Since its June 4 reopening, the Museum of Monterey has been hit like a ship in a squall by staff departures and allegations of mismanagement by its Board of Directors. Despite insistence by board members that MoM is financially solvent and developing visionary plans, city leaders remain concerned about the museum’s future and its ability to dynamically depict Monterey’s maritime history.


The drama flared up June 13, when then-Executive Director John Bailey, a veteran of nonprofit management, resigned just four months after he was hired to replace Pam Crowe-Weisberg. She left before her contract expired, citing conflicts with the board. The museum’s bookkeeper, Debbie Soars, also announced her resignation, effective June 30, making her the fifth museum staffer to leave in the past six months.


Within hours of Bailey’s announcement, an anonymous email rife with allegations of mismanagement hit the inboxes of Monterey’s city leadership – and left board members fuming.


“Completely outrageous,” Board President Thomas Hood says of the email’s mismanagement claims. As for conflict of interest allegations, he says, many service contracts were indeed put out to bid. 


Some insiders, including City Council member Nancy Selfridge, frowned on the hiring of “historama” muralist Andre Miripolsky without seeking submissions from local artists. But board member Mark Baer, who is friends with the L.A.-based Miripolsky, says, “Competitive bidding for art is ridiculous. You hire somebody you know can get the job done.”


Both confirm the board will be pursuing legal action against the email’s author, whom Hood describes as “someone who was hired and took instruction for services from [Crowe-Weisberg].” They also plan to demand a public apology and retraction of what Hood calls “libelous” statements.


Regardless of the email’s veracity, City Manager Fred Meurer and other city officials have long worried about the museum’s financial state. The board, which has experienced high turnover in recent years, had been dipping into its endowment to cover day-to-day operations, and came before the City Council last December with an incomplete financial report.


“I continue to be extremely concerned that the [Monterey History and Art Association, which runs the museum] lacks a sound exhibit and interpretation, business and operational plans,” Meurer wrote in a June 10 memo to Bailey. 


“We have $450,000 on hand,” Hood responds. “That’s more than a year’s worth of capital.” Museum staff are also applying for a number of grants, including one from Google. 


Then there’s the issue of the museum’s lease terms, which the City Council discussed in closed session June 21.


“The lease requires [MoM] to be a maritime museum and history center,” Meurer says. “A real maritime museum would do a more complete job of celebrating maritime history.”


Hood says he’s been working overtime to advance financial and exhibition plans – and to convince Meurer of the board’s momentum. 


“We are moving ahead with our plans unchecked,” he wrote in a June 16 email to Meurer. “Attendance is strong (1,300 on the first day), sales in the store are growing and national press is interested.” 


Baer adds that he’s working on plans for a virtual reality exhibit that will bring MoM into the 21st century.


“A maritime museum is not a sustainable future,” he says. “We will be telling history in a new way.”