After a contentious discussion the Historical Commission voted to accept a proposed agreement that would spell out the role that the Friends of the Norwalk Museum will run day-to-day operations. From the Hour:
Douglas E. Hempstead, council liaison to the Historical Commission and member of the Land Use Committee, urged commissioners not to argue over the proposed agreement at this point.
“This is conceptual. It’s very broad. It has to reviewed. Everybody is going to have their hand in this,” said Hempstead, referring to the council, the city’s law department and the municipal union to which Gunn belongs. “This will probably turn into a 20-page document.”
Under the proposed agreement, now a one-page document, the city would continue to house the collection and lease the building in which the museum is housed.
The Friends would be responsible for fundraising, staffing, providing volunteers, opening and closing the building, responding to emergencies, performing inventories and caring for the museum collections, putting on exhibitions, maintaining the museum’s reference library, and other activities in conjunction with the curator.
While the role of the Friends has long been understood, having the relationship codified is a good thing. It will not likely solve the ongoing issues between the current curator and the Friends.
Acceptance of the conceptual operating agreement came after sparring between commission Chairman Peter A. Bondi and former Friends President Scott M. Gibson.
Gibson said he and others met Tuesday with James Haselkamp, the city’s director of personnel and labor relations, to discuss Gunn’s schedule and getting into the museum. Gibson said Friends volunteers have had problems getting into the building and reaching Gunn by telephone.
“This meeting was one step, hopefully, in resolving some of that and we’ll see how it goes,” Gibson said.
When Gibson, however, said that Gunn has left a portion of the museum now being used for an exhibition cluttered, and “dismantled permanent fixtures,” Bondi stepped in to halt the allegations.
“Scott, I’m going to stop you right now, because we’re not here to talk about the curator, and No. 2, there’s no proof that that (space) belongs to The Friends,” Bondi said. “We’re not talking about the curator today. … She’s not here and that becomes a personnel issue. All I asked for was your report.”
Said Gibson: “Right, and my report is that we are concerned about clutter in public spaces in the museum. There is a long history of it and this another example.”
Gunn, who has had a rocky relationship with The Friends and some Historical commissioners, returned to work June 1 after a five-month absence, during which Friends volunteers ran the museum. She was absent from Wednesday night’s commission meeting.
On the access issue, Historical commissioners agreed, albeit not unanimously, to explore getting Gunn a cell phone. As curator, she is designated as first responder to the building in the event of an emergency. The commission chairman is second responder.
Recent examples beyond what Gibson mentioned also include volunteers who have shown up for work only to find the doors to the museum locked. Peter Bondi, chair of the Historical Commission contends that it is the volunteers who are not showing up for work. The facts however might lie in the record of opening and closings that the alarm system tracks, yet Bondi, who was asked for the records in June, has not provided them to the commission for review.
Despite the addition of summer interns, the museum doors were locked on Sunday, July 25th. The summer interns are not without controversy too. Commissioners are concerned that original documents are being handled by interns who are not using protective gloves. Paper that is old is susceptible to chemical reactions that weaken, discolour or make it become brittle. Heat, light, dampness, airborne pollutants and the oil from human hands are all contributors. Inks can fade with too much exposure to light, especially fluorescent light and sunlight, which is why you often see flash photography banned in museums. Mentioned, has been a project involving an intern and original Lockwood letters from the 1800’s.
After two months since the Curator, Sue Gunn, has returned, the issues of performing basic curatorial duties and being held accountable to a work schedule have not been resolved.
source: The Hour, Commission OKs curator role in museum accord, by By ROBERT KOCH, July 26, 2007
