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**KarinTimour** · 02-28-2009, 01:13 PM

Re: Oregon City Museums In Danger!

Dear Micaila:

I join you in wanting to keep the museums open. And I've made the calls and sent the emails you're asking for. But the important first step is to determine where to apply the pressure.

You're asking for calls to the City and county. But are they in a position to help, and keep the museums open? Who identified that the calls should go there? Do they have the money to take these properties over?

I suspect that this is a financial burden that is far bigger than their budgets can manage. Personally, I suspect you'll need to appeal to the Governor and the Legislature to reach government with enough funds to address the problem.

What I've found out so far from websites and a few fast google searches:

Clackamas Historical Partners is a private company, incorporated in 2008 with estimated "sales" of $800,000. There are 47 people employed there, which suggests a fairly expensive payroll. In addition to running the three museums you mention, do they run other museums in Oregon? Are they planning on closing all their holdings or just these three and laying off the interpretive staff? Are they closing entirely and going out of business?

Are they planning to sell the museums and land?

If the Board of Directors have decided to close the organization, that probably can't be halted by calls to the Mayor or the city council.

However, there are a few points that suggest themselves where you might be able to put pressure to save the museums. The Board of Directors includes clear involvement of state and local government. The Governor has control over a seat on the board (Joyce Cohen is identified as a former State Senator and "Special Representative of the Governor"). Oregon City Commissioner James Nicita also has a seat on the Board, along with Wade Byers, the Mayor of Gladstone.

How much money is needed to keep them open? Is it just that they need operating funds? I don't know how big the Oregon City budget is, are they financially big enough to take on this number of staff? What's the position of the Governor?

Sincerely,
Karin Timour
Period Knitting -- Socks, Sleeping Hats, Balaclavas
Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.com

**Micaila** · 02-28-2009, 06:56 PM

Re: Oregon City Museums In Danger!

Karin,
I must be honest, I am passing this info on from a friend of mine who works at one of the museums. I will pass your questions on to her and let you know any further information she can give me.

Micaila

**KarinTimour** · 03-01-2009, 10:51 AM

Re: Oregon City Museums In Danger!

Dear Micaila:

I may be wrong, but I suspect that what happened was your friend and the other employees, hearing that their jobs would end in a week, that their employer was going out of business just tried to think of who they could contact to keep things the way they have been. Perhaps Clackamas Heritage Partners even said in their meeting with their employees "the buildings and land are likely to be taken over by the city."

And they were hoping that if enough people called the city government, that they could just keep their jobs and go on as before.

Again, I"m just reading between the lines and probably not doing a good job of it.

I'm sorry to say that I personally don't think that it's likely that the city will take over the business and they'll keep their jobs and just go on as before with the City as their employer. If it does, it will probably be months before it's settled out, and in the meantime, no one is going to be paid.

I've been thinking a lot about your friend and her situation overnight, and here's my completely unsolicited advice:

Long term:
1. Rest assured, the Governor knows that Clackamas Heritage Partners has decided to close. He's got a represenntative on the board, and has probably been briefed on what's been going on there for months.

2. If the land and buildings are taken over by the state, the city or some joint venture crafted by the two, it will take months to sort out. During that time the staff are likely to remain laid off. Some skeletal crew may be hired back, but unless your friend has a vital position (like fundraiser, or maintenance crew to keep the buildings sound), she's likely not going to be hired back until things get better with the economy.

3. People who want to do organizing to save the buildings/museums need to get some really basic information in hand. Here's some of the things I'd be wanting if I were in this fight:

How much money is needed? What alternatives can we propose that don't involve closing the buildings and selling them outright?

a. How much money would we need to keep keep the buildings sound, if we close them to visitors and don't let anyone visit?

b. How much if we had them open on an appointment basis only?

c. How much to keep them open on a rotating schedule, say one building a week or one a day and have each assigned a day, so that none were open all week, but we could rotate the interpretive staff from one site to the next and offer a small handful part-time work with no benefits?

