Politics & Government

Committee Supports SWM Working Group

The motion was approved in a committee meeting on Wednesday, and will now go before the full city council.

Citing a need to place the and the Autry National Center on equal footing, the Los Angeles City Council's Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee on Wednesday approved a motion that could create a working group focused on reopening the historic Mount Washington museum.

With the approval of the committee, the motion will now be sent to the full City Council for final approval. A hearing date has not yet been set.

The motion calls for the creation of a "working group to engage in formal discussions with the Autry National Center of the American West, museum experts, stakeholders, and community groups to develop a long-range plan ... for the Southwest Museum and Casa de Adobe site at Mt. Washington."

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A contingent of Northeast Los Angeles community members have clashed with Autry leadership over their handling of the Southwest Museum, saying they have failed to live up to the 2002 merger agreement which gave them control of the Southwest Museum's massive and valuable collection.

Community members had hoped the merger would lead to a revival of the historic but financially struggling Southwest Museum.

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Other provisions of the motion include, "[developing] a long-range plan for the Autry Center at Griffith Park," and "[reviewing] the Merger Agreement and the implementation of its mandates."

The motion also calls for the working group to report to both the Budget and Finance and the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging committees within 60 days on the progress of the discussion.

The working group motion was originally tabled in April over the concerns of the city attorney's office that participation by council members in the working group would trigger a violation of open meeting law.

On Wednesday, the committee decided that council members would not participate in the working group.

The committee also "received and filed" two other motions related to the Southwest Museum, including one proposed by Councilman Ed Reyes that would require the Autry to seek funding for the Southwest Museum in equal measure to the funding sought for the Autry's Griffith Park campus and another motion that would require the Autry to discuss "potential opportunities" for the Southwest Museum with the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee.

The action of receiving and filing the motions essentially kills them.

Nicole Possert, a member of the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition, which has in recent years attempted to pressured the Autry to reopen the Southwest Museum, said she was pleased by the comments of committee members Reyes and Richard Alarcon.

"I thought [Alarcon] was very strong about finding a solution that was community oriented," Possert said. "I thought he and Reyes used the meeting to give some flavor of what their opinion is about the museum to the public."

A spokesman for the Autry could not be reached in time for this story, however, during April's meeting, Autry leadership expressed concerns about the scope of the working group.

"The interest here, on everybody's part, is the best future of the Southwest Museum and the Casa de Adobe," said Autry Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Luke Swetland in April. "Getting the right people in the room--city, Autry, people from the L.A. Conservancy--you get a few thoughtful experts in the room, and everybody focuses on one thing only--the right honorable future of the Mount Washington campus. The motion as drafted focuses on a whole menu of things, and we believe that deflects our attention away from one objective."

The Autry has balked at the idea of fully reopening the Southwest Museum to the public, saying it is in need of and has shifted the focus to expanding its Griffith Park campus.

The Southwest Museum for limited hours on Saturday, for the first time in three years. The lobby of the museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with reservation only tours scheduled to begin in June.


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