Meramec Valley Historical Society

CITY OF PACIFIC Meramec Valley Historical Society Meeting 300 Hoven Dr Pacific, MO 63069 February 16, 2023 at 2:00p.m. Call to order: The regular meeting was called to order at 2:00 pm by Chairman Titter. Present for the Meramec Valley Historical Society: Jeff Titter, Donna Graham, Wayne Winchester Absent: Dennis Oliver, Bonnie Post City Staff: City Administrator Roth, Tourism Director O’Malley, Community Development Clerk Wilson, Environmental Exhibit Designer Derek Prior Approval of Minutes Motion by Donna Graham, seconded by Wayne Winchester to approve the minutes from February 8, 2023. A voice vote was taken with an affirmative result. Treasurer Report No new report Public Participation No public participation New Business a. Tourism Director O’Malley asked for approval to pay for a genealogy laptop from genealogy funds. They currently have $7,004 in the genealogy account. Chairman Titter voiced concerns about using money from the account with no plans on how to replenish it in the future. He said in the past they would make calendars or sell books as fundraisers. He asks where funding for genealogy will come from in the future now that they are a part of the city. Donna Graham said that she feels genealogy is being separated out from the historical museum now that they are located in the Winchester building. City Administrator Roth stated that when O’Malley brought him the request for the laptop, he was under the impression that it’s sole use was going to be for genealogy. Roth thought that made this a perfect project to use those genealogy funds. Chairman Titter said he has no problem using the genealogy funds for the laptop. He just would like to know moving forward as a part of the city where their funding would be coming from. Donna Graham said that she was under the impression that when the committee became a city committee that their money was going to be absorbed by the city. City Administrator Roth explained that the funds moved into a city account, but was ear marked specifically for genealogy. Everyone agreed that the committee has never had a huge need for funding. Roth said that this is the first-time funding has come up from this committee. Chairman Titter asked if the committee would have a line item on the upcoming budget. Roth suggested that the committee make a request for funding on the upcoming budget. It would go to the Aldermen for approval. Chairman Titter said that any budget requested would be for the committee as a whole including historical society and genealogy. Tourism Director O’Malley said that she requested City Clerk Kim Barfield to look back to 2018 to see how much money the 1  committee has spent over the years. She said they had spent $0 since 2018. O’Malley said that she was also going to be requesting them to approve the purchasing of new book cases. She said she felt there are many different ways for the committee to raise funds in the future. She said she cannot speak for the Board of Aldermen, but she cannot imagine them denying a reasonable request from this committee for future needs such as binders, etc. Chairman Titter would like to request the committee be on the budget in the future so as to secure the future of the committee. Motion by Donna Graham, seconded by Wayne Winchester to approve the invoice for the new genealogy computer to come out of the genealogy funds. A voice vote was taken with an affirmative result. b. Chairman Titter asks for approval to approve the sign design for Red Cedar Inn. Tourism Director O’Malley went over the different designs. She has had two quotes come back in. Both were a little over $6,000. One has neon lighting and the other quote is for LED rope lighting. Route 66 Association has told her that they are fine with LED as long as it is comparable to the old sign. She wanted to know if the committee is ok with the design so she can move forward or keep working on the design. Motion by Donna Graham, seconded by Wayne Winchester to approve the sign design. A voice vote was taken with an affirmative result. Old Business Chairman Titters starts up the conversation for the static portion of the museum. He says that the committee all received this and Bonnie Post had sent in a few corrections. Chairman Titter says the content is top notch and impressive. He understands there may be small corrections for grammar, but feels the over all content is good. Donna Graham said that she felt Derek had done an amazing job. Derek Prior did a quick run through of the panels for the committee. Motion by Donna Graham, seconded by Chairman Titter to approve the content for the static portion of the museum. A voice vote was taken with an affirmative result. Miscellaneous Tourism Director O’Malley had a request for 15 bookcases for the genealogy center. The cost would be $2,258.05. The recommendation would be for the money to come from the genealogy funds. Chairman Titter just wants to reiterate his concerns about funding and that it will be important to have a line item for the committee on the city budget. Motion by Donna Graham, seconded by Wayne Winchester to approve the new bookcases from genealogy funds. A voice vote was taken with an affirmative result. Adjournment Motion made by Donna Graham, seconded by Wayne Winchester. A voice vote was taken with an affirmative result. Meeting adjourned at 2:25 p.m. 2