The Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives continues to lose money, recording a $44,000 budget deficit for 2016.
The museum鈥檚 deficit is about $14,000 more than what was projected in November, however the statement of operations presented on March 23 now includes nearly $27,000 in amortization. It also includes just over $2,000 in revenue from investments. Neither of those line items were included in the three-year budget plan presented to council in November.
At the time Warren Waxer, president of the Yellowhead Historical Society, told council the museum would return to a balanced budget in 2017, however there was no mention of balancing the books during the museum鈥檚 annual general meeting March 23.
鈥淲e struggle to get by and we鈥檙e dipping into our reserves every year,鈥� said Waxer.
Despite cutting its expenses by approximately $25,000 from the previous year, the museum鈥檚 revenue also fell sharply by about $23,000 after the museum did not receive a $20,000 grant from the Alberta Museum Association.
Complicating matters, the society鈥檚 board has been without a treasurer since September and it has yet to ratify its 2016 financial statement, raising the possibility that the figures could still change.
鈥淔inancial stability is elusive at best, but the potential of our empty lot and upcoming corporate fundraising campaign offers some great hope,鈥� Waxer said, as he tried to find some positive news.
In November, Waxer asked council to continue to support the museum by allocating $49,000 in the 2017 budget. Council has yet to approve the budget.
In an effort to cut costs, the museum initially said it would cut back on wages and benefits and reduce the manager to a part-time position, however after struggling to attract candidates for the job the museum opted to sweeten the pot. A new manager is expected to join the museum in April.
鈥淚n search for our new manager we have had to increase personnel expenses from what was originally budgeted. This will hopefully be tempered by a corporate sponsorship and fundraising campaign that was not budgeted for, in an attempt to keep our revenue predictions as conservative as possible,鈥� Waxer wrote in a follow up email to the 51暗网.
Other possible ideas that are being explored to stop the bleeding include the possibility of selling the plot of land beside the museum or moving the museum entirely. There is also discussion about attracting another public institution to draw more people to the area.
鈥淭he task of investigating relocation or the use of our spare lot has been on hold for decades,鈥� said Waxer.聽 鈥淲hile there is no urgency we must eventually address whether or not our location at the back of town is a hindrance to increased visitation and financial viability.鈥�
He said another major problem facing the museum is that a lot of what it does, such as archiving and preserving artifacts, doesn鈥檛 translate into revenue.
鈥淲e know we鈥檙e a valuable service to the community, we鈥檙e supported by the taxpayers, but half our operation is somewhat invisible and we鈥檒l never make money at that end of the operation and it must be supported,鈥� said Waxer.
On a positive note the museum continues to do well with fundraising, collecting approximately $42,000 in each of the last two years and memberships are also on the rise. The museum now has 139 paying members.
The museum also has plans for two new projects this year. The first one will be the official unveiling of Kookum, the bronze statue that was installed in the museum鈥檚 garden in September. The project was executed in partnership with the Aseniwuche Winewak First Nations, Parks Canada and Conoco Phillips. The board intends to celebrate Jasper鈥檚 first bronze statue sometime this summer.
The second project will be the development of a new geological exhibit. The project was made possibly by a donation from the late Eric Mountjoy, a prominent Canadian geologist.
This project will include a permanent exhibit in the gallery on the history of mining and geological surveying in Jasper National Park as well as a geological interpretive display and outdoor rock garden.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
