TKC BREAKING NEWS!!! KANSAS CITY AMERICAN JAZZ MUSEUM TAKEOVER SMACKDOWN TARGETING COUNCIL DUDE JERMIANE REED STARTS TODAY!!!

A 3rd district insider recently posted this summation of the sitch confronting the AJM that brilliantly and succinctly offers an insight on two resolutions under consideration this morning . . .

"Two ordinances pertaining who will lead AJM in the Interim and whether both 3rd District Council members should remain on AJM's board of directors are the areas covered in the proposed ordinances. The language in one ordinance withholds City funding for the museum if the AJM board attempts to HIRE an Interim Director rather than allow the City manager to designate a city staffer for the Interim Director position.

"The Museum Consultants report states the some people interviewed by the consultants feel that a certain council member has had overbearing negative influence on the AJM board.

"The report does NOT name which 3rd District council member. However, the ordinance to remove a 3rd District Council member from the AJM board has 3rd District At-Large Council member Lucus as a sponsor of the ordinance."

A lesser local media outlet buried the smackdown in their unread pages:



But in recent days, members learned that Reed had called for the appointment of E. Frank Ellis, former executive director of Swope Community Enterprises and past chairman of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

In an interview, Wagner said Reed has exerted outsized and counterproductive influence on the board because he (and Lucas) represent the legislative body that controls the purse strings. The report recommended that council members not serve on the board because of the inherent conflict of interest.

"What we are concerned about is that there seems to be only one person on the board whose views matter," said Wagner, chair of the council's finance and governance committee, referring to Reed.

Asked if he thought Reed was undermining efforts to fix the museum, he said: "If you were to ask individuals associated with the museum that is the answer you would get." Wagner added that he found Reed unhelpful when he asked for information.

In fairness to Council dude Reed despite the fact he deserves little because he constantly badmouths (and thereby publicizes) our blog community.

Here's his newspaper quote:

"If my colleagues believe that I have done anything misleading or inappropriate at any point since I began serving on the AJM board, I welcome that it be brought to my attention," Reed said. He also called for council members to "not spend time tearing apart each other for the purposes of headline making or political gamesmanship."

Many on the Council seem to think that passing resolutions and booting him off the AJM board might be more effective than more discussion on the money losing endeavor.

You decide . . .

UPDATE . . . Here's more of a response from Councilman Reed via his newsletter just sent our way.

Take a look:



Kansas City, Mo.) — With respect to the two American Jazz Museum resolutions — pasted below — that my Council colleagues have introduced recently and that will come before the Finance and Governance Committee at 8:30 a.m. this morning (5/23), it would seem that both are out of order, not in good faith, and only adding to the disarray. Furthermore, the apparent lack of due diligence is deeply concerning.


Resolution 180395 — Repealing Section 2 of Resolution No. 160929 and enacting a new Section 2 in lieu thereof to permit the City to reevaluate of the role of City Councilmembers on the American Jazz Museum (AJM) Board by eliminating the requirement that one of the City AJM Board members be a member of the City Council representing the district in which AJM is located.

Resolution 180396 — Directing the City Manager to not expend any City funds for a contract for an Interim Executive Director of American Jazz Museum (AJM) or to reimburse AJM for any expenses associated with hiring or contracting with an Interim Executive Director without City Council authorization; directing the City Manager to not provide additional funding to AJM without Council authorization; and re-authorizing the City Manager to provide AJM with an Interim Executive Director from City staff.

On the first item, Resolution 180395, this smacks of political gamesmanship like few other resolutions I have seen in my political career. Certainly, if this resolution were to pass, the message would be clearly sent that Council could choose to reevaluate the role of any City Councilmember serving on any board of any cultural or civic institution in any Council District, and that Council could eliminate the requirement that board members be a City Councilmember representing the district in which those institutions are located. We should not upend the precedent of City Councilmembers serving institutions in their own districts.

On the second item, Resolution 180396, to begin, and after hearing from several attorney colleagues in Kansas City, if these resolutions were to pass, the City Council would likely be grossly overreaching its power in connection to its contractual relationship with the American Jazz Museum. As an independent nonprofit corporation registered in the State of Missouri, the American Jazz Museum and its board of directors have the final say on making decisions for the organization — whether that be changing the makeup of the board itself, hiring or contracting with an Interim Executive Director, or even requesting the City Manager provide AJM with an Interim Executive Director from City Staff.

Certainly, the City has a longstanding contract with the AJM; however, if the City Council passes these resolutions, it will not only prove to be an unpopular decision, it will be inappropriately overbroad.

Given the opportunity to conduct adequate due diligence, the City might determine that there are only two entities with the authority to override AJM board of directors’ decisions: the Missouri Attorney General and a State of Missouri Court of Law. The state of Missouri governs the operations of nonprofit corporations with tax exempt 501(c)(3) status, and as part of the duties of a nonprofit's board of directors, board members need to manage the organization’s money and other assets responsibly — not a municipal entity, and not even a municipal entity seeking transparency and accountability of public funds, of which the nonprofit is a beneficiary.

Additional due diligence might reveal that the by-laws of the AJM do not provide the City with the power to select the Executive Director. While the AJM board can change its by-laws to allow the City increased authority and control, the City cannot and should not go overboard with unreasonable and unwarranted demands for governmental intrusion and control.

Further due diligence would likely involve the City’s Law Department expert review to determine if any violations of the basis of authority are imminent with these resolutions as drafted and to provide guidance to the Council regarding this course of action before there is forward motion. I caution the City Council against making any rash decisions without the benefit of its City legal counsel.

In addition, these resolutions should be examined through the prism of the recent MMC Organizational Assessment Report of the AJM, to understand how these resolutions do or do not correlate with this important roadmap for the City and AJM to move forward. As we all know, the City has spent $60,000 on this helpful report, and we need to be good stewards of City funds and ensure that all actions are aligned accordingly with the Report, and especially, the five priority recommendations from MMC, which were to:

1. Refresh the staff and Board leadership of the Museum;

2. Form a Planning Committee of the City, Board, AJM staff and community leadership to lead AJM through the planning process;

3. Engage in a highly inclusive strategic planning process to redefine AJM’s mission, core values and organizational goals and priorities;

4. Develop an overall Visitor Experience Plan that rethinks the entire museum experience; and

5. Consider closing the museum for a predetermined period of time.

NEXT STEPS

- I have requested a three-week time period starting today (5/23) through June 13 to allow for the City of Kansas City, Missouri to faithfully and completely perform its due diligence.

- I am recommending the AJM board work with the City to establish the framework of the process to move forward as recommended by the MMC Organizational Assessment Report.

- As part of this process, I am suggesting that the AJM board work with the City to assemble a Transition & Planning Committee — as delineated in the MMC Report — and that the Committee be tasked immediately to hire the interim executive director or permanent executive director, engage the stakeholders and community, and follow the process to implement the MMC Report.
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Developing . . . .