Agenda - 03-20-2018 8-a - Minutes

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2 Center is one option to be considered. Whether this can expand into the cultural/genealogy 1 center the County has envisioned may also be worth studying. 2 3 Margaret Hauth said the Town has an interest in finding a new home for the current 4 museum that is more accessible. She said the Town would like to know if the County may have 5 a more desirable space in the near future, and staff will need direction from both boards as to 6 how to proceed. 7 Town Commissioner Ferguson said she is excited about this collaboration. She said 8 she is inspired by a small museum in Oneonta, Alabama that captures a sense of place like no 9 other to the extent that she has even become a member of this museum. She said this 10 museum partners with the Register of Deeds, leading the county’s efforts for genealogy and 11 historical activities. She said Orange County could have such a museum, if the right location 12 can be found with the right display cases. She said she hopes the County will partner with the 13 Town on this project, as it has great potential and is an important piece of the Town. 14 Commissioner Rich said the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) has not 15 discussed this topic in any detail, and asked if County staff could provide some insight about 16 the County’s involvement, and exactly what type of collaboration is needed. 17 Jeff Thompson, Asset Management Services Director, said the staff is talking and 18 sharing ideas at a high level about needs, availabilities, and directions, in which, both the Town 19 and the County are moving. He said this evening provides an opportunity for further discussion. 20 Commissioner Rich asked if there is a vision for what the museum will look like, if there 21 is an end game in mind. 22 Jeff Thompson said there is the heritage exhibit in the Orange County library, and there 23 is the museum in downtown Hillsborough that is in a stressed situation. He said there has been 24 discussion of the merging of these two places somewhere in the vicinity of where they are 25 currently located. He said the discussions revolve around the content inside the building, and 26 the location of the building itself. 27 Chair Dorosin said the County and the Town could collectively decide what this 28 collaboration looks like. 29 Town Commissioner Bell said the strategy map says that the celebration of history is 30 valued in Hillsborough, and a museum is an important part of that conversation. He said the 31 museum is going through a top-to-bottom review of its strategies, and what opportunities may 32 exist. 33 Bonnie Hammersley said she and Commissioner Price toured the museum a while ago, 34 and the condition of the current facility is not good. She said the museum has approached the 35 County seeking to work together. She said staff has reviewed the available County space, but 36 none is available now. She said the question remains whether the Town and the County should 37 continue to partner, or does Hillsborough go off on its own. She said this conversation has been 38 going on for a while. 39 Commissioner Marcoplos referred to the museum in Alabama, and clarified that the 40 Register of Deeds is a partner in the process there. 41 Commissioner Ferguson said the Register of Deeds works collaboratively with the 42 museum in Alabama. She said the Probate Judge pays the salary of the docent, and the 43 museum is across the street from the courthouse and the Register of Deeds. She said the 44 museum is very small, but the way it is laid out is different: there are maps, display cases, 45 places to do research and there is an active collaborative relationship with the Register of 46 Deeds, which encourages the genealogy activity, as well as other historical activities. 47 Commissioner Marcoplos said Mark Chilton, Orange County Register of Deeds, is an 48 historian, and has just completed a project on slave genealogy. He asked asked if Mark Chilton 49 has been brought into this discussion. 50