Recreation & Parks recommends merit hire for museum director; commissioners agree to recruit and keep museum separate from tourism

Recreation and Parks staff asked commissioners on March 7 to approve recruiting a merit museum director (previously a merit post) after a vacancy in the museum division manager role. Staff had examined whether to merge museums and tourism or convert positions to contract status; staff and the museum board of trustees recommended keeping the museum division separate and filling the leadership post as a merit position to attract candidates and provide stability for long-term projects and accreditation work.

Staff said the museum division currently includes five full-time employees and 11 part-time seasonal positions; the department's combined FY2017 cost (personnel and operating) for the division was about $560,367, including roughly $78,000 for part-time staffing. Commissioners questioned the cost-to-revenue ratio — admissions revenue appeared modest (about $16,500 shown on a revenue line) compared with total operating costs — and several commissioners urged caution but supported the argument that museums drive broader economic development and tourism dollars that do not show directly in admissions figures.

Some commissioners argued a contractual director could provide flexibility; others said merit status is a recruitment and retention tool for specialized museum leadership and helps maintain accreditation and long-term partnerships. After discussion, commissioners reached consensus to recruit a merit museum director and to keep museum operations and tourism as separate functions while encouraging closer coordination between the two divisions.