Old Cowtown Museum might have to go back to the drawing board in its months-long search for a new director.
Vice Mayor Sue Schlapp told The Eagle editorial board that the search committee has interviewed several finalists but hasn’t yet found someone who is the right fit.
“We’re wanting to make sure we get the right director who understands what our vision is,†she said.
She added that there’s not as much of a rush to fill the position, now that the council has delayed plans to build a new theater at the living history museum.
Still, the attraction needs strong leadership and new ideas. We hope Cowtown finds the right person soon.
Dan Glickman (in photo), former 4th District congressman and current chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, was back in Wichita last week. He helped campaign for Donald Betts, who is running for Glickman’s old congressional seat, now held by Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard.
Glickman told The Eagle editorial board that he spent only $100,000 when he first ran for Congress in 1976 (about $400,000 in today’s dollars), and he was able to buy 30-second advertising spots on the TV news back then for only $150. Now, he said, members of Congress continually have to raise money and often are paralyzed from doing anything that might upset their donors. “It’s an insidious system,” he said.
Today’s agenda for the Wichita City Council includes consideration of a 2008 operating agreement for Old Cowtown Museum. It represents the city’s essential next step in assuming daily operation of and responsibility for the living history museum, which will remain a nonprofit organization with its own fundraising, collection management and board. Along with the Diamond W Wranglers’ dinner shows and the hiring early next year of a new director, the operating agreement should set the attraction on a stable new path. Having also agreed to invest nearly $3 million over three years to raise Cowtown’s health and safety standards, city leaders are doing their part to signal the high value they place on Cowtown as a cultural asset. The rest of the community will need to help ensure that Cowtown has a prosperous new year.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The Sedgwick County Commission took a step away from Old Cowtown Museum last week in terms of financial support, just as the city of Wichita took over the cash-strapped cultural treasure. About $300,000 of a once-earmarked $519,000 from the county still could end up supporting Cowtown, but $115,000 was redirected as part of the passage of the county’s 2008 budget. It’s not surprising that the county would reassess its role at Cowtown, now that Wichita has opted to be responsible for Cowtown’s operations. But the county has been a crucial partner in working through Cowtown’s problems for the past year. Bowing out now would only make the city’s task more difficult.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
After years of confusion about who’s in charge of the operations — and the bills — at Old Cowtown Museum, it’s good that the city of Wichita this week formally assumed lead control of the attraction.
Among other things, that means the city acknowledges its fiscal responsibility to maintain the living history museum’s buildings and grounds, which it owns. The city will spend up to $3 million for needed repairs and code upgrades at the site. As Vice Mayor Sharon Fearey said, “This relieves the board of so much pressure and lets them get back to doing the programming, education and taking care of artifacts.”
City officials also deserve credit for helping negotiate exciting new draws for the attraction, most notably the Prairie Wranglers. These changes point Cowtown in a positive direction.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The recent effort by city officials to crack down on Old Cowtown Museum’s animal code violations is — let’s agree — bizarre. I mean, owning a swaybacked horse is a crime? And smoke alarms are required in chicken coops?
What next? Air conditioning? Cable?
It got stranger when Rooster Cogburn flew the coop and reportedly started hiding at an undisclosed location. The mystery is as yet unsolved.
Any leads out there?
In my column Friday, I took a satirical look at how Sgt. Joe Friday of “Dragnet” fame might enforce Wichita’s animal code and solve the case.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
A few of the health and safety violations the city of Wichita found at Old Cowtown Museum seem petty. But many others are quite serious and, according to a letter given to Cowtown’s board this week by City Manager George Kolb, could endanger visitors and staff. Granted, it isn’t easy to keep mice, cockroaches and rain out of old, wooden buildings. But the letter revealed that Cowtown’s maintenance problems are sizable and won’t be fixed just by slapping on a fresh coat of paint.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
A meeting on Old Cowtown Museum’s future drew a crowd of supporters Monday evening. But if Cowtown depends on the largesse of the Sedgwick County Commission, it’s in trouble.
Commissioner Dave Unruh told The Eagle editorial board that he doesn’t see many options for the struggling museum: Either “shut it down, or the city or county one ought to step up with a lot of support.”
And he made clear he doesn’t think it should be the county. Cowtown’s buildings and collections, he noted, legally belong to the city of Wichita. Cowtown “should be their project,” he said. “The city should take full responsibility for it.”
Unruh said the county has taken the lead on several major projects, including building the downtown arena and supporting Exploration Place. Cowtown is just one too many.
But the city, for its part, has shown little inclination to embrace Cowtown financially. Without significant support from local government, saving Cowtown looks like a long shot.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
It’s great to see a groundswell of support building for Old Cowtown Museum — and gratifying that many of the offers of help are coming from outside the city. Cowboy singer Michael Martin Murphey of “Wildfire” fame has offered to perform a special Christmas benefit concert for Cowtown — a terrific idea.
But why stop there? Having an entertainer of Murphey’s stature as a regular at Cowtown would be a big draw. Another booster, True West magazine, is telling its 192,000 readers to send donations to the museum, which it calls a “national treasure.”
Wichita is on the national map as a major Western history hub. In fact, Murphey rightly says that Cowtown “could be and should be the ‘Williamsburg of the American West.’”
Now it’s up to locals to start seeing Cowtown’s huge potential. As our editorial today notes, Wichita can’t let Cowtown ride into the sunset.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Old Cowtown Museum might have to go back to the drawing board in its months-long search for a new director.