COMMUNITY AND FIRE SERVICES COMMITTEE
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Barbara M. Roth, Director, Recreation and Culture Services
	PREPARED BY:	George Phillips, Manager, Museum
	DATE OF MEETING:	2004-June-7
	SUBJECT:	Approval for Receipt and Use of Federal Museums Assistance Program Grant

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report entitled Approval for Receipt and Use of Federal Museums Assistance Program Grant be received;

And that Council approve the objectives for the project, as outlined in this report;

And that the Museum be authorized to allocate portions of its approved operating and capital budget allocations to support the work outlined in this report;

And further that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to sign the agreement required to receive the approved Museum Assistance Program funds in the amount of $38,000, such agreement to be subject to the approval of the Town Solicitor.

PURPOSE:

To inform Council regarding the Museum’s proposal to

· conduct a thorough collections evaluation

· prepare the current collections records for transfer from the current handwritten records to a database, including digital images of selected objects and archival information

· develop an accurate estimate of the actual collections storage space requirement

· identify objects and archives that should not continue to occupy valuable collections storage space

To obtain Council approval to direct portions of the approved operating and capital budget allocations to support the work outlined in this report.

To obtain approval to have the Mayor and Clerk execute the agreement required to receive the MAP grant funds.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

On May 23, 2003, Council approved a proposal to reallocate funds from the Ward Building roof replacement capital account to a building audit and technical and functional study of the Ward Building. Part of the study was to examine the feasibility of a retrofit to the Ward Transportation Exhibit Building to create a central storage area for collections and archival materials and a curatorial work area for conservation, object preparation and research.

During this study of storage needs, staff will begin an upgrade of the collection management system from handwritten records to a database that includes digital images of selected objects and archival information.

In October, 2003, an application for a grant was submitted to the Museums Assistance Program. A grant in the amount of $38,000 has been approved in support of the Centralized Collections Facility project. Funding of the project includes allocating to this project monies already approved as part of the Town’s operating and capital budgets.

BACKGROUND:

Council at its meeting held on May 23, 2003, approved that the Ward Building receive a comprehensive facility evaluation to an upset limit of $50,000. An RFP was issued to invite proponents to

• conduct a building audit to assess the current condition of the Ward Building and its suitability for adaptation to a museum services and collections centre meeting Federal Class A Museum Standards

• develop a technical and functional study based first on the determination of the existing condition of the Ward Building and second on the size and scope of museum collections to be relocated to the Ward Building

The RFP was awarded LORD Cultural Resources Planning and Management Inc. in the proposed amount of $49,998.96 inclusive of 7% GST and disbursements ($48,129.84 inclusive of 3% GST and disbursements). The consultants commenced work April 1, 2004.

The state of the Museum’s documentation for its collections is important not only because it has a direct bearing on how well the Museum fulfils its public trust responsibilities and its mission, but it also would make any study of the space and facilities requirement to properly house the collection far less accurate. Without an accurate inventory of the collections, their type and sensitivity, it could lead to either a too large or too small building being recommended by the consultants conducting the Ward Building evaluation.

The Manger submitted a Museum Assistance Program (Federal Department of Canadian Heritage) grant application to obtain funds to conduct a full collections inventory and evaluation. The application identified the work plan and allocation of $50,000 from the aforementioned roof maintenance project approved by Council May 23, 2003, to assess the condition of the Ward Building and to develop a technical and functional program for the creation of a single facility to store the entire Museum collection in one location. The application also forecasted the use of summer student funding to be applied for and received in 2004. In addition the application proposed the allocation of established full-time and part-time wages together with some materials and supplies expense as a portion of the required matching requirement in order for the grant proposal to receive consideration.

The proposal has been adjudicated and has received approval for the full $38,000 requested. In this type of grant, it is necessary for the municipality to use existing budget money as matching funds. If Council approves the manner of the allocation of matching funds from the Museum’s operating and capital budgets and the proposed additional work that may be undertaken through this project, it will be necessary to execute a contribution agreement with the Department of Canadian Heritage to secure the funds granted.

