FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

It has been almost a month since contract negotiations between the Board of Governors of the Park Museum and the Association of Professional Park Construction Workers (APPCW) broke down. As a result, we have not been able to complete the construction of the Museum’s main building, nor to begin the additions that were announced earlier this year.

We realize that this presents both a disappointment and a challenge to those who have worked so hard to see this project through to completion. It is also extremely frustrating to those who looked forward to spending time in the new museum, learning about The Park’s history and pondering its future. We would, therefore, like to take this opportunity to clarify the situation and to correct some misinformation that has been reported in the media.

First, we would like to assure our donors and our future patrons that the Board of Governors of the Park Museum have been working diligently and in good faith to resolve this impasse. At no time did we threaten to void our contract with the Builders’ Guild (APPCW), as was reported, nor have we ever failed to attend negotiations. We believe that we have bargained in good faith with the members of the APPCW and, to the best of our ability, we have met members’ demands.

These are tough economic times, however, and as much as we would like to, we simply cannot accommodate all the wishes of those who are working to build the Park Museum. At this point, our funding for the project is fixed and working within that budget means that any extra monies that we might negotiate to transfer to the APPCW will have to come from the museum’s operating budget. That budget includes funds for exhibits and special events and we are, understandably, loath to use this money for any other enterprise than that for which it was allocated, namely to fulfil the very purpose for which the museum is being constructed.

We believe that our original agreement with the APPCW is fair and reasonable, as did the Guild, itself, when its representatives signed on to do the work. We are, however, willing to revisit some of the terms of that agreement so that work to build the museum can begin again. To that end, we have enlisted the help of a negotiation and arbitration team from the firm of Terrier, Terrier, Wolfhound and Shepherd. The team will be working closely with the Park Museum’s Board of Governors and with representatives of the APPCW to bring about a mutually-satisfying resolution.

It is our fervent hope that an agreement will be reached soon and that construction on the Park Museum will resume before the end of the year.