Dorchester supports small community museums

The village of Dorchester has put its support behind small community museums in New Brunswick.
At its March meeting, the village council agreed to send a letter to Premier Shawn Graham supporting the Association Museums New Brunswick's (AMNB) recently-released blueprint for action report entitled Building A New Foundation for the Museum Community.
Cole Morison, a member of the Westmorland Historical Society and a director with the AMNB, addressed council during the meeting, asking the village to lend its support to that organization's recommendations for assisting community museums in the province.
"There are about 80 to 100 museums in New Brunswick . . . the larger museums are provincially funded, almost directly, and we have members that are municipal museums as well. But most of the AMNB membership is made up of small community museums that are run by historical societies. So this (report) was prepared . . . in response to the Bradshaw Report (Community Non-Profit Task Force report released in 2007). We tried to make some recommendations and pass some resolutions which would help to alleviate some of the difficulties experienced by some of the community museums," Morison said.
He added that, due to a decrease in funding and the increasing age of volunteers who oversee small museums, a large number of community museums across the province are in danger of closing if changes are not implemented within the next couple years.
"It is our view that any attempt at fundamental change must recognize the central economic and community-building role that museums play in the life of hundreds of New Brunswick communities…the community museum is critical to the expansion of the tourism industry in the non-urban areas of New Brunswick…" Morison read from the report.
He noted that the AMNB acknowledges the outstanding contributions by the N.B. Heritage Branch to the museum community and will not support any transformed relationship that alters its central role as a facilitator of service delivery.
Morison noted that, in Dec. 2007 the AMNB had adopted 36 recommendations which would assist community museums in remaining a viable operation within their areas.
Mayor Mel Goodland responded the Dorchester village council supports the initiatives of community museums, acknowledging the work of the Westmorland Historical Society with regards to a number of Dorchester's historic structures.
He added the village could not support one of the AMNB report's recommendations that "property taxes should be removed from all buildings owned by non-profits maintaining museums or historic buildings including leased or rental (designated) historic properties classified as residential or commercial."
"I do have a concern about the taxes because, as a small village we can't afford to absorb them . . . the province would have to agree that they would pay the taxes of these buildings."
Goodland noted he was pleased to see the AMNB report did recommend the taxes for heritage properties be covered by the province.