In addition to auditing the condition and capacity of the Ward Transportation Building or a replacement central collections storage structure, the Museum plans to upgrade its collection management system from handwritten records to a database that includes digital images of selected objects and archival information – this information is to become accessible to on-line visitors in partnership with the Markham Public Libraries, Heritage Markham and the Varley Art Gallery.

The collections of Markham Museum are currently stored in approximately 18 building locations on-site. Most of those areas are unsuited for the purpose as outlined in the Canadian Conservation Institute’s Guidelines for Storage of Artefacts. The current state of collection storage at this site falls below the standard set out by the CCI and the Standards for Collections, Research and Conservation as set by the Ontario Ministry and Regulation 877 – Grants for Museums. Further, the ICOM Code of Professional Ethics 6.2 clearly outlines the Museum Professional’s obligation and responsibility to ensure that all items accepted are properly and fully documented to facilitate provenance, identification, condition and treatment. Our collections are precariously close to total loss in some areas.

The intent is to move close to 130,000 artefacts and archival documents from basements and attics in 18 buildings spread over 25 acres to a safe, accessible, centrally located environment. The hope is to accomplish this with professional consultants to guide in the assessment of the existing building envelope.

The plan to retrofit or substantially replace the Ward Transportation Building will be one step in a comprehensive Master Plan that will set the direction for the Museum’s programming and operations over the next five years. The retrofit of the Ward Building will facilitate a better understanding and interpretation of the Museum’s mission of education, programming and service to the community.

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

The schedule of work has to date concentrated on the building science assessment. If Council approves this proposal relevant information concerning the actual size and scope of the collection will be available to the planners prior to the development of specific recommendations.

If Council does not approve the receipt of the federal funding the Museum will inform the minister and the funding will be granted to the project receiving the second highest rating for funding by the adjudicators.

A fundamental overhaul of the registration and catalogue system will not be possible within the Museum’s current budget, although the Musuem may be able to accomplish some of the work related to evaluation of the collections utilizing the summer students funded by specific federal and provincial programs.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The total project budget as presented in the grant application is $133,000.

As described above the grant application proposed will utilize funding principally from the allocation approved for the basic technical evaluation of the Ward Building. Other matching funds were to be allocated from the approved operating budget applied to the project.

The assumptions for allocation of wages from the part-time Collections Assistant and the Museum Manager are based on an estimate of the time those two budgeted positions would allocate to the project to advise and supervise the work in addition to the time required for grants administration.

Funds for RFP 174-R-03 Museum Collections and Service Centre Building Evaluation and Design (Ward Building) was provided from Asset Management’s 2002 Capital Budget account # 56 5350 4702 005 Roofing Maintenance as approved by Council at its May 27, 2003, meeting.

The remaining balance of $52,374.09 in Asset Management’s 2002 Capital Budget account # 56 5350 4702 005 roofing maintenance be made available for other roofing maintenance projects as approved.

		MAP Grant		Town of Markham
Ward Building evaluation	Funded in 2003 Capital re RFP 174-R-03			$50,000
Summer Students	Funded by $5,242 in student grants 520-520-3010 $8,318 part-time wages (same account)			$5,242 $8,318
Project Staff	Funded from part-time wages 520-520-3010 for Curatorial Assistant Museum Manager from 520-998-3006			$12,000 $17,000
Project Materials	Museum operating 520-520-4270			$2,440
Grant		$38,000
TOTAL		$38,000		$95,000
GRAND TOTAL			$133,000

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Finance

Legal

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix “A” – Letter from Judith A. Larocque, Deputy Minister

Department of Canadian Heritage

Barbara M. Roth, R.D.M.R. Director, Recreation and Culture Services

Jim Sales Commissioner of Community and Fire Services

Q:\Recreation\SITES\SIT010\Reports\MAP Grant Report 3.doc