Corpus Christi Museum Under New Management

The city still owns it, but the management of the Corpus Christi Science and History Museum has changed hands. As of Oct. 1, the Friends of the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History have taken over leadership from Corpus Christi Museum Joint Venture, a company formed solely to run the institution. The Friends group has supported the nonprofit since 1974, raising funds and helping to acquire popular exhibits.
The $10 million raised by the group over the years has been used to bring in exhibits such as a 16th century Spanish dome, The Smithsonian Institution’s “Seeds of Change,” 15th century and 16th century shipwrecks, the Corpus Christi History Gallery, the H-E-B Science Center, and the Kaboom Playground and Music Garden.
Joint Venture President Bill Durrill informed the Corpus Christi City Council via letter last summer that, after six years of operating the museum, the company was not interested in extending its contract. Durrill cited liabilities associated with maintaining the museum as a main obstacle.
Damage from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 25, 2017, closed the museum for nine months. It reopened in May 2018 after the city provided $500,000 from the operating budget for repairs. Reimbursement is expected from the Federal Emergency Management Association.
The hurricane seemed to blow in troubles between Joint Venture and former President and CEO Carol Rehtmeyer. In April, Rehtmeyer appeared before the City Council and charged Joint Venture with mishandling museum profits. She left the museum two years earlier as part of a severance agreement with Joint Venture.
“Currently, the museum is managed by a for-profit organization, led by one individual, devoid of a governing board,” she told the council during public comment. “One hundred percent of gross revenue is withdrawn from the museum. Half of those funds are paid as management fees to that for-profit company. This leaves the museum without any revenue.”
Over the summer, the city put out a Request for Proposals to run the museum. Two bids were received and the Friends of the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History was hired.
The proposed service agreement starts with $500,000 paid by the city to the Friends group for fiscal year 2019. That amount drops considerably over the next four years as revenues are expected to increase. An additional $50,000 a year in hotel/motel occupancy taxes is expected to be available for advertising. The total, with $300,000 for FY20, $200,000 for FY21, and $150,000 each for FY22 and FY23, comes to $1.3 million for the five-year contract.
Friends board members now in charge include Jim Maloney, Gloria Hicks, Chris Adler, Sam Susser Sr., Al Jones, Toby Shor, David Engel, and Carol Rehtmeyer. Serving as advisors to the organization are Mel Klein, Gary Leach, and Kim Hammer. Rehtmeyer will lead the team as the new president and CEO.
“I am enthusiastic to work with the Friends of the Museum to continue the vision and provide Corpus Christi with a truly worldclass museum experience,” Rehtmeyer said. “We're really excited to not only finish up some of the programming and concepts we'd started but to do some more things and some really unique experiences, more hands-on, more visual, and more engagement with the community.”