Silver City council votes to keep municipal museum under town control

The Silver City council voted to keep the Silver City Museum owned and operated by the town and to restrict the Museum Society to fundraising duties.

Councilor Prince moved that "the town of Silver City shall continue to own and exclusively manage the operation of the Silver City Museum, and that the town shall negotiate with the Museum Society, who shall act solely in a fundraising capacity for [the] museum with no museum operational control." Councilor Steiner seconded the motion.

During brief discussion, Councilor Prince asked that the negotiating team "look into financial disclosure negotiations," a request the chair said would be noted in the minutes even though it was not part of the motion.

The council took a roll-call vote. Votes recorded were: Councilor Slice — No; Councilor Prince — Aye; Councilor Schneider — Aye; Councilor Nunez — No. The chair announced a tie and said, "I therefore vote aye," giving the motion the majority. The chair stated, "The town will therefore continue to operate the museum as it has done approximately for the last 40 years."

The council did not provide a detailed timetable or further specifics about the negotiating team's scope beyond the recorded request to review financial disclosures. Following the vote the chair suggested that operational activity by the society and the museum would improve the institution over time.

Before adjourning, the chair listed several board and committee vacancies — including the Cemetery Board and the Downtown Action Planning Committee — and asked councillors to review the list for the next meeting. The council then adjourned.