Come up with a range of alternatives and then decide on what you want to ask for so that you've got a unified message. Tell your supporters to all ask for the same things. If you tell people to "just call" without telling them what to say, the politicians will get a range of messages, from "don't sell the land" to "keep it as it was" and everything in between. In terms of saving the museum, this is worse than no calls to politicians at all. Politiicans are always weighing "What action will likely get me the most votes in the next election while annoying/alienating the fewest people who oppose that measure?" If they get a cascade of unfocused calls, that translates to them as "Unorganized voters in a panic, I'll sit on my hands until the mud settles and I can see what the clear alternatives are."

The reality is that most of the time the people lead, the politicians follow. You and the people who want to keep the museums open have to put together a do-able alternative to closing the museums. You need to know how much that will cost, how much money is in hand and how much is needed, and if you can line up some people (besides one government entity), to meet some of that bill, you've got a better chance of making it. A contribution from the Oregon City budget, plus a smaller contribution from the town of Gladstone, a share to come from the state coffers, some smaller contributions from corporate partners, and the remainder to be raised by a public fund drive, like the ones that your local public radio station puts on. A well thought out plan will get much more serious consideration by the government entitities, and it gives them some wiggle room to figure out a way to swing their end of it.

4. Who are our natural allies?
Who is interested in keeping the museums open and is willing to fight to have that happen? The employees certainly, what about the schools who used to send school trips there? Teachers, parents, kids themselves. Was there a list of "museum members" -- people who paid a fee to have an annual membership to support the museum? Who has the list and how can you get in touch with those people? Since Clackamas Heritage Partners had representatives of business and local government on it's board, someone at those corporate offices thought that it showed involvement in the community to support the organization. Some of those business partners might be willing to help fight to keep the museums open or at least stop a sale of the land going through. Wells Fargo and several other entities were listed. Go print off the list of the members of the board of directors before the websites go blank.

Are there other museums in the area that would be willing to put out a call to their memberships asking for help? Reenactment groups, living history organizations, even wedding planners, if they were using the museums to host wedding receptions. Who will miss these museums if they fold?

5. Who will be opposed to what we want?
And don't say "no one" because there is always someone who will be opposed to any plan you put forward. Perhaps some of the employees who don't want to deal with any of this, just want their jobs back and will publicly go before the newspapers to say that what you're trying to organize "won't work." Maybe other museums in the area will oppose you, worrying that money that they might have shared will be divered to save your museum. Maybe some of the other people who want things from state or city coffers will fight you to keep you from making the slices of the pie smaller. Maybe the public who have lost their own jobs and who don't see any value in museums will argue that "museums are a frill we just can't afford in these tough times." You need to think through what their arguments will be and have a counter argument ready.

6. When does the fiscal year start for the state and city? In New York, the fiscal year starts April 1, and all the local communities that get funds from the state capital to help pay for schools, police, etc. also start their fiscal years at that point. That means that the month of March is a giant mud wrestling match in our state capital, and in a smaller way in our local government, as every organization tries to guard their slice of the pie, and attempts to raise the volume to the legislature and the Governor about why their slice should be larger this year.

If April 1 is the start of your fiscal year, it may be that Clackamas Heritage Partners decided to pull the plug now so that there was an opportunity to get in there before April 1 and make a stand. Or perhaps they did it so that you'd have so little lead time nothing could be done in time. Or maybe they were really hoping to do some behind the scenes deal making and the Legislature told them in a smoky room last week that there wasn't a chance of it.

That doesn't mean you should lose heart. If you can figure out what you want, and get people quickly mobilized to fight, you might be able to change the equation. But it won't be immediate, or easy and it's going to take a few weeks to know whether it's even possible.

Which leads me to advice for your friend's own sitatuion. She should assess how much time she can sink into the fight. Does she have other sources of income (like a husband or family) who can pay her rent? If Clackamas Heritage Partners is going out of business, she's not going to have the option to take her health insurance through COBRA continuation. Is there a state program that she can qualify for to pay for healthcare? What are her fixed expenses, and how much does she have saved? How long does it take in your area to a) register for unemployment b) how much is the check and c) how long from the time she files the paperwork until the money starts coming through? What short-term job options are open? If she's got skills and education, think about what is out there, get her resume together and get it in the hands of people who can help.

