I was at the village board meeting tonight and they were going to vote on adding money to the budget for the historical society.
I thought they were going to cut all the funding for it last year. If it doesn't get funded does it just close? What does the historical society do with all the money they get?
Does this town need a museum?
Can you or anyone tell us more about the discussion?
The board did cut the funding substantially in the effort to balance the budget, so it is a little odd to come back later and add it back on. I know the Historical Commission recently had a discussion about personnel matters. I think the paid person is still there, partially funded by the government (?) I think there was 12K left in the budget for them. I have heard the historical function has means of its own.
The museum has been there forever, staffed by volunteers and keeping the historical memory and records of the village. I don't know whether they have Friends of the Museum, fundraisers, or ever call for volunteers. I don't know what level of funding they have had over the years.
I do know the effort was made with the tax referendum to increase funding. I don't think the time was right for an idea like that.
Does anybody "need" a museum anywhere?
The historical aspect of Riverside is an asset, potentially a money-making one. I don't think the museum is in any danger of extinction, in any event.
I hope I can answer that question. My name is Michael Flight and I am a member of the Riverside Historical Commission. I do not speak for the Historical Commission or the Village of Riverside.
The Riverside Historical Museum and all of the wonderful collection of photographs, arrowheads, information, dog tags, an original lithograph of the Riverside Plan and most importantly 2 light fixtures from the Louis Sullivan designed Babson Estate (go see the Historical Museum exhibit in the Riverside Library) are the property of the Village of Riverside.
The Historical Commission is not a historical society or private endeavor. The commission is appointed by the Village President and voted on by the Board of Trustees.
The Historical Commission's Mission Statement is:
The Riverside Historical Commission collects, preserves and tells the story Riverside’s past through its museum collections, exhibits and educational programs.
All of the other commissions in the Village are advisory. The Historical Commission actually oversees and operates the Riverside Historical Museum. In the past the Commission had more of an archival focus. Many of the Commission members did fantastic research and organized the museum extremely well for an institution of its size. It is really incredible what they had accomplished.
In 2007 a museum director was hired and was the start of an attempt to change the of the museum from it research and collection focus to a more outward looking “How do we promote this rich history of Riverside to the community and the world?” focus.
In that short amount of time over $12,000 in donations were raised, an exhibit on William LeBarron Jenney was mounted, 2 grant applications were completed, a strategic planning process has been started (meetings are in the museum every Thursday at 4:00 pm and open to the public), a display case was installed at the Library (thank you Garden Club and Juniors for your generous contributions), a series of programs were held at the library last fall, a website was created and will not cost anything to the village for the next 3 years (thank you Chris Hajer for your skilled work and infinite patience), a very successful 2009 Calendar was printed and sold out raising $1,100 net to offset operating expenses. All this on top of the governance and management issues that have been fine tuned and are still being worked out.
There are many other things that I have forgotten but I wanted to point out we are the only commission that operates something and a requirement of all commission members has been a commitment to work a set amount of Saturdays per year at the museum.
The Riverside Museum can have two important functions at this particular crossroads in our future as a community.
First, the resources of the museum are a guide book for Village of Riverside residents, employees and elected officials to make informed decisions about our future by how the decisions of the past have impacted our present condition. Should we develop? Should we not develop? Should we save? Should we tear down? Will it cost money? How much will it cost us later? It is all there in our history of Riverside.
Next and more importantly, can the Riverside Historical Museum add revenues, visitors, stature and promote Riverside, Illinois? We (as in our entire community) have done an inadequate job of selling Riverside.
How many firsts has Riverside had? First settlement in Cook County outside Chicago. First stage coach stop on the way west. First sheriff of Cook County. FIRST PLANNED SUBURB IN THE COUNTRY and for that matter first T.O.D. in the country. The Arcade Building was the progenitor of the suburban shopping center. It was the first of its kind in the nation, it was invented here! The guy that invented the skyscraper designed our water tower and also lived here. Olmsted, Vaux, Wright, Sullivan, Jenney and Jens Jensen. All giants of design. Right here in Riverside.
I believe that the Riverside Historical Museum can be a tremendous asset towards improving the downtown and all the commercial property in Riverside. I believe the museum can help us grow and let our community and others know about our rightful place in history.
Yes there are costs to running the museum and at some point in the very near future it will be decided by the next village board weather it is worth those costs. That decision will also mean deciding what to do with the collection, buildings and equipment which are all owned by the Village of Riverside.
Do we need a museum, I say yes. We have more history here than in any other town in the Chicago area. We need to tell the story.
How do we fund it? That chapter in history is yet to be written.
Well said.
What is the annual cost of maintaining the archives, how much is privately and how much government funded? I ask this because I think you imply there might not be funds even for that. Could we not focus on maintaining the archives until finances permit more expansion? I know you have to spend money to make money, but, unlike the Federal government, we do not get to stimulate our economy with deficit spending.
I also believe the history, beauty and architecture of Riverside is an untapped revenue source.
Michael - can you post the Hist. Comm. budget here?
any results from the grant requests?
I must weigh in on the importance of seriously attempting to support the museum especially since it assists in exposing and enhancing the historical aspect of our town. We cannot throw out or mitigate that which distinguishes Riverside from other towns; else we would be more and more just another town along the tracks, which would erode our attractiveness or desirability to visit and to live.
There are other towns with good schools that are close to DT Chicago and Oak Brook, but there is only one Riverside with the history that Michael iterated above. Being informed of this history makes ambling around the meandering streets a more meaningful, a different experience than just going from point A to B. This asset of 'historical significance', which is at once tangible and intangible, I submit is one of the things that attract people here.
--Attracting two kinds of people: temporary visitors - restaurants, shops. And the other kind of people, and more important, people who want to buy our homes to live here. At the end of the day, we are pretty much a 'bedroom community' as far as acquiring revenue goes, so strong home values needs to be maintained.
So supporting the museum should be a part of the bone or muscle of our town's finances, and should be considered fiscally responsible to support, especially in the long run. Since the whole budget is one thing, we might have to get creative in another area to fund this area, as well as diligently attempting to find other revenue streams to fund this item. Creativity and thinking differently than before are the catchwords.
But good question, newblood. Every budget item should be looked at and justified, both from a short and long term point of view.
I don't think there was ever an intent not to fund the museum. It was increased funding and through a tax increase at this time that was voted down.
If the building or records themselves are in danger, that is something we should know. I am not hearing whether or not that is the case.
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