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Coastal Discovery Museum awarded $141,650; committee asks staff to update MOU and bookkeeping arrangements
Summary
The finance committee approved a $141,650 affiliated-agency award for the Coastal Discovery Museum but asked staff and the museum to revisit the long-standing MOU and accounting arrangements to clarify services and town bookkeeping support.
The Coastal Discovery Museum was awarded $141,650 for salaries and a portion of a horticulturist position. Staff noted the museum receives multiple town-supported resources beyond affiliated-agency grants — including ATAX grants, CIP funding and bookkeeping services from town finance — which together substantially increase total town support. The museum’s presentation highlighted a large upcoming Santa Elena exhibition and fundraising activities to support that project.
Committee members praised the museum’s role as an affiliated agency managing town-owned property, pointed to a 10-year MOU (2017–2027) and asked the museum and finance staff to examine whether the MOU and bookkeeping arrangements should be updated. Museum leadership said the organization has been growing staff to increase programming and fundraising and that some historical MOU language reflects earlier arrangements rather than current practice: “That MOU has sort of been recycled since 2007 and not significantly changed,” the museum representative said, and both sides agreed to revisit it.
