Supporting museums financially should be a “core function” of local government, according to Malcom Macpherson, the new chairperson of the Alexandra and Districts Museum Inc(ADMI).

The issue of district council grants becoming contestable between any community groups, had caused uncertainties for the museum, he told the Vincent Community Board(VCB) this week.

“In a local authority heritage and history and the museum sector should be core business. It is as important to the well-being of the community as good drainage, good water and safe roads in my view. It ought to be a line item in the council’s budgets.”

Speaking in a public forum at a livestreamed meeting on Tuesday, Mr Macpherson thanked the board for its recent support but emphasised that facing uncertainty around funding on an annual basis was very unsettling and made it difficult to retain good staff. He believed any expectation that such an organisation could function on volunteer support alone was “nonsense”.

“There are a number of roles in a museum of this size and complexity that only professionals can perform. We need to be able to offer professionals careers, not 12 month gigs.” ADMI which operates as Central Stories Museum and Art Gallery, received around $73,500 from the Vincent Community

Board for the 2020/21 financial year, according to a VCB report. The grant contributed to operational costs of the museum and art gallery.

“ADMI has shown initiative over the past year to create new sources of income to help run the museum. However, this has been challenging due to the restrictions of the business use within the lease,” the report stated.

The board were told an idea to hire out bicycles conflicted with the lease, as did advertising information services. The latter clashed with CODC’s arrangement with Unichem Pharmacy as the town’s designated information provider.

Central Stories museum and gallery in Alexandra.

Mr macpherson said the gallery is booked for much of next year and a new summer festival incorporating exhibitions and events was about to be launched.

The Central Otago District Council recently indicated they would review the new contestable system of distributing promotional and community grants. The aim had been to open up opportunities to new and more diverse community groups.

At its October meeting the board heard that future funding methods to address the security of the museum’s operation were also being assessed.