Plan for the worst while hoping for the best. If she's got savings, she can maybe be part of the fight for the museums for a few months. But she can't wait until she's down to her last few dollars, because unemployment a) isn't that much and b) doesn't start immediately. With the recent stimulus package, she'll be eligible for unemployment for a longer period, and your state might make some health care programs available to pay for healthcare. She needs to find out ASAP what the options are in the short term, because frankly, not knowing a thing about the local politics, from where I sit it doesn't look likely that her job with the museum is going to be coming back any time soon.

I hope I"m wrong, but I wanted to share those thoughts in hopes that they will be helpful for her.

Sincerely,
Karin Timour
Period Knitting -- Socks, Sleeping Hats, Balaclavas
Atlantic Guard Soldiers Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.clom

**Micaila** · 03-01-2009, 12:07 PM

Re: Oregon City Museums In Danger!

Karin,
Thank you so much. This information is incredibly helpful. I will pass this all on to her. It will give her a much better idea of where to go from here.
She was doing mostly volunteer work at the site and is less concerned about losing her job and more concerned about losing good historical museums in this part of the country.
I will pass this on to her and keep you updated on her plans. I will also update this as we work out a better plan of action. I can see now that I was a bit hasty in slapping this info up and begging for help.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful, honest replies. You have given us both a lot to think about and we will do our best not to screw this up.
Micaila

**Micaila** · 03-01-2009, 12:16 PM

Re: Oregon City Museums In Danger!

Karin,
I just received a response from my friend, Heidi, and this is her understanding of the situation:

Yes, the City and County are in a position to help. They are the driving force behind this. David Porter, our organization head was the one to point them out as contact points.

The reason this happened (to my understanding, which is more limited than others granted) is that the city encouraged Clackamas Heritage Partners to invest a large sum of money into a city project. We were promised that that money would be refunded, but now, after we spent the money toward the city investment, they are withdrawing the money that had been promised.

There is already a lump sum that should belong to us, and if they give it to us, we will be able to re-open. The meeting is to decide whether that money goes to CHP or if it goes into a pot for social services and things like that.

Clackamas Heritage Partners will not cease to exist as it is to complicated for that, but the three sites will shut down and all their employees will be laid off. We have been told in no uncertain terms that we are not closing, just �suspending operations.� We just don�t know how permanent the suspension is. At the moment, to my understanding, David Porter, our head is taking no salary, we have cut 6 part time positions and the whole organization is being run on a bare bones staff.

Mr. Porter went around to raise the $100,000 we need to stay open and found $50,000 available to us if we can match the other $50,000. It�s not much in the grand scheme of things really and the whole problem will go away if the city decides to give us the money that was promised in the first place.

So short answer, yes, the city and county DO have control over this situation and that�s where the pressure needs to be applied.

-Heidi

I hope this helps clarify the situation.
Thank you again,
Micaila

**KarinTimour** · 03-01-2009, 02:44 PM

Re: Oregon City Museums In Danger!

Dear Heidi and Micaila:

So just to recap:

1. The museums are supending operations, laying off staff. Not selling the land or getting rid of the buildings.

2. The Partnership gave/invested a substantial amount of money into a deal with the City, which was going to provide some benefit to both parties. Now, not only is that not going to happen, the investment made by the Partnership is pretty much lost, and that is crippling the Partnership's ability to continue operations.

3. Without $100,000 they have to lay people off.

4. The Executive Director has already located $50,000 of the $100,000 needed.

5. He has announced to the staff that without $50,000 from the city, operations have to be suspended and they will lose their jobs next week.

6. The City says that the money is needed for social service programs.

If the above are a clear grasp of the problem, that makes things much clearer.

Here are some thoughts:

Good news first.

1. You're right, this is a very small amount of money that is needed. The ED says he needs $100,000 and he's already lined up $50,000 of it. That's good information and needs to be front and center in your discussions with the public.

2. While the ED wants to raise money from the city, it's also possible that all the volunteers and staff could help to raise $50,000 from the public at large if the City digs in it's heels.

Food for thought:

3. While the city may be the easiest place with big bucks immediately available, how likely are they to meet this demand, given that they've already swallowed the "investment" that they got from the Partnership?

