ORDINANCE NO. 220449

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Approving the Sale and Transfer of ownership of the City owned Collection of historical objects for the Kansas City Museum from the City to the Kansas City Museum Foundation (KCMF); and authorizing the City Manager to execute related documents to complete the transfer of the Collection.

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WHEREAS, the City owns the Kansas City Museum (“Corinthian Hall”) located at 3218 Gladstone Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri; and

WHEREAS, since the 2016 adopted Strategic and Business Plans for the Museum, the KCMF has been working toward becoming the governing body of the Museum empowered to fully manage and operate the Museum through an Agreement with the Parks Department; and

WHEREAS, the Parks Board and the KCMF recognize the significance of the Museum to Kansas City and have identified a mutually beneficial plan to create a public-private partnership with KCMF to support the governance, management, operations, maintenance, renovations, and sustainability of the Museum; and

WHEREAS, the KCMF is committed to the care, management, preservation, stewardship, and display of the Collection for, among other purposes, research, exhibitions, and educational programs to highlight the history and cultural heritage of Kansas City’s past, present, and future; and

WHEREAS, the City owns a Collection of objects of historical, cultural or aesthetic value that were transferred to it for one dollar ($1.00) from the Kansas City Museum Foundation under a Bill of Sale dated June 15, 1948 (“Bill of Sale”); and

WHEREAS, the City has an inventory of the entire Kansas City Museum Collection it currently owns including the co-owned collection with Union Station (“collectively referred to as City Owned Collection”) and attached is a summary description of  the Collection in Exhibit A; and

WHEREAS, the City entered into a July 1, 2007, Amended and Restated Management Agreement and a First Amendment to that Agreement dated February 14, 2014, with the Union Station for the management and operation of the Union Station Artifacts and the City Artifacts for the Kansas City Museum; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance No. 210261, the City Council approved an Agreement between the City of Kansas City, Missouri, by and through the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners, and the Kansas City Museum Foundation (KCMF) for the Foundation to govern, manage, operate, and maintain the Kansas City Museum; and

WHEREAS, this Agreement was executed by the parties on May 1, 2021; and

WHEREAS,  pursuant to this Agreement, the City annually transfers the Kansas City Museum Mill Levy Fund to the KCMF for the operational expenses including management and storage fees for the Collection to Union Station since it is dedicated only to the Museum and the Levy Fund is to be used exclusively for the management, construction, operation, and improvement of the Kansas City Museum; and

WHEREAS, after a significant renovation the Kansas City Museum reopened to the public on October 21, 2021; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 2 (C) of the Management Agreement, the City Council must approve any transfer of the City Owned Collection to KCMF; and

WHEREAS, upon the transfer of the Collection to KCMF the City will assign its obligations and rights under the Union Station’s Management and Operation Agreement and First Amendment to KCMF; and 

WHEREAS, the agreement for the sale and transfer of the Collection will contain a reversionary clause that the right of possession and ownership of the Collection for the Kansas City Museum shall revert back to the City if the KCMF is no longer managing and operating the Kansas City Museum or if KCMF is in default of the May 1, 2021, Agreement and fails to cure the defect; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

Section 1. That the City Council hereby approves the sale and transfer of the City Owned Collection of historical objects for the Kansas City Museum from the City to the Kansas City Museum Foundation for one dollar (S1.00) and other good and valuable consideration. A summary description of the City Owned Collection is listed in Exhibit A attached hereto.

Section 2. That the City Manager is authorized to execute the sale and transfer of collection agreement and any other documents needed to effectuate this transaction.

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Approved as to form and legality:

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Lana K. Torczon

Assistant City Attorney

EXHIBIT A

Kansas City Museum Collections Overview & Ownership

Containing more than 100,000 objects, the Kansas City Museum Collection offers a rich sampling of Kansas City and regional history while representing the daily lives of past generations.  Encyclopedic in nature, there are several core collection groups.

The Archives:  Co-owned with Union Station

A significant component of the collection is the Archives, which contain a wide variety of documentary source materials.  Of particular note are the photograph collections, featuring:  the entire output of local photographer Warner Untersee of Warner Studio; film collections including the earliest footage known to exist of Kansas City taken by George Curtiss; television news footage of the 1960s-70s; manuscript collections featuring the former city archives collection of George Fuller Green; business and organizational records; family papers of several local families; many other ephemeral collections.

Loula Long Combs Collection:  Co-owned with Union Station

A legendary figure of Kansas City, Mrs. Combs was the first lady of the show horse world and daughter of Robert Alexander Long, owner of Corinthian Hall (now the Kansas City Museum).  Loula’s collection encompasses artifacts from both her personal and professional lives, including carriages and tack, trophies and ribbons, clothing and accessories, and archival collections of photographs, film, and family memorabilia.

Clothing and Textiles Collection:  Co-owned with Union Station

The Museum has one of the largest and best represented collections of clothing materials in the Midwest, with everything from couture gowns to day dresses, uniforms to overalls, shoes to hats and everything in between. Additionally, the collection includes examples of many kinds of quilts and coverlets.

Transportation Collection:  Co-owned by Union Station

One of the fastest growing collection groups is in transportation and contains a large collection of rail memorabilia, automobiles, a homemade motorcycle from the turn of the century, the Loula Long Combs carriage collection, and a rare Butler Blackhawk airplane.

Garment District Collection:  Owed by the City

The Kansas City Museum is now home to the Historic Garment District Museum’s collection of historic clothing and archives.  Clothing examples made by local companies from the 1920s through the 1970s are included, with over 350 garments in the collection plus numerous objects such as equipment and marketing pieces.  The collection highlights about a dozen companies who helped make up Kansas City’s garment district, one of the largest in the nation.

Medical Collection:  Owned by the City

In 2015, the Kansas City Museum added one of the best medical collections in the Midwest to its holdings.  The Donald Piper Memorial Medical Museum is a 15,000 plus strong collection of instruments, archives and ephemera related to the St. Joseph Hospital in particular, and Kansas City medical history overall.  The collection of St. Joseph Hospital is part medical history and part corporate history, and includes everything from doctor’s bags to delicate baby respirators.  It has unusual items as well as numerous examples of mundane items showing the progression of technological improvement.

Firefighting Collection:  Owned by Union Station

The partnership with the Kansas City Fire Historical Society brings with it a collection of firefighting equipment, memorabilia, and records.  This is a great addition to the unique collection of trophies, badges, and memorabilia of Fire Chief George Hale.

Daniel and Ida Dyer Collection of Native American Culture:  Owned by Union Station

An Indian Agent in 1870s Indian territory, Dyer and his wife Ida continued to amass artifacts from every native culture in North America up until the time of his death in 1912.  This collection is known for its many outstanding examples of tribal life with strong emphasis on Southern Plains tribes.