The South Cariboo Historical Museum Society—which operates the Clinton Museum—and the Village of Clinton are both looking for ways to move forward, after the announcement at the February 28 meeting of Clinton council that the Village would not be providing a $10,000 Grant in Aid to the society as requested. Instead, staff were requested by council to work with the society to enter into a three-year contract to provide museum and visitor information services.
The financial request was denied because it was deemed that it did not meet the Village’s Grant in Aid policy criteria. The decision caused long-time society member and museum volunteer Andrew May to step down as president of the society and resign from the board, and has caused considerable confusion and hard feeling.
“The whole situation is somewhat disturbing,” May tells The Journal. “The museum is not just another not-for-profit group. It’s the soul of the Village, and an essential focus.
“The reality is that Clinton’s population is shrinking, like that of other small towns. The museum gives us a ‘Once we were giants’ collective memory that we can share. And the economic prospects of the South Cariboo are not good. As a community we don’t have a lot of things pulling us together.”
He adds that he doesn’t think anyone on council wants to close the museum. “But they [council] seem to have taken the responsibility for dealing with the museum and handed it over to the CAO [Monika Schittek], who has no connection to the Village of Clinton and takes everything down to dollars and cents.
“It’s their duty to manage the Village’s finances. But there seems to be no real appreciation for the museum.”
Clinton councillor Wayne Marchant, who has taken over from Cllr. Diana Guerin as council’s representative at the Clinton Historical Museum Society board, tells The Journal that “Council feels very strongly about the museum. It’s the most important tourist attraction in the whole town. I think Monika does care, and we’ve tried to instil in her how important [the museum] is. I think she understands that.”
May disagrees. “We’ve had four meetings with the CAO, and she doesn’t seem to get it.” He adds that the lack of warning about the denial of the funding request meant that the decision came as a complete shock.
“We weren’t told that they were pulling the funding. It would only have taken a few seconds [in advance of the February 28 meeting] for a quick phone call or email saying ‘Hey, we’re pulling your funding, but we have a plan.’”
He says that while the Grant in Aid policy was changed to its current form in 2014, the society still received grants in aid after that: $7,500 in 2014, $5,000 in both 2015 and 2016, and $10,000 in 2017. “We thought [that meant] we were somehow exempt. Volunteers have put thousands and thousands of hours into the museum, and council has been a huge support for the 53 years that there’s been a museum. It’s been an ongoing relationship, so when the Grant in Aid request was rejected it was a shock.
“We understand that times are tight, but they said that ‘Last year we gave you money for two years.’ They forgot to tell us that [in 2017]. I believe that the phenomenal work of dedicated volunteers over the years is being disrespected, and that we were at least owed the courtesy of someone telling us ‘We’re pulling your funding but we have an alternative.’
“We’re not going after the taxpayers for money, but we’re asking if the Village can at least give us some administrative support to help us. I understand there is a Plan B, but they haven’t shared that with us.”
Marchant points out that the society only asked for $5,000 in 2017, and that it was his suggestion to increase it to $10,000. He adds that at a recent budget meeting, it was noted that the Village of Clinton provides some $16,000 in yearly funding to the society, excluding a Grant in Aid.
“The Village owns the museum building, so there is rent in lieu, Hydro, Internet, and more. This year there’s a line item in the budget for $7,000 for the museum. Council has said to the CAO over and over that we can’t leave the museum in the lurch.”
Marchant says that the Village is committed to helping the society get grants to help with funding. “That’s the ultimate goal, and staff are working to try to get grants from BC Gaming, the Heritage Branch, and others. The society has received $1,100 from the Canadian Red Cross, and we’re hoping they ask for more. And they received a $3,000 donation from a private citizen.”
May says that they did not hear about the $3,000 donation—which was made in late 2017—for several months. “We only got it after all this blew up [the donation was formally announced to the society in a letter from the Village dated March 29, 2018]. We really appreciate it—don’t get me wrong—but $3,000 is a significant percentage of our gross annual budget, and they should have had the courtesy to tell us about it. All they had to do was talk to us.
“I understand the Village is out looking for financial assistance [for the museum] but they haven’t talked to us. They seem to want to make it about the money instead of asking us how we can work together.”
Marchant says May makes a good point about communication. “Communication needs to be improved, so maybe it’s partly our fault. We hit them with [the idea for] the three-year plan thing, and maybe that should have been communicated better.
“We only had a 45-second discussion [about the Grant in Aid on February 28], but I was under the impression that a three-year contract was a better way to go, as it would provide sustainability so the society knows what they’re getting. Maybe we should have asked more questions about the plan, but we never felt at all that we were cutting off the museum.
“We felt that better ways could be found for sustainability and succession. It’s how we all felt. And it was heartbreaking to read Andy’s piece in The Clinton Lariat [in which May announced his resignation]. Please don’t think we don’t care.”
May wants to ensure that Clinton is remembered for its museum. “I care deeply. Our past matters. That’s all we’ve got. I like to think that with the museum we have something that people can be proud of. People love to hear the old stories, and have a chance to look back.
“The museum can bring that time alive, and can—and hopefully will—continue to be the premier tourist attraction in Clinton. I think it’s been well-managed by volunteers, who’ve done an incredibly good job over the years of keeping history alive. If we keep up these little internal battles, the whole town loses.”
editorial@accjournal.ca
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