4. You all need to be able to clearly and coherently explain what the "investment in the city" was. That part looks cloudy and unclear. How much money went from the partnership to the city and why? What was expected to be the payoff for the Partnership? What was the project, and how much money did the Partnership risk/invest? What was being built by the city or started by the city that needed this money?

5. Is Clakamas Heritage Partners a for-profit organization or a non-for-profit? Frankly, I've spent most of my career working for non-profits and state government, and I've never heard of a not-for-profit "investing" in a city project. I'm not the world's expert on finance, however, so there might be some kind of joint venture that was being worked out.

6. With that money gone missing, and several government representatives on the board, rest assured that if there is any question of shady dealing in the decision to "invest" in the city, there will be a blizzard of finger pointing that will tie up any forward movement on raising the $50,000 for months if not years.

7. From your post, it sounds as though they only need $100,000 to keep the doors open. I understand that the ED says he's working without a salary, and that he's laid off 6 full time staff, but in 2008 the Partnership had 47 staff, which speaks to much more money involved than $100,000. The math just isn't adding up for me. How is this possible?

8. I'd strongly suggest that you employ a two prong attack, and start immediate measures to raise funds directly from the public. Standing out with a can at a busy intersection with a sign and asking people to throw in a dollar. You can still pressure city government, but the public always respects people who are willing to get out there and help raise the funds themselves.

8. Let's look at some other "home truths" here. The City has a representative on the Board of Directors, and are likely to keep that seat throughout this. The Board is the supervisor of the ED, and he will have to have a working relationship with the City going forward. Forgive me for having a suspicous mind, but a time honored political strategy for deflecting attention from what's really going on is to distract people. He says the City is who you have to put pressure on. Maybe that will work. But he's clearly already tried it and the City has said that the money that was "invested" got put into the general budget and is needed for social services.

9. "Social services" can be portrayed by the City's PR people as Head Start programs, schools, law enforcement, school breakfasts for poor kids, foster care programs, domestic violence shelters, unemployment benefits for those out of work, payment of healthcare for the unemployed, foreclosure prevention programs.

It doesn't take any talent at all to say to the news reporters covering this story "Yes, we wish we had the $$ to keep the museum open, but at a time when people are losing their jobs, their homes and we are seeing record numbers of people going to food pantries and soup kitchens, that money can't be spent on a museum, no matter how worthy....."

10. You need your supporters to be able to counter that argument, as every caller who calls city government on your behalf is going to be told that. If they aren't prepared, then they will be persuaded by the city's staff that the city's position is the only morally correct one, and you will rapidly lose the support of even your core supporters.

They need to be able to counter with "We need $100,000 to save a priceless heritage that has been entrusted to us. Oregon City is the caretaker of not only the museums that we as local people enjoy, but the heritage of every family whose ancestors came West on the Oregon Trail. We have already raised $50,000, half the amount needed. We have volunteers out on street corners right now with cans raising as much of the additional $50,000 that is needed. We need you, as our City government, to step up to the plate and help."

Keep in mind that private fundraising, kids sending in nickels and dimes is what paid for the base of the Statue of Liberty. And the Ellis Island renovations were paid for in part by families giving $100 to have the names of their ancestors who came through Ellis Island inscribed on a Wall of Remembrance.

But you need to get the answers to many of the questions I've raised, and have your sound bytes ready in return.

That new information puts things in a much better light, but you need to be able to explain things (especially how all that money was given to the city and lost) in a way that ordinary people can understand.

Let us know how things develop,
Karin Timour
Period Knitting -- Socks, Sleeping Hats, Balaclavas
Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.com

**Micaila** · 05-22-2009, 11:56 AM

Re: Oregon City Museums In Danger! Update

I just wanted to let you all know that thanks to the support of reenactors, historians and concerned citizens The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center has received a stipend from the city which has allowed it to reopen. There is an ongoing battle to receive regular funding, but we have the rest of the year to prove the importance of the site to the local community and things are looking good.

The city received calls from as far away as Germany and France and had tourists from both countries write letters of disappointment over finding the site closed when they came to visit. You can bet that this caught the attention of city officials.

So, thank you, thank you, thank you for your calls, emails, and letters. They really made a difference.

Micaila

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Oregon City Museums In Danger!

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