (George), with no succession plan in place.
However, “despite the pressures and problems caused by low staffing, there have been some successes and growth over the past five years,” the committee noted.
A strategic plan has been developed, workshops have increased (thanks to 50 percent funding by the “Friends of the Museum”), interactive programming has been developed, and three applications for interns have been approved.
The local museum also is meeting Community Museum Operating and Pay Equity Grants (CMOG) requirements, with help from volunteers and the “Friends of the Museum.”
“Failing additional staffing, the museum cannot sustain the current levels of events and programming, nor can the museum consider community outreach [also mandated] or a commitment to organize any events at the new Rainy Lake Square,” Ballard warned.
“The museum has made a lot of forward progress over the past five years,” she noted. “[But] this cannot continue without another museum employee.
“If we are to have a vibrant, community-focused museum going forward, the advisory committee feels it is imperative for the museum to have a full-time assistant,” Ballard concluded.
The committee’s request was referred to the 2018 budget process.
