Trustees Commit to Laguna Art Satellite

In a surprising turn of events, Laguna Art Museum trustees publicly committed Tuesday to hammering out a way to keep a satellite of Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach.

The trustees, who voted last week to merge with Newport Harbor Art Museum, will hold an executive committee meeting Thursday to explore specific proposals “to fund the continuing operation of a Laguna Art Museum site,” said Charles Martin, a Newport Harbor trustee who will be president of a merged institution.

The trustees’ unexpected decision came about as a result of intense public opposition from Laguna Museum members, who must ratify the merger, and other Laguna Beach residents. Just last week, opponents announced a campaign to recall museum trustees.

“Let’s be frank, they got our attention,” Martin said.

Meanwhile, the Laguna Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to send two council members to meet with Laguna museum trustees to learn more about the merger and report its impact on the community. Although they have no authority over the museum, council members also voted to oppose the merger, to ask for a 90-day delay in the ratification vote by museum members and to investigate whether they can take any legal action to stop the merger.

Opponents are concerned that a merger creating an Orange County Museum of Art would close the 78-year-old Laguna Art Museum and move its permanent collection out of town.

While still in the preliminary discussion stages, Martin and the Laguna trustees are considering a satellite museum that would operate at about $350,000 a year--a third of the museum’s current budget. Funding would come from the merged Orange County Museum of Art, the Laguna Beach community and perhaps even city funding.

“Trustees are committed to keeping [a Laguna Art Museum satellite] open so long as the Laguna community shares in the financial responsibility,” said David Emmes II, a Laguna museum trustee. “It would be up to the community to find out where the available dollars are.”

But a merger remains uncertain. Approved by trustees from both museums last week, the merger still must be ratified by the Laguna museum’s 1,500 members, who will be polled by mail. Only those who were members as of Feb. 27 are allowed to vote, according to the museum, which mailed ballots on Thursday. The ballots must be returned by March 30.

Proponents contend that without a merger, the museum faces a “considerable risk of insolvency,” according to a letter Laguna museum trustees sent with members’ ballots.

They also foresee a merger creating a world-class museum, perhaps near Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza mall, on a par with the Orange County Performing Arts Center and Tony-winning South Coast Repertory Theatre.

Both museums want more gallery space to show special exhibits and permanent collections simultaneously.

Laguna trustees have discussed with city officials the possibility of leasing the seaside Laguna museum building to the city for $1 a year for five years with an option to buy, according to Laguna board president Gilbert LeVasseur.