City council has voted to hold funding for the Boundary Museum Society (BMS) pending a show of information by the society’s interim board.
The society’s funding came up for discussion at council’s last regular meeting Monday, Jan. 24. Council voted last November to suspend more than $23,000 earmarked for BMS, citing a lack of financial information from its present board, whose directors had not hosted an annual general meeting (AGM) since 2019.
READ MORE: Boundary museum directors resign after AGM held up
READ MORE: Grand Forks city council holds back funding for Boundary Museum
Four BMS directors later resigned in protest, ushering in a caretaker board now headed by interim director Larry Jmaiff.
Monday’s resolution was put forward by Coun. Christine Thompson, who asked the board to justify future fee for service payments and explain their vision in a presentation at the city’s next committee of the whole meeting on Monday, Feb. 14.
Thompson wasn’t entirely clear on the previous board’s deliverables, she told The Gazette Thursday.
“We’re talking about public money here, so we need to know,” she said, explaining that the interim board would have a chance “to support their budget request and show us whether or not they’re going to need the withheld money.”
Speaking at chambers on Monday, Coun. Chris Moslin said getting the suspended funds would be “paramount to (BMS’s) concern,” later suggesting that continuing to withhold the money would “knee-cap” the society.
Mayor Brian Taylor reminded council that, if Thompson’s motion was partly aimed at BMS’s overall vision, the interim board wasn’t elected and could be replaced when the society holds its long-awaited AGM in March.
But councillor and former BMS-liasion Cathy Korolek said time was of the essence, adding that she had every confidence in the interim board.
“A brand new slate of officers is a possibility. However, who knows what’s going to happen? At this point, it’s this group that’s dealing with things. I think they’re very responsible and they certainly have good thoughts about the direction they want to take.”
Council then passed Thompson’s motion unanimously.
Interim director Jmaiff was not available for comment before this story was published on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 27.
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