[BCMA] Building Security Issues

Fri Apr 10 10:22:45 PDT 2015

Your problem with control and appropriate use of the outdoor space is a familiar one for many museums, historic sites and historic houses, both urban and rural.

Check out the concept of turning the outdoor space into a Certified Nature Classroom.   The concept as presented by Nature Explore is well described at https://www.natureexplore.org/classrooms/

That could allow a fenced area on the public land, an area that you would use as your "Nature Classroom" to be open for use as part of your Nature programing.    It could be open during your open hours and closed when you leave.   Fencing could be well designed for interpretation and landscape aesthetics, not just another chain-link wall.

On the Nature Explore web site, you will see that there are already a couple of Canadian examples that are "Certified".

Regarding resolution of conflicts of use of public land, the book Happy City by Charles Montgomery describes one place that asked its street people what they really wanted.   The answer was a covered shelter with places to sit and some sense of privacy from the general public who might be critical of them.   An outdoor shelter was created with some view fencing, and according to the author it works well and is self-maintained of debris by the users.    The users simply had to be respectfullly included in the solution.

Good Luck.

Cuyler Page

[Cuyler Page_email tags]

From: bcma-bounces at lists.vifa.ca [mailto:bcma-bounces at lists.vifa.ca] On Behalf Of Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.
Sent: April-09-15 4:09 PM
To: bcma at lists.vifa.ca
Subject: [BCMA] Building Security Issues

Please Help!

We are facing some security issues at our museum which pertain to the outside space, the museum grounds.  Unfortunately, because of the location and style of our building, as well as very limited open hours, it has become somewhat of a local "hangout" where groups of street people will gather, smoke, eat, spread their stuff out etc., along with other undesirable activity, much illegal.  The worst part about it is that our 108 year old building is at serious risk.  Cigarette butts are constantly snuffed out on the wooden porch or flicked into the nearby bark mulch (even during a 35 degree summer day) plus excessive garbage is always left behind and vandalism to the building is a constant problem; new "tags" are added daily despite us constantly painting over them.  Sometimes dangerous garbage (drug paraphernalia) is also left behind, leaving other members of the public as risk.

I have done a lot of research into possible solutions to the problem and have come to the conclusion, after trying many more subtle approaches, that the only way to keep this from happening is to have our grounds fenced in, monitored for trespassing, and only open during the hours that the museum is open.  However, our building (and the grounds) is owned by the District of Mission and leased to the Historical Society for $1 per year, so I have run into the argument that you cannot fence in "public" grounds.  As far as I'm concernd, the grounds are just an extension of the Museum and if you can't wander through the Museum (which is a public building) when it is closed, why should you be able to wander through the grounds?

Does anyone else have this security situation in place?  Do you know of any Museum's (in Canada) that do?  As in, the building is owned, but not run, by the city/district/town and yet the grounds are fenced?  I am hoping to find examples of where this does happen to present with my argument.  Could anyone suggest any other Museums for me to contact that may have such a system in place?

Please respond via the listserv or directly to info at missionmuseum.com<mailto:info at missionmuseum.com>

Thank you in advance for any input on this matter, I appreciate any and all help I can get!

Hazel Godley
Manager
 [LOGOTYPE_ANTGOLOD]
Operated by the Mission District Historical Society

604-826-1011
info at missionmuseum.com<mailto:info at missionmuseum.com>
www.missionmuseum.com<http://www.missionmuseum.com/>

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