Alpine supervisors may rescind termination notice

Alpine County supervisors are scheduled to meet in closed session on Tuesday to discuss its legal battle with the Historical Society.

The board is also agendized to discuss rescinding a termination notice sent to the historical society after receiving a petition.

A deadline for the Society to vacate the county museum in Markleeville was extended from Tuesday to Halloween, according to County Administrator Nicole Williamson.

Williamson told supervisors on Sept. 17 that she extended it after consulting with the chairwoman and legal counsel.

At that meeting, residents asked the Board of Supervisors to rescind its 90-day notice for the Historical Society to vacate the museum.

Residents presented a petition to supervisors with 163 names on it asking the board to consider the action.

Resident Clint Celio said that severing the agreement between the county and the society isn’t a favorable outcome of the dispute.

“The outcome that nobody wants is to remove the artifacts from the museum,” he said. “Those artifacts have been donated and carefully curated for over 60 years. It’s imperative that they stay in the museum.”

Supervisors were willing to rescind the termination of the 1990 agreement and asked that it be put on a future agenda. With an additional month, the extra time might work toward resolving the issue.

“Leaving the agreement in place ensures that the artifacts remain in the Alpine County Museum, where they belong,” Celio said.