Morris parks, MPAC, Morris Museum make deep cuts during pandemic

Morris County’s vaunted park system may be among the casualties of the coronavirus pandemic.

Layoffs by the Morris County Park Commission appear to rule out, at least for the near future, reopening tourist destinations such as the Fosterfields Living Historical Museum and the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, both in Morris Township; Historic Speedwell in Morristown; and the Cooper Gristmill,  the Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center and Willowwood Arboretum, all in Chester.

Twenty-two full-time Park Commission jobs have been eliminated in an attempt to close a $3.8 million budget shortfall that stems largely from loss of revenue from four county golf courses and the Mennen Arena during the pandemic, Park Commission Executive Director Dave Helmer told volunteer organizations in an email last week.

Half the full-time job cuts are vacancies that preceded the March 22, 2020, statewide lockdown. The other 11 — including educators and historians responsible for giving tours and running daily operations–were placed on unpaid leave last week and will be laid off on Oct. 1, 2020.

That’s in addition to 90 percent of the Park Commission’s part-time workforce, laid off in March.  Remaining civilian employees must take 22 furlough days, equivalent to a 20 percent pay cut.

“As you may know over the past couple of months, recent changes to the economy due to the COVID19 pandemic have forced the Commission to make difficult decision (SIC),” Park Commission Executive Director Dave Helmer said in a memo to employees. “Due to the continued economic conditions, the Park Commission finds it necessary to eliminate various programmatic initiatives or find other means to operate those programs.”

The Park Commission follows other area cultural institutions, including the Mayo Performing Arts Center and the Morris Museum, which have had to make hard choices as the crisis continues.

Helmer told Morristown Green last week he needed to discuss parks’ situation with two unions, and with volunteer organizations that support the facilities, before he could respond to questions.

In his message to the Friends of Historic Speedwell, the Friends of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, and the Friends of Fosterfields and the Cooper Gristmill, among other volunteers, Helmer acknowledged that some horticultural, historic and environmental education facilities no longer may have any staffers.

This is “hopefully only for the short-term,” Helmer said. The sites still will be cared for, and some special activities may occur, “but we will need to collectively regroup to see what our course back will be based on governmental restrictions and the public’s appetite to return to our parks,” he told the Friends.

Some unionized Park Commission workers were offered the option of “bumping” employees with less seniority. Employees who live in Park Commission buildings can stay through Dec. 31, 2020.

Positions being eliminated, according to Helmer, include eight programming/education staff,  five maintenance staff (general park/ historic sites/ horticulture), three administrative personnel, two Morris County Park Police, two employees at Mennen Arena and one buildings & construction worker.

Park Commission employees had been sent home, with pay, in March, when almost everything statewide was locked down per orders of Gov. Phil Murphy.  They returned to work on June 8. Some had been preparing virtual field trips and limited tours and drive-throughs.

The Park Commission has received $13.675 million from the Morris County freeholders every year since 2009.  That accounts for roughly half the commission’s budget; the rest is from fees paid by golfers, skaters and visitors to historic sites.

Prior to the pandemic, the commission anticipated raising nearly $13.9 million in fees for 2020, Helmer told the Friends groups.

According to Helmer, plans are proceeding for drive-through tours of Fosterfields. Limited weekday hours are envisioned for the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Bamboo Brook Gardens, and the Willowwood Arboretum.  The Haggerty Education Center at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum will remain closed to the public, but weddings still may be booked there.

The parking area probably will be closed at the Cooper Gristmill, while plans for reopening Historic Speedwell, the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center and the Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area Visitors Center are to be determined. Trails remain open at Pyramid Mountain; it’s unclear whether Patriots Path will stay open near other sites.

‘STRATEGIC DOWNSIZING’

When the the Morris Museum reopens its doors on July 21, it will do so with six fewer full-time positions than it had prior to the outbreak, according to Executive Director Cleveland Johnson.

A federal Paycheck Protection Program loan kept most of the staff on payroll through June, Johnson said.

“With that funding exhausted, and back on our own diminished resources, we have done some strategic downsizing to help the Museum financially weather this storm. The ‘core’ of the Morris Museum — the staff and resources that drive our exhibitions, for example — is absolutely sound and intact,” he said.

“Other functions of the Museum are more at the mercy of external circumstances beyond our control. Our museum-loan program and education activities for school groups, for example, have gone into hibernation for now. We are ready to rebuild our staffing in such areas just as soon as conditions allow.”

The museum in Morris Township kicks off an outdoor jazz series on Thursday.

‘A PLACE OF RESPITE’

Last month the Mayo Performing Arts Center staged a drive-in concert at Fosterfields as a fundraiser.  Repeating the experience may prove challenging, however, because of layoffs by the Morristown theater.

MPAC furloughed 10 full-timers on June 30, for a total of 15 — nearly half the full-time staff– since the Morristown theater shut down in March.  Another 25 part-timers were laid off early on.

“It has been heartbreaking for the theatre to temporarily lose valuable staff members, not knowing when we might be able to bring them back onboard,” said MPAC CEO Allison Larena. 

A $549,000 loan from the federal Paycheck Protection Program helped keep staff employed for three months. If Congress enacts the RESTART Act, that could be another lifeline, Larena said.

The nonprofit awaits guidance from the governor on when, and how, it may reopen, said General Manager Ed Kirchdoerffer.

“We’re hurting,” Kirchdoerffer said. “These furloughs hopefully are temporary. We hope to have everybody back in the house in the fall.”

He estimates the lockdown cost the theater about $4 million in lost revenue for its fourth quarter, which just ended.  For fiscal year 2021, which runs from now to next June, MPAC anticipates losses of about $6 million; normal revenues are about $15 million, Kirchdoerffer said.

The $6 million projected loss is based on the assumption that doors will open on Jan. 1, 2021 — a big if, Kirchdoerffer said.

Dozens of shows have been canceled or rescheduled, and rescheduled again, and rescheduled again. Tickets are selling for some events in November and December, thanks to a no-hassle refund policy, the general manager said.

A drive-in concert last month, starring John Ginty at the Fosterfields Living Historical Farm in Morris Township, eked a modest profit from 140 vehicles, at $100 per carload. It was a welcome a morale-builder, Kirchdoerffer said.

“People just wanted to feel normal for one night,” he said.

One or two additional outdoor concerts are possible this summer, though they may be more challenging given the staff reductions, Kirchdoerffer said.

As Kirchdoerffer noted in the Morristown Green Podcast, MPAC has kicked around the idea of small indoor shows–perhaps limited to 300 of the venue’s 1,300 seats– featuring standup comics, singer-songwriters, lectures or movies.

Once again, it depends on Trenton’s blessing, and the theater’s ability to space patrons at safe distances.

In the meantime, MPAC plans to continue youth education programs online. It also may experiment with online offerings for adults. Improv comedy lessons debuted in May and June.

Patrons have been generous, added Kirchdoerffer, appealing for support from anyone in a position to provide it.

“In times of crisis, people turn to organizations like ours as a place of respite. Unfortunately, we’re stifled right now. We’re suffering financially. It’s tough.”