Silver City council authorizes mayor and acting manager to negotiate resolution with museum society after public accusations and budget concerns

The Silver City Council on June 15 unanimously authorized Mayor Wheaten Smith and the acting town manager to begin negotiating an agreement with the Silver City Museum Society Corporation to resolve ongoing governance and fiscal disputes.

Public comment at the special meeting included detailed accusations and defenses of museum leadership. Victoria Ree said problems at the museum “stem from when Mr. Roselli came in,” urged an investigation into missing artifacts loaned by families and described the society as having been banned from the museum. Dr. Rick Johnson, identifying himself as a retired professor who helped shepherd a Walton family gift of $141,430 to the society, said the museum’s operating costs were unsustainable and told the council the institution had “exceeded 700,000” in taxpayer support in a recent fiscal year.

The council item read by Mayor Wheaten Smith asked the body to decide “steps to take to resolve the issues between the Town of Silver City and the Silver City Museum Society Corporation, authorizing the acting manager and the mayor to start the process and proceed to an agreement for council review and approval.” The mayor told the council the FY26 budget for the museum was $465,575 and that operations ran at a $220,525 loss—figures he presented together to frame a roughly $700,000 annual net cost to taxpayers.

Society officials and volunteers offered competing views. Roger Tree, vice president of the Silver City Museum Society, and Raetta, who identified herself as the society’s president, said the society has acted transparently, defended its stewardship of donated funds and urged collaboration to develop a sustainable operating model that could include greater volunteer involvement. “The museum should be operated prudently and sustainably in a manner fitting for a town of our size,” Tree said.

Several public commenters made personnel and conduct allegations against museum director(s). Faboni said his mother, identified in his remarks as Nicole, was attacked at work by “Bar Roselli,” and Nicole Fleck testified she was chased out of the museum multiple times by “Bart Roselli,” described emotional trauma and said she had not been paid. Volunteer Barbara Tadro defended Roselli and said she did not observe malfeasance and was concerned that some accusations had been aired publicly rather than handled confidentially.

Council discussion focused on process and timing, inventory of the museum’s collections, accreditation and nonprofit structure. A counselor confirmed the museum’s accreditation runs through 2029; another counselor noted the museum society is registered as a 501(c)(3) with the IRS while a separate “Friends” group is sponsored through a community foundation. Counselors expressed differing views about whether the roughly $700,000 annual cost was affordable given competing infrastructure needs.

With Robert’s Rules temporarily suspended to allow free-form discussion, a councilor moved to authorize the mayor and acting town manager to begin the negotiation process and proceed to an agreement for council review. The motion passed unanimously on roll call: Councelor Slice — I; Councelor Prince — I; Councelor Snider — I; Councelor Nes — I. The mayor said the town and the society’s attorneys would meet to draft a document and that the council would receive updates at the next meeting.

The council’s action authorizes a negotiation process but does not itself adopt any agreement or policy changes. The meeting closed with a motion to adjourn.