Board of Trustees

Oakland Museum Of California Board Of Trustees Business Meeting Minutes-
Meeting Minutes/Annual Meeting Minutes
May 22, 2008-To be approved at the Sept. 25 2008 Mtg.
MUSEUM RESTAURANT
4:00 P. M. – 5:00 P.M.

ROLL CALL

Trustees

Steven Anderson, Dale Block, Brian Cherry, Ralph Clark, Christopher Curtis, Quinn Delaney, Richard Edwards, Lori Fogarty, Virginia Furth, Lance Gyorfi, Joseph Hurwich, Jerry Johnston, Jacqueline Kane, Anita Martinez, John McDonnell, Christopher McLain, Marianne Robison, Katherine Shea, Bruce Westphal, Sandra Wolf, and Sheryl Wong.

Trustees Excused:

John Bowe, Susan Chamberlin, Richard DeAtley, Steven Douglas, Anthony Harris, Tamra Hege, Joseph Hurwich, Harold Jones, Steven Read, Margaret Russell, and Penelope Wong

Staff Present:

Ann Dickson, Dorothy Hood, Mark Medeiros, and Louise Pubols.

Volunteers Present:

Lois Corrin, and Yvonne McCredie, .

Guests Present:

Linda Crittondon

1. CALL TO ORDER/INTRODUCTIONS – Sheryl Wong
Chair Wong called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m., welcomed all visitors, and thanked the Guilds and Councils for all that they do for the museum.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – Sheryl Wong
On a motion duly made and seconded (McLain/McDonnell), the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

RESOLVED, the April 24, 2008 Board of Trustees meeting minutes are approved as mailed.

3. CHAIR'S REPORT – Sheryl Wong
Chair Wong reminded trustees to remit their Board Retreat fee and their Annual Gift, if they have not done so already.

4. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT – Lori Fogarty
Executive Director Fogarty announced the openings of Cool Remix and Birth of the Cool exhibitions. The Birth of the Cool exhibition has received much media attention and very good reviews.

In an effort to work with and keep the local and state government representatives informed, Ms. Fogarty reported she made a presentation before the City of Oakland’s Life Enrichment Committee regarding the renovation of museum the galleries and other projects. The report was well received by the Committee. In addition, Ms. Fogarty and trustees Sheryl Wong and Harold Jones, along with Isaac Kos Read of Townsend Public Affairs, went to Sacramento and visited many politicians or their representatives. These visits were also very well received.

Chair Wong said the Gala was the best ever including the very successful auction. There were unprecedented numbers of tables purchased by trustees and corporations and staff was thanked for all of their diligence. Trustees Dale Block and Rich Edwards were thanked for making the Gala such a successful event and, in appreciation, Ms. Wong and Ms. Fogarty presented them with gifts. Trustee Katherine Shea also thanked Ms. Block and Mr. Edwards and presented them with jazz albums recorded in the 1960’s.

5. FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT – Rich Edwards
Mr. Edwards reviewed the proposed budget for fiscal year 2008-09. One major change is in admission income, as visitorship is expected to be down about 25% to 30% in the coming year because of the closed galleries. If only the Natural Sciences Gallery is open and the Great Hall is not open during the renovations, the museum admission price will be lowered. Also, closing the museum just before the reopening of the galleries is being considered so that staff can prepare for a grand re-opening and thorough facility preparation.

The City of Oakland intends to decrease the amount it contributes to the museum’s budget for FY2008/2009 by $200,000, which would be secured through vacancies in existing positions. Every effort will be made not to cut staff during the expected budget crunch. The City is currently negotiating salary increases with the Unions and, while agreement has not been reached, the City is proposing to freeze salaries at the existing level. The Foundation would need to determine if it aligns itself with the City’s practice, as has been the case in the past, or award a small cost-of-living increase. The proposed budget includes a contingency for this option. The Finance Committee recommends that any net revenue above the budgeted $200,000 in income from the Gala be restricted as carry-over for education programs in the 2008-09 year. This practice would allow an “evening out” between years when there is no Gala.

Deputy Director Mark Medeiros added that within the next 30 to 60 days staff would begin working on the following year’s 2009-2010 budget. Also, the Development Department is projected to raise more funds next year than in the prior year, thanks to the appointment of a new Director of Development, and the City of Oakland will contribute $100,000 towards the $110,000 FY2008/09 budgeted for Conservation Services due to captured savings from security costs.

In response to questions on specific areas, it was noted that Professional Services revenues reflect income from exhibitions installed at the Oakland Airport and in Shorenstein City Center buildings. The department was also paid a fee for the services of exhibit designer, Kaoru Kitagawa, for designing the Birth of Cool exhibit. In contributed revenue, it was noted that many companies made gifts to the Gala this year and we will work to maintain their annual support next year.

On a motion duly made and seconded (Wolfe/Furth), the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

RESOLVED, that the Oakland Museum of CA Foundation’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2008/2009 budget be approved.

Budget assumptions will be reviewed on a month-to-month basis now that all departments turn in budgets on a monthly basis. Staff was commended for their excellent work on the budget as the process required a lot of time.

6. COMMITTEE ON TRUSTEES – Dale Block
Trustee Block presented the following candidates for election to the Board of Trustees:

Kellie Abreu
Mike Moye
Jennifer Walker
Robert Wilkins
Winston Wilkinson
John Wyro

Trustee Block presented the following Trustees as candidates for reelection to a second term:

Dale Block
Susan Chamberlin
Richard Edwards
Sandra Wolfe
Sheryl Wong

On a motion duly made and seconded (McDonnell/Gyorfi) the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

RESOLVED, that all candidates are elected/reelected and each is to serve a three-year term commencing July 1, 2008 and ending June 30, 2011.

7. GOVERNANCE TASK FORCE – Christopher McLain
Trustee McLain reported members of the Governance Task Force created the agenda for the Board and Staff Retreat in May. The Task Force reviewed suggestions made by participants at the retreat and used the suggestions to create a report that recommended priorities for the Board. The report was distributed at the meeting and Mr. McLain reviewed the items that were recommended as major priorities for board action and activity in the next 12 to 18 months. Some of the projects recommended as priorities are the capital campaign; launch and reintroduction of new museum; long-term financial planning; public/private partnership planning; and long-term initiatives around endowment support and collection development. The Task Force also made three major recommendations for governance enhancements.

The next steps are to assign the recommendations to various committees or sub-committees, decide if a recommendation should be assigned to an ad hoc committee or a regular committee, and to assign chairs to the committees. It was suggested that potential Board candidates be asked to sit on some of the committees as well as guild and council chairs and staff.

8. WOMEN’S BOARD REPORT – Tamra Hege
Trustee Virginia Furth gave the report on behalf of Ms. Hege, who was out of town. At the May meeting, the Women’s Board approved awarding $95,000 for Phase I of the museum’s website redesign project. In 2008-2009 the Women’s Board will give $100,000 to the Capital Campaign for a total of $850,000 given to the Campaign. A total of $37,000 will be added to the Acquisition Fund and $602,600 is available for museum projects through the grant process.

9. ADJOURNEMENT – Sheryl Wong
There being no further business Chair Wong adjourned the meeting at 4:55 p.m

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Christopher McLain
Secretary