Trustees approve fee waiver for museum education room through Dec. 31, 2027

The board approved a motion to waive rental and admission fees for the museum education room and lobby through Dec. 31, 2027, as a promotional measure to encourage community use. The motion notes that fee schedules are contained in administrative rule and that the director retains authority to decline requests when staffing is unavailable.

The director explained that fee revenue goes into a museum report fund used for printing and exhibit costs, and that staffing constraints mean the museum can refuse a request if it cannot find someone to cover evening or weekend events. In the roll-call vote recorded at the meeting the tally was reported as seven in favor and one abstention.

"If we're unable to staff something on the weekends, we would...decline the request," the director said when trustees pressed on evening events. Trustees discussed keeping a nominal fee to prevent abuse but approved the full waiver as proposed.