In the weeks that Norwalk Museum curator, and staff person to the Historical Commission, has returned to work after a long absence, not much has changed. The contentious relationship between Gunn and the Historical Commission has always centered on the work performed falling well short of the work required. Last night’s Historical Commission meeting was no exception. Gunn didn’t show. Instead a written report was read to the commissioners. I kid you not. Apparently, although Gunn could spend time responding to emails and phone calls as one of the oh so important tasks accomplished, sending out the Curator report was not one them.
So it was left to chair Peter Bondi to read the report aloud. Which he did. Which prompted Marilyn Robinson to complain that the curator was asked to submit reports in bullet point format repeatedly, and I’m assuming, prior to her absence. Bondi said he would make sure that was done in the future. Of course this was a petty nit pick, because the real problem was the substance of the curator’s report, which was unlike I have ever heard before. And what was the major time consuming activity that this curator reported? Checking what tasks were accomplished in her absence and whether they matched with her duties or not. Plus the aforementioned email responding activities. I’m sure that it was very time intensive to hit delete on 5 months of Nigerian Cash scams.
No one questioned just what all those time consuming emails were about, which is a shame. From a management perspective it is completely unacceptable to have 5 months worth of research requests sitting unread and unanswered. A quantification would have been nice. But really, arrangements should have been made to have the email dealt with during the absence by the curator herself. So I can only conclude that this was just a busy work excuse, to fill up a report that essentially said nothing anyways, but likely complies with some evidentiary documentation that Gunn actually worked.
Except when Gunn apparently chose to go to a personal appointment during her normally scheduled museum hours. This, Bondi, explained was an appointment that was arranged prior to Gunn returning to work. Yet commissioners questioned why it wasn’t communicated to them, since there’s a requirement that there be 2 people at the Museum at all times. The Friends of the Norwalk Museum are the organization that has been staffing the museum with volunteers for 34 years.
In fact, after the Lockwood family gave the gift of the museum to the city, the only requirement was that Norwalk provide the leasehold and provide a curator. The city has paid nothing for the museum. The friends have fully funded its operations and that the work has been entirely doesn’t with volunteer work. The last several years have proven that the relationship between the Friends of the Norwalk Museum and the city needed some more formalization in writing, since basic things like staffing, keys and schedules have been nearly impossible to manage.
A proposal was drafted and presented to the commission, and after a lengthy discussion it was decided that a meeting would be held with Norwalk’s personnel director James Haselkamp and commission members, and members of the Friends organization. Peter Bondi suggested that there was additional review needed since the curator was now back, but commissioners rightly insisted that this was an operational agreement between the city and the Friends organization had little to do with the curator.
Curating a museum or a collection is not a complicated job. The fundamentals are the care, preservation and acquisition of items that fit into the narrative of a collection. They say that pictures tell a thousand word. Well, there are a couple from 2005 and 2007.
The Curator’s Office 2005
The Curator’s Office 2007
The pictures, however, don’t tell the whole story. A brief overview completes the picture.
July of 2000 - Gunn was hired by Mayor Esposito.
November 15, 2000 - A letter was sent to Assistant Corporation Counsel, Diane Beltz Jacobson by the Norwalk Historical Commission (NHC) with a copy of Ordinance 57A and the Curator’s job description. Ordinance 57A requires that the curator report to the Historical Commission (HC).
December of 2000 - Mayor Esposito stated that she worked for him, not the HC. The Curator was on probation at that time.
2001 - Curator changed locks and locked out HC.
2003 - Mayor Knopp named a special panel to study the problem. Study Report.
2004 - Ms. Gunn sued the city for $45,000 in overtime. Mayor Knopp later settled the suit (2005) without documentation.
April 2004 –Mayor Knopp instructed Ms. Gunn to report to the NHC and directed her to give commissioners keys to the museum.
June 9, 2005 - HC issued a vote of no confidence in the curator and voted that the personnel director conduct an investigation as to whether the curator should be disciplined. A 12 page report was sent to personnel director. Reasons for the vote of no confidence included:
Failure of Ms. Gunn-Bromley to clean up, document and catalog office, archives, records and inventory for over 2 years. Specific threats to historical assets that included, a 1778 receipt for sale of 2 slaves, a plate purchased in 2003 for $6650, census books, and the introduction of liquids in areas that should not have any.
July 20, 2006 – HC sent letter to Common Council Personnel Committee Herb Grant recommending that the operation of the Norwalk Museum be reorganized due to an ongoing staffing scheduling issues, hours of operation and job performance.
Dec. of 2006 through May of 2007 – Ms. Gunn-Bromley out on leave.
June 2007 - Gunn returns.
Clearly the curator has not been up to the task of managing the museum, staffing, contracts, scheduling, cataloging, or any of the major tasks that a small museum requires. This situation has gone on long enough.
