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3 <br /> <br />Town Commissioner Ferguson said she is not sure, but this seems like a logical match. 1 <br />She said the museum is aware of Mark Chilton. 2 <br />Mayor Stevens said it is evident that the current status quo cannot continue, as there 3 <br />are insufficient resources, and the building is not worth restoring. He said there is no definite 4 <br />plan, but there is a lot of opportunity, and there may be other potential partners out there. He 5 <br />said the goal is for this to be a community process and project, and that is why this topic was 6 <br />brought forward. He said history is important to them all, and this topic cannot be kicked down 7 <br />the road for much longer. 8 <br />Commissioner Burroughs said she took a tour of the Register of Deed’s office, and Mark 9 <br />Chilton showed her historical documents. She encouraged his inclusion in these conversations. 10 <br />Commissioner Rich said she spent a year on a work group that focused on what a 11 <br />museum looks like in a town, within her role as BOCC liaison to the Visitors’ Bureau. She said 12 <br />a report was completed and asked staff if this report could be forwarded to the Town of 13 <br />Hillsborough. 14 <br />Chair Dorosin asked if the Town currently has a fiscal relationship with the museum. 15 <br />Margaret Hauth said the Town maintains the building, and makes it available to the 16 <br />museum at a rate of $1 per year, which is never collected. She said maintenance of this 17 <br />building ranges from $5,000-$15,000 per year. 18 <br />Commissioner Rich asked if the Town does fundraising to pay the museum staff. 19 <br />Town Commissioner Ferguson said it is not the Town’s museum. She said their salaries 20 <br />and operations budget are all fund raised; and the Town contribution is the building and the 21 <br />maintenance of the building only. 22 <br />Bonnie Hammersley said the County supports the museum through the yearly outside 23 <br />agency funding process. 24 <br />Commissioner Price said the museum is a good resource, an asset to the Town, and for 25 <br />all of Orange County. She said she is supportive of any help that Orange County would like to 26 <br />provide the museum. 27 <br />Chair Dorosin said it is important to think of this as a countywide museum, and asked if 28 <br />there is a timeline. 29 <br />Mayor Stevens said the Town received a presentation last fall from the museum board, 30 <br />which highlighted their needs. He said the goal tonight was to bring awareness to both boards, 31 <br />and he is not sure of a specific timetable. He said the museum wants to engage the whole 32 <br />community, and the Town and the BOCC are part of that engagement. He said he wants to 33 <br />see the two boards make a commitment of interest, and allow staff to continue the 34 <br />conversations. 35 <br />Town Commissioner Bell said he would like to see a commitment to socialize a variety 36 <br />of ideas. 37 <br />Commissioner Price said he spoke with Ernest Dollar, Museum Director, a few months 38 <br />ago, and he wanted to know if the County had any interest in being a partner with the museum. 39 <br />She said the building has been in dire condition for a long time, and has been shut down on 40 <br />various occasions. 41 <br />Commissioner Marcoplos said he has some ideas, and asked if there is a way to 42 <br />transmit them. 43 <br />Bonnie Hammersley said staff will take notes, and assign County staff to move forward 44 <br />with Town staff. 45 <br />Chair Dorosin said to forward any ideas to staff, including reaching out to the Register of 46 <br />Deeds, the library, the Historic Preservation Commission, etc. 47 <br /> 48 <br />b) Downtown Redevelopment 49 <br /> 50