Museum Board

Platteville Museum Board MINUTES: Thursday, March 26, 2026, 4:45 PM – 6:45 PM at The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums Voting Members: (Quorum requires a minimum of 4 voting members) Board Liaison Larry Bowden Cody Grabhorn, Museum Director Dick Davies (President) Eugene Tesdahl Jamison Trustees: Joanne Wilson • Clare Bank (formerly State National Superintendent of Schools Bank): Deb McWilliams Representative: Garrett Jones • City Council: Steven Badger (Secretary) • Board of Education of Platteville School Common Council Rep.: Steven Badger District: Matt Zielinski Friends Representative: Deb Jenny PRESENT: Cody Grabhorn, Eugene Tesdahl, Joanne Wilson, Deb Jenny, Steven Badger, Dick Davies I. Call to Order o Approval of minutes from the February 18 meeting: Joanne Wilson moved to approve the minutes from the February 18, 2026 meeting. Steven Badger seconded. This passed by unanimous ballot. II. Collections Monthly Report (Christina Grev): Cody stepped in for Christina Grev. o Collections Report a) Items catalogued, 124 items catalogued in the month of February. 237 total in 2026 15, 898 total in PastPerfect b) One item (a women’s white jacket circa 1900) was proposed for accession. Christina Grev did not recommend accession this. Gene Tesdahl moved to follow this recommendation. Joanne Wilson seconded. This passed by unanimous ballot. c) Special Projects i) The Rollo Jamison Trust fully approved deaccession list. If other museums do not want any of these items, they will proceed with an auction on May 2. ii) She made resign sunshine lamps for the miner mannequins. iii) She organized textile items. III. Director’s Monthly Report (Cody Grabhorn) o Museum Progress Report a) Attendance, Education, and Programs • General public visitation (Feb): 20 • 118 is the total for the month of March to date. Please contact Cody Grabhorn at (608) 348-3301 or museumdirector@platteville.org if you are unable to attend or if attendance requires special accommodation.  • Mary Elise Antoine Winter Speaker Series: 59 • Teachers Open House: Feb. 26, 2026. No teachers showed up, but will continue to rework this in the future. • Field trip reservations are up for 2026. b) Operations • Grants o IMLS – Submitted a grant for professional development. $20, 086. McCullough Creative in Dubuque should fabricate a new exhibit. o PCF – Due April 15: Applying for items in the teaching collection including goods for young pioneers day camp to $800. • Finished Grant Projects – Exhibit clothing for kids will be able to try on clothing in the museum. • Get to Know Your Museum Campaign: This month these social media posts have focused on collections including bug traps and humidity controls. • Walking Tour: New for 2026 is a walking tour in line with the strategic plan that will guide visitors from City Park to the museums and down to the Empire Mine Site on the Rountree Branch Trail. • Boxing Squirrels Vitrine: This item is underway by McCullough Creative. It is not yet complete. • Visiting Curator Project – UWP students: “A Walk Through Town: Interpretive Exhibit” This will integrate birds-eye view maps and other primary document imagery. • Sigma Pi and Sig Tau offering help with museum projects: This includes the attic cleaning project. Another task will be garden maintenance. • Deaccession process with Jamison Trustee • Community partners – Galena Shakespeare Festival is looking for larger spaces to put on a play, possibly in the backyard of the museum. The Dubuque Miners Football may consider a photo shoot at the museums. • 8000 brochures will be distributed throughout the region. c) Buildings and Grounds • Attic object relocation project • Windows: Major window restoration continues. David Wadsworth is a preservationist who specializes in historic windows. • Hanmer Robbins Furnace: The fan inside this seized up in late February. Bill’s plumbing repaired this. This work was not yet invoiced. • Train Gas: 70 gallons of 91 octane gas have been ordered at $4.49 per gallon. This should cover the need for the entire summer. • Exit lights: Casey Pickle (fire inspector) suggested that an electrician examine these lights. Several must be replaced. A replacement plan will start with 4 exit lights leading to eventually replacing all 14. • Staffing structure conversations: The facilities tech position is still in need of replacement. Platteville Public Library and the Mining and Rollo  Jamison museums would like to partner on sharing a full-time maintenance/janitorial position. The position would be managed under the maintenance department of the city of Platteville. A periodic cost allocation from the city will cover this essential position. This is the preferred change. • The Mining and Rollo Jamison Museum Board endorses the plan to partner with the Platteville Public Library on a shared maintenance/custodial position so long as the budgets of both institutions remain at the same level of funding. Joanne Wilson moved to approve the sending of this statement to the city manager and the administration director. Deb Jenny seconded. This passed by unanimous ballot. d) Strategic Plan Progress Report • See attached strategic plan progress report IV. Friends of the Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums/Subcommittees Report (Deb Jenny) Miner’s Ball went well on February 21, 2026. Mini Golf Event: This event went very well on March 7 The Pasty Sale is going on until mid-April. V. Old Business o City Manager transition plan still in process. VI. New Business The UW-Platteville Alumni Foundation Board would like to set up a tour during their June meeting. Bridget Wallace is the new director of this entity. VII. Adjournment Joanne Wilson moved to adjourn. Steven Badger seconded. This passed by unanimous ballot. Next meeting: Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 4:45 PM – 6:45 PM at The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums.