Mural leads to contention between Clack Museum board, foundation

A new mural is showcasing a paleontological display at a local museum, although how the mural was put up led to some friction between members of its board and its funding foundation at a meeting Tuesday.

"I guess we had a communication breakdown," Mike Wendland, chair of the Hill County Commission said, during a meeting with the H. Earl and Margaret Turner Clack Memorial Museum Board.

The question was whether foundation members working on the project were covered by the county's insurance.

There were also concerns about accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Wendland told museum manager John Gilbert during the meeting that commissioners would research the issues and get back to him.

The 12-foot mural depicts rolling hills behind trees, grassland and a body of water. Members of the museum's foundation erected it behind one of the paleontological displays, in front of the window into the mall. The display in front of the mural includes one of the museum's prime artifacts, a fossilized clutch of dinosaur eggs.

The foundation commissioned the mural and paid for it with a grant.

The Clack Museum's growing paleontological display is included as part of the Montana Dinosaur Trail. People following the trail have the opportunity to use the Prehistoric Passport, a book with pages to be stamped at each of the 15 locations on the trail.

Once the passport book is filled, the user receives a gold seal, certificate of completion and a Montana Dinosaur Trail Preshistoric Passport T-shirt.

Proceeds from sales of the passport books are used to support the efforts of the nonprofit Dinosaur Trail organization for the facilities and for promotions.

The mural was commissioned to enhance the dinosaur display.

The issue of contention about the mural regarded foundation members erecting it June 27 without the knowledge of museum manager John Gilbert.

Gilbert said during Monday's meeting that his problem was not as much with the mural, but that he did not have liability waivers signed by the foundation members who put up the mural.

Gilbert said he was concerned that, if someone was hurt, they had insurance coverage. He said he wanted to make sure all the proper procedures had been followed.

He also said he was not certain if the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act were still met after the mural was placed where it is.

Wendland said this morning the county government is researching those issues, but had not yet received the information.

Elaine Morse, president of the foundation board, said that the mural had Been sitting in the foundation office for three weeks, and it needed to be put up before more of the tourist season had passed.

Ron VandenBoom, president of the Clack Museum board, said that it probably would have been a good idea to have called Gilbert to let him know the mural was going to be put up.

"John didn't know this was happening," VandenBoom said.

"John is not my boss," Morse replied, adding that she wanted to get the mural up before more time had passed.

Gilbert said he had been waiting on the man who built the frame for the mural.

He had understood that the mural would be ready to put up and that it would be placed on a wall behind some of the displays, Gilbert said. He wanted to work with the man who built the frame to make sure it was used and the mural located as intended, but they had not been able to connect as yet, he said.

VandenBoom said he thought better communications about the issue before the mural was erected would have helped.

C ommi s s i o n e r Ka t h y Bessette said the relationship between the foundation and the museum is crucial, especially in this time of difficult county finances. The aid provided by the foundation to fund the operations of the museum is "fantastic," she said.

"It's really important to keep that relationship working," Bessette said.