During the past year, Greenbelt Museum Director Megan Searing-Young was faced with three major challenges, all of which are being satisfactorily resolved. Young reported on these issues as a part of her budget presentation to the Greenbelt City Council at its April 5 budget worksession.
The Museum, an original government-built home, is a city operation that receives considerable support from a volunteer group, the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum (FOGM). The proposed city budget for the Museum’s operation in Fiscal Year 2018 is $121,800, an increase of $10,700 from the current fiscal year. With Young was Ennis Barbery Smith, temporary education and volunteer coordinator, who helped solve one of Young’s challenges by filling in during the extended leave of absence of Sheila Maffay-Tuthill.
The most unexpected challenge for Young was the October 2 discovery of two inches of water covering the house Museum’s first floor due to a water pipe leak. Moisture had condensed on the walls and ceilings of both floors of the museum and had dripped onto artifacts. While city and GHI crews quickly responded and a restoration company was brought in to dry the place out, it was found necessary to remove many collection items to a dry place and undertake special restoration on some, such as the Oriental carpet in the living room that had belonged to the original residents of the home. Fortunately, adjacent 10-A Crescent had been purchased by the city for a Museum addition and was vacant. The Museum has been repainted and an alarm system added to prevent a future occurrence. Meanwhile, the Museum volunteers temporarily offered Sunday walking tours of Greenbelt instead of house tours. A grand reopening is planned for Greenbelt Day weekend in early June, by which time Tuttle will have returned to work.
Young’s third challenge was planning and funding for the conversion of 10-A into an education and visitor center with a research and reading room, after the city’s purchase of the townhome when it was put up for sale. It will also house the Museum’s offices, now located in the Community Center. Museum collections stored in the Community Center will have to be relocated to a storage facility, as the city intends to repurpose the space. Also, FOGM will be supported by a new member relationship management system. A capital fundraising campaign is planned with naming opportunities for large contributors. The Museum already has been awarded a Maryland Heritage Areas Program grant of $50,000, a Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development grant of $10,000 for expansion of staff support in 10-A, a Greenbelt Community Foundation grant of $10,000 and a grant of $2,500 from Prince George’s County. The Heritage Areas grant requires a museum match of $37,500. Mayor Emmett Jordan asked if there was a time frame yet for the Museum vacating its Community Center space and Young replied, “No.” Jordan asked council if there were any comments concerning the Museum budget and again got “no” for an answer