Lease renewal is 6 months behind schedule. Agendas/#Sep-18

[ UPDATE: Ex-director Steven Meeks appears as a hero standing against City Council's racist desire to destroy local historical artifacts. Two years ago, the Historical Society was defending the confederate monuments and speaking against formation of a Blue Ribbon Commission pretext. (Meeks shared a post to Rob Schilling's timeline on Facebook Apr. 3, 2016.) Blair Hawkins also commented on this post.

Cville Weekly does a hit piece a year and a half later Oct. 25, 2017 "A public spat over access to Ku Klux Klan robes with UVA professor Jalane Schmidt, together with the society’s refusal to disclose the donor of the robes, set it at odds with Charlottesville’s increasingly progressive historical mainstream. This perception was cemented by the organization’s complete silence on the August 12 events, despite them taking place on its literal doorstep." City Council was looking to lynch somebody.

Newsplex: Council votes to renew Historical Society lease Apr. 3, 2018. The Society was renamed Albemarle-Charlottesville in 2002. “The purpose of the society is to collect all historical material and place it in the Rare Book and manuscript Room of the Alderman Library at the University." (Daily Progress. Apr. 4, 2017) (Facebook March 30, 2018) ]

Punished by Karma for not standing up for the Lee monument at their front door? Or punished by City Council for inclusive reporting and preservation of local history, with special outreach to racial minorities?

Director Steven Meeks resigns in unusual fashion on Feb. 11, 2018.

Is City Council still mad that the Historical Society published a 30-page article in 2006 on the 1865 origins of Jefferson School while politicians, both black and white, refused to acknowledge the African-American history until 2012?

Local history enthusiast, the late Fred Dove, who volunteered at the Society once a week and watched the 2011 Occupy Charlottesville in Lee Park, after being rebuffed by the Daily Progress, took the true local history to the Rob Schilling Show on August 17, 2010. Also Lost History of Jefferson School.

Is City Council still angry that the Society published in its 1998 magazine a more complete history of Urban Renewal? "A Community in Turmoil: Charlottesville's Opposition to Public Housing" by Christopher S. Combs. The neighboring article was the inclusive history of City parks by Aaron V. Wunsch, starting with Lee Park.

The Historical Society since 1940.

Maybe City Council doesn't like that the Society has had exhibits on the black queen of England, Queen Charlotte, namesake of this town. The Society has also had an exhibit on Madam Marguiretta de Crescioli 1922–1951. Nobody wants to be reminded of all that money found buried in the brick walls of an opulent brothel when urban renewal bulldozed the 1861 house in 1972.

As we have seen clearly in the last year, Charlottesville City Council is determined to punish the Historical Society for exposing history the City Council does not like. Let's hope there's no article on the At-Large segregationist Council system as yet discovered.

The existing City Council has a proven hostility to local history. Our local heritage is under continued threat from local government. First they came for the homes and businesses. Now they are coming for the pieces of paper that show that you ever existed.

Agenda Apr. 2, 2018 Background | Watch LIVE | Watch LATER | City Council Page.

Agenda Sep. 18, 2017 Background | Minutes Sep. 18, 2017.

Background: (from charlottesville.org)

The McIntire Building, built for use as a City library by Paul Goodloe McIntire, is one of the more stately properties in Charlottesville. It was first leased to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society (ACHS) in 1993 after an extensive renovation organized by the Society, using a combination of donated funds and a loan from the City. The Society became a center of culture, drawing professional and amateur historians to the downtown area.

Discussion:

On September 18, 2017, City Council extended the current 2013 Lease Agreement with ACHS to March 1, 2018. It was understood at the March 5, 2018 City Council meeting that ACHS intended to meet with their board regarding the goals on or before the expiration of the lease. ACHS did not meet the March 1, 2018 goals, and Council reiterated with the Society that the goals were a condition of granting a lease extension. The Society agreed to meet with their board and return to Council at the next possible regular meeting for approval of the lease extension.

1. Employ at least one person whose duties shall be focused on developing a strategic plan, with the guidance of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, to procure funding for the ACHS while promoting its mission and programs, and implementing that plan by March 1, 2018.
2. Develop professional partnerships and relationships with community organizations to increase ACHS's visibility in the community and to increase and enhance a marketing and fundraising strategy, as well as funding sources for the ACHS's activities.
3. A plan for curating ACHS assets and creating an inventory record of assets.
4. An Agreement on the working relationship with Jefferson Madison Regional Library.
5. Accountability for racial and ethnic diversity in staffing practices and representation on the Board of Directors that reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of our region. Council shall appoint 1/3 of the Board of Directors.
6. New bylaws, programs of exhibitions, and projects that reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of our region will be established.
7. Establish a dedicated fund consisting of at least six months operating reserve.
8. Produce and submit to the City Council an annual progress report on the various programs conducted by the ACHS.
9. Submit to City Council a current audit and an annual audited financial statement with any request for renewal of the Lease.
10. Upon request of the City Manager's Office (CMO), provide information on progress tpwards reaching the goals set forth herein.

ACHS feels the recent appointment of three new Board members as described in the referenced letter, coupled with a Council member serving as an ex-officio, will provide proper oversight and transparency to satisfy goal e., and move Council to approve a lease agreement with ACHS.

Community Engagement: This is a renewal of a lease and requires an advertised public hearing.

Alignment with City Council’s Vision and Strategic Plan:

1. A Center for Lifelong Learning: The Historical Society and its presence in Charlottesville is intended to allow all citizens in our community to learn about its rich, diverse and sometimes tumultuous past.
2. Charlottesville Arts and Culture: The Historical Society and its location in downtown Charlottesville attract both historians and those simply interested in the area’s history to visit not only ACHS, but also the many surrounding areas and venues reflected in the exhibits and materials on display at the Historical Society.

Fair Market Value of the property is estimated at $15/square foot or $114,090/year. The proposed Lease Agreement of $750.00/month ($9,000/year) with ACHS will have a budgetary impact of $105,090/year in lost lease revenue, compared to if the property were to be leased at market value.

Recommendation:

If Council grants ACHS a Lease Agreement on April 2, 2018, the lease renewal term should be set at a one (1) year with a lease payment of no less than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) per month, with all terms within the lease and in Exhibit A agreed to.

Alternatives: Council has the option to terminate the lease.

Attachments:

• Lease Agreement
• Resolution
• Letter from ACHS Executive Director - March 2018
• Letter from ACHS President - February 2018
• Meeks resignation letter - February 2018
• Letter from City Manager - October 2017

Blair Hawkins

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