On Feb 7, 2024, a PHMCThe Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the state agency that stewards the U.S. Brig Niagara and Erie Maritime Museum. The PHMC is responsible for the collect... commissioner graciously sat down with a handful of volunteers. Here are the questions, answers, and discussions we had. And… here’s an offer from PHMC’s Director of External Affairs that came about as a direct result of that meeting. (You’ll have to read to the end for more on that…)
A Niagara supporter reached out to PHMC Commissioner, Cal Pifer. Pifer is local to Erie, and has the unique position of being possibly the only person within all of PHMC who has any tall ships background. He is quite knowledgeable about the U.S. Brig Niagara, the Flagship Niagara League, and other tall ships in America and their organizations. He has personally served on several of these ships, worked with some of these organizations, and currently leads the Hagen History Center. Commissioners for PHMC serve in a role similar to a board of directors. They focus more on issues of governance and large-scale strategy, with a finite number of meetings per year. However, as someone local and with knowledge of tall ships, Commissioner Pifer has perhaps had more interactions and engagements than would be normal for someone in that position, even if he does not have a direct say in PHMC operations. When this volunteer inquired about whether he would take a meeting, Pifer very graciously offered to host a small group to “share what I know, and answer questions as best I can.” The volunteer who made the original ask shared it with approximately 100 other volunteers and Niagara supporters. That person was unable to attend, but three of us accepted the open invitation.
At the start of the meeting we asked if it was okay to take notes and share them with other supporters afterwards. He approved, as long as he had the opportunity to review the notes first. Those notes can be found here.
Some highlights we took away from the meeting:
- The idea of ending the contract had been discussed in mid-September during the last PHMC commissioners meeting. FNL was not officially notified of the ending of the contract until mid-December. (*see note below)
- The decision to terminate FNL’s contract was made by PHMC staff. Commissioners were informed of the decision after it had been made.
- PHMC believes that having the state (i.e. taxpayers) fund more of the costs for Niagara’s operation and repairs would be a good thing.
- The work that PHMC is planning to do is not a full mid-life refit. They plan to address the stem, shafts, engines, and props.
- PHMC admits to having a drawn out procurement process that makes maintaining a wooden tall ship more difficult than under private management
*Note from author: Any discussions of Niagara were excluded from PHMC’s published meeting minutes. Honestly, the minutes make the commission look like a puppet group. From speaking with the Commissioner it seems like much more discussion and engagement occurs than what is reported in the meeting minutes. The public is allowed to attend these meetings but who can drive all the way to Harrisburg to attend? These minutes clearly don’t reflect the real conversations happening in those meetings…
One of the things we shared with Commissioner Pifer was that in 2023 ship volunteers contributed over 7000 hours of labor, valued by PHMC’s own calculations at just over $234,000. Yet PHMC has refused to hold a public forum.
We reiterated several times throughout the meeting that we are still looking for a public forum between PHMC and the local community. It was wonderful for the Commissioner to take the time to speak with us, but we are only three people. We tried to get input from some other Niagara supporters regarding what they wanted to know more about, but they all deserve to ask their questions and have them answered. They deserve to hear the answers themselves, not filtered through us as translator.
Commissioner Pifer took notes on several of the issues we raised and said he would inquire about them with PHMC leadership.
Two weeks after our meeting with Commissioner Pifer, we received an email from Howard Pollman, PHMC’s Director of External Affairs. The Commissioner and PHMC leadership discussed an alternative proposal where PHMC leadership would sit down for a similar meeting with a small group of volunteers. But PHMC has either misinterpreted that discussion, or has chosen to portray it in a different light. In his email to us, PHMC’s Director of External Affairs, Howard Pollman, mistakenly suggested that we requested a private meeting as a replacement for the public forum. His message was polite and business-like but still essentially dismisses our desires. He suggested that in a few weeks, once several things were settled (presumably, after they think there’s nothing left for us to complain about), PHMC would consider our “request” to meet privately with them. You can see Pollman’s full email at this link.
On the plus side, this is the first time PHMC leadership has even acknowledged that we requested a meeting. Progress! We have previously received two responses to letters we wrote to Andrea LoweryAndrea Lowery, serves as Executive Director and Chief of the Division of Architecture and Preservation for PHMC. asking for a public forum, and in her responses she reiterated the talking points of press releases and completely ignored the main purpose of our letters (the request for a public forum). So, PHMC has finally acknowledged the request for a meeting. But… the effect is still dismissive, and leveraged some overt manipulation of power and bargaining positions.
We responded promptly to correct the issue, explaining that we had only ever made a request for a public forum. We think everyone deserves equal access to ask their questions and hear PHMC’s answers. However, if PHMC would allow us to record and distribute the unedited meeting, then we would consider their offer to meet with a few of us. We would try to work with the Niagara community before such a meeting to crowdsource questions for PHMC. But again, this doesn’t replace the need for a full public forum. You can see our response letter here.
We have not yet received a reply from Mr. Pollman.
We are grateful to Commissioner Pifer for being willing to sit down and discuss things as openly as he could. It was a respectful exchange that we hope increased understanding on both sides. We hope that those channels will slowly make PHMC more willing to be open and transparent with the public about Niagara.
Keep an eye out for more information on the horizon. Expect to see more activity on the blog soon. Keep sharing the petition. Keep asking for transparency and accountability.
Don’t Give Up The Ship!
Katie Zawrotniak
Petition creator, fellow Niagara supporter.
Addendum: Supporting Documents
Commissioner Pifer Meeting Notes: View Document in new tab.
To resume reading update, click here.
Pollman offer to meet: View Document in new tab.
To resume reading update, click here.
Response to Pollman: View Document in new tab.
To resume reading update, click here.
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