Milw. Art Museum, War Memorial reach operations agreement
MILWAUKEE (WITI) --The Milwaukee Art Museum and Milwaukee County War Memorial, Inc. announced Tuesday, March 12th that they have reached a tentative agreement regarding the ongoing management of the buildings and grounds occupied by both organizations.
Lead negotiators for both organizations finalized a term sheet last week. The term sheet must still be ratified by the boards of each organization and a variety of legal documents finalized and approved by Milwaukee County.
"We met several times a week for several weeks," said former State Supreme Court Justice Janine Geski, who was asked to serve as the mediator.
Both the Art Museum and War Memorial admit that it was under her guidance, that both parties were able to reach an agreement. They also thanked Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic and County Executive Chris Abele for their involvement throughout the process and for appointing Justice Geske as a mediator.
“We’re very pleased to announce that through committed negotiations by both the War Memorial Corporation and the Milwaukee Art Museum, we have reached a fair and solid agreement regarding the ongoing management of the buildings and grounds occupied by both organizations,” said Dan Keegan, Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum.
The stairs to the War Memorial Center are crumbling. There are also visible leaks and broken glass. It's a $25 million renovation project, where the Art Museum would agree to pay $15 million and Milwaukee County would pay $10 million.
The land is owned by the County, but the big dispute is: Who would manage what?
Under the new deal, both the Art Museum and the War Memorial Center will operate as separate entities and control the spaces and floor it currently occupies. The move would change the old arrangement where the museum was the tenant and the War Memorial was the landlord.
"It was important that the museum have the ability to manage its own spaces, to manage the mechanical systems and the environment of the museum and thus protect the artwork," said Keegan.
It's a win-win for both parties, which will protect a $750 million art collection and honor the veterans with services in its sacred space.
"This is huge for us, for the veterans of the past and for the future. And we'll be able to add entities on it that will be able to help veterans coming back from Iraq," said George Koerner, a member of Milwaukee Veterans Community Relations Team.
Highlights of the agreement include:
The agreement still needs to be ratified by both boards of the Art Museum and War Memorial. It will then have to be approved by the full Milwaukee County Board and County Executive. The goal is to close on it by Memorial Day.