BARRHEAD - The Barrhead and District Historical Society said it has made significant strides in getting its house in order after a year of upheaval.
That is what society president Kevin VanderZyl and vice-president Charles Parson told County of Barrhead councillors during their Oct. 1 meeting. The pair, along with 12 others, were elected at the society's annual general meeting (AGM) in late April to wipe the slate clean and start anew.
For the year leading up to its annual general meeting, the society and its board had been subject to reports of infighting and accusations rogue board members had fired the museum's curator.
Because of the internal issues at the society, the County of Barrhead council opted to suspend its annual contribution of $4,997 at its April 16 meeting. No decision has been made on when the municipality might release the funds.
"We've had our challenges," VanderZyl said. "The previous board has put in as many roadblocks as possible, such as not giving us the passwords for the security system and computers."
Despite those issues, he said society volunteers successfully guided a number of groups through the museum through the summer.
However, VanderZyl said the society's biggest and most important project is updating its bylaws.
"The committee has been very busy working on that," he said, adding the society wouldn't have been able to progress as quickly as it has without the assistance of county manager Debbie Oyarzun and Town of Barrhead CAO Ed LeBlanc.
"Between all of us, we've put a very solid document together," VanderZyl said, and he expects the updated bylaws will be accepted by the membership at its October meeting.
He added other volunteers have been working on expanding the museum's displays.
For example, VanderZyl said they are working on possibly creating a display about Fountain Tire, a business whose roots are largely in Barrhead.
He added the society completed extensive maintenance on the museum's outdoor areas, including cleaning up the outside front wall, removing loose paint, cleaning and repainting the brackets of the museum's front sign, and repairing the front doors.
VanderZyl said volunteers, with the help of County of Barrhead public works, cleaned up the remains of the Pioneer Memorial Church's debris after a Dec. 7 fire destroyed the structure.
"[The Pioneer Church] committee is garnering support from local businesses and contractors, and looking for ideas on what [the historical society] can do with the site moving forward," he said.
VanderZyl said the board's meetings have gone well, are free from the acrimony of the previous board, and many volunteers are stepping up to complete projects.
"As most of us are rookies in the museum world, the learning curve has been mostly vertical, but the executive has done its due diligence in their prospective roles in getting accounting systems and auditors into place for dealing with the books and dealing with the [Canadian Revenue Agency]," he said. He added the society also struck committees responsible for the creation and upkeep of displays to safely store the firearms collection.
"I hope that as president, I can assure council that the museum is in good hands, ones that care for future generations, showing them our roots, where we have come from and arrived at where we are," VanderZyl said.
Coun. Ron Kleinfeldt asked if the loss of the curator had affected the museum's hours of operation.
VanderZyl said the museum is likely open fewer hours overall.
"But more open to having specialty groups coming through," he said. For example, volunteers recently opened the facility to a group of home-schoolers.
Coun. Walter Preugschas asked if the society plans to hire another curator.
VanderZyl replied the board is considering it, but admitted it has not been a top priority.
"Our biggest challenge was to get the museum functioning," he said. "The people who stepped up to make it happen are amazing."
Reeve Doug Drozd then asked if the society sought legal advice on some of the issues faced by the previous board. At the society's AGM, then-president Leroy Hannah suggested the organization faced possible court action from the museum's former curator.
VanderZyl said in discussions with Barrhead Mayor Dave McKenzie in August, he suggested the municipality's lawyer might be able to assist.
He added the society made only cursory contact with the lawyer, preferring "not to stir a potential hornet's nest."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
