Message-ID: <20110112120305.zyrbexht43ye8k00@webmail2.centurytel.net> From: kenmar@centurytel.net Subject: Re: township-owned or leased property Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:03:05 -0500
The Amberg Historical Society went through many months of negotiations
with the Town of Amberg in a situation sounding similar to what you are
asking. The Town of Amberg owns the four buildings making up the the
museum complex. No rent is charged. The insurance liability issue was
finally settled to the satisfaction of the town's insurance carrier:
the town board has established a "museum committee" made up of one town
supervisor and two interested community members. The Amberg Historical
Society operates the museum complex as a service to the town. The
Historical Society owns the artifacts contained within the complex.
The Town of Amberg is responsible for maintainence of the buildings
(although we do pay for most projects ourselves). We have to use great
care in our wording of fund-raisers held within the complex--using
Amberg Museum, not Amberg Historical Society--and report the funds
raised at these at the annual town meeting. Our only admission fee is
a "cookie jar" for donations clearly marked as belonging to the Amberg
Historical Society. The town board allowed us to initiate the wording
we needed for our situation and then approved the written agreement we
settled on. The insurance carrier also agreed to the document. This
allows us to also use the community center for fund-raisers, programs,
displays, etc with full liability coverage.We spent almost a whole year
working on this project and finally were able to come up with a
solution. I think each situation will be different. We are very
fortunate to have good support from our town board and they were
willing to do what they could to assist us. If you would like a copy
of our agreement with our town board I would be happy to send one if
you send a mailing address. Hoping this is helpful to your situation.
Quoting lisalickel@gmail.com:
Happy New year, all.I know a similar discussion has come up in the
past, but I’m looking for specific instances of townships, not
villages or cities, owning property that is used by or leased to
historical societies. Does anyone fall into that category, and can you
share details of maintenance and costs and liability? Thank you. Lisa
LickelFarmington Historical Society