Museum Restructuring Committee

City  of  Norwalk   Museum  Restructuring  Committee   August  1,  2012     DRAFT     Attendance:   Judith  Bacal,  James  Clark,  David  Park,  Scott  Wands,  David   Westmoreland     Guests:       Ralph  Bloom,  Holly  Cuzzone     Meeting  was  call  to  order  at  5:30.  The  meeting  minutes  from  July  24th  were  amended  and   approved,  with  Mr.  Wands  abstaining.     The  location  matrix  was  reviewed.    Committee  members  discussed  and  noted  the  pros  and  cons   of  the  museum  space  in  SoNo,  the  Lockwood  House,  archives  to  Norwalk  Library  and  and  Health   Dept  space.    Updates  will  be  made  by  Ms.  Bacal.      Mr.  Westmoreland  will  work  on  getting  square   footages  by  floor  to  add  to  the  matrix  for  both  the  Lockwood  House  and  the  SONO  Museum   location.     Mr.  Westmoreland  noted  that  he  measured  the  Dunn’s  hardware  exhibit  per  Ms.  Brescia’s   request.    The  tallest  cabinets  are  over  10  feet,  but  the  top  three-­‐foot  section  comes  off,  leaving   only  7  feet,  which  would  allow  much  of  the  exhibit  to  be  installed  in  other  locations,  such  as  the   basement  of  the  Lockwood  House  or  Fodor  Farm.         The  next  steps  document  was  reviewed  and  discussed.         Mr.  Wands  reported  that  apparently  the  Norwalk  Museum  had  an  archive  assessment   completed  by  the  State  Library  within  the  past  couple  of  years.    He  is  working  on  getting  a  copy   of  this  released  to  the  committee.     Mr.  Clark  asked  how  we  address  the  longer-­‐term  mission  of  the  museum?     Mr.  Westmoreland  suggested  that  while  we  will  present  interim  or  short-­‐term   recommendations  in  September,  we  need  to  find  outside  expertise,  along  with  appropriate   costs,  to  help  put  together  a  real,  viable  long-­‐term  plan  for  the  museum,  whether  is  remains  in   SONO  or  moves  to  Lockwood  House.    This  would  include  determining  the  scope  and  mission  of   the  museum  and  then  putting  together  a  plan  to  implement  that.         Mr.  Wands  suggested  that  we  use  some  or  all  of  the  10-­‐12  hours  that  the  Museum  has  allocated   to  it  by  Don  Mueller,  through  the  STEPS  program  to  put  the  outline  of  a  plan  together  and   identify  the  expertise  and  costs  we  need.     Mr.  Westmoreland  also  recommended  that  we  begin  to  draft  a  report  that  provides  the  context   and  narrative  for  the  committee’s  analysis  and  recommendations.    He  volunteered  to  begin  the   draft  report  over  the  next  several  weeks.     Ms.  Cuzzone  asked  to  address  the  committee  and  suggested  the  following:     1. Over  the  years,  there  have  been  many  programs  that  have  brought  schoolchildren  to   City  Hall,  including  tours  of  the  WPA  Murals.    These  could  be  expanded  to  include  the   Museum  if  it  were  to  move  to  the  Lockwood  House.   2. Ms.  Cuzzone  felt  that  the  Dunn’s  Hardware  exhibit  was  important  enough  to  be  located   on  the  first  floor  of  the  Museum  at  the  Lockwood  House.   3. Ms.  Cuzzone  has  contacts  for  firms  involved  in  relocating  the  Fairfield  Museum  as  well   as  the  Peabody  Museum  at  Yale.     The  meeting  was  adjourned  at  6:35pm.     Next  Meetings   August  14     August  21     August  28