Strategic initiatives that OMMF intends to accomplish in the years 2006-2010.

THE OVERFALLS MARITIME MUSEUM FOUNDATION
2006-2010 STRATEGIC PLAN
September 2006
 
 
Introduction And Summary
 
This plan identifies and defines strategic initiatives that the Overfalls Maritime Museum Foundation intends to accomplish in the years 2006-2010. With this plan, the Foundation is widening its focus but remaining within its mission statement.
 
The mission of The Overfalls Maritime Museum Foundation is to collect, preserve, honor and teach the maritime history of Lewes, Delaware Bay and the coastal region. Additionally, the Foundation plans to preserve, maintain and display the Lightship Overfalls (LV118) and all other maritime artifacts and structures acquired.
 
The widened focus is made possible and dictated by conditions within the Foundation and its environment such as: the increased size and diversity of the membership, increased activity in maritime heritage at all levels of the community and government, and increased interest in the Foundation’s mission and activities at the local, state and national levels. An additional spur to the new focus came from City officials and other community leaders at a gathering hosted by the Foundation in March of 2006.
 
In this five year planning period, the Foundation will focus on four major initiatives. The first three are discrete projects that will be completed within the period. The fourth is a concept which, while important, is difficult to plan because it may be impacted by events outside of the control of the Foundation. The four initiatives are listed below in the order of the priority that the Foundation will use to apply resources to them.
 
 
I.   Stabilize The Lightship Overfalls
 
A.        Background
The lightship has been in its current location with no maintenance to her underwater exterior since 1973. In the mid 1990s, tests done on the hull determined that in places half of the thickness of the 3/8 inch hull plating had corroded away and the corrosion continues unabated today. In 2004 Stephen Dexter, PhD., a world renown expert on corrosion of metal in saltwater, inspected the ship and gave the opinion that, given time, the hull would rust through. He could not predict the amount of time, but his recommendation was to stop the corrosion before the hull is penetrated to avoid having to deal with more serious and costly problems later.
 
Addressing the problem of the corroding hull has been on the agenda of the Foundation (and its predecessor organization) since the founding in 1999. The problem was funding. The Foundation started with a derelict ship and an enthusiastic group of volunteers. At the start, the group focused on two objectives: (1) save and restore the lightship, and (2) build an organization that could support the restoration. The Foundation developed a comprehensive restoration plan to meet the first objective. Lack of significant funds early on limited the initial steps in the plan to those that could be accomplished mainly with volunteer labor. By the end of the 2006 season, with an expenditure of over 10,000 hours of volunteer labor, the Foundation had completely rehabilitated the ship with the exception of the hull below the waterline. This accomplishment built credibility for the Foundation at the local, state and national level. As an example, the Lightship Sailor’s Association (a national organization of lightship veterans and other individuals interested in preserving lightship history) is now seriously considering making Lewes its headquarters and the Overfalls its home ship. While this restoration was ongoing, a similar expenditure of volunteer hours built the Foundation into a credible organization. Early fund raising efforts were modest through gift shop sales and community solicitations, but, as the credibility grew, fund raising efforts had greater and greater success. Late in 2005, the Foundation was awarded a $275,000 Save America’s Treasures grant by the National Park Service which was followed quickly by $200,000 of Transportation Enhancement funds from the Delaware Department of Transportation. These two grants combined with other funds raised over the years are well short of the funds needed to stabilize the ship but they are sufficient to start the project.
 
A condition for receiving of the Transportation Enhancement funds was that the Foundation form a partnership with the City of Lewes who will control the procurements and administer the funds for the major restoration tasks listed below. In addition to meeting a regulatory requirement, this arrangement will bring additional administrative expertise to the project. 
 
B.        Five Year Goals
·         Engineering Study   An engineering firm will study the problem of getting the ship out of the saltwater in order to stabilize the hull. As a result of the study, the firm will define three possible approaches with costs and artist’s renditions of how each would look.
·         City and Public Input   The Foundation will present the three defined approaches, together with the associated pricing and artist’s renditions to the City Council and the community at large for input as to which approach is most desirable. This is a crucial step, as the ship is considered one of the icons of the City and is located in the developing Lewes Canalfront Park.
·         Select Approach  Based on the input received in the step above, the possibility of raising adequate funds and the feasibility of the approach, the Foundation will select one of the approaches.
·         Engineering Design         The engineering firm will do the detail design of how the selected approach will be implemented. This will include breaking the construction phase of the project into tasks that can be addressed independently and developing the specifications for each task together with all of the drawings that a construction firm will require to complete the task. This material will comprise all of the data needed to serve as a Statement of Work in a competitive solicitation to acquire the services of a construction firm.
·        Construction Phase         Using the data developed in the step above, a construction firm will be engaged to do the work. There will be multiple tasks in the construction phase, the exact number will be determined in the engineering design. The length of time needed to complete this phase will depend on the funds available. However, the Foundation fully expects all construction will be completed in this planning period (2006-2010).
·        Fund Raising       The funds that the Foundation has in hand and committed through grants will not be sufficient to fund the entire construction phase. Therefore, the Foundation now runs and will continue to run an aggressive fund raising campaign. While this plan contains other initiatives that will require funding, stabilizing the ship is the Foundation’s highest priority. Funds available for this initiative will not be diverted to other initiatives until this one has been completed
 
 
II.      Create A Delaware Maritime Hall Of Fame
 
A.        Background
Part of the mission of the Foundation is to “honor and teach the maritime history of Lewes, Delaware Bay and the coastal region”. While the vessels and structures are an important part of that maritime history, people made it all possible. This initiative will select individuals that played a key role in this history and honor their accomplishments.
 
To ensure that the initiative considers a wide range of possible candidates, many organizations at the State, local and community level will be involved in the selection process. On an annual basis, the selected individuals will be inducted into the hall of fame at a banquet where their contributions will be cited and honored. This event is intended to be held on the Saturday of Coast Day weekend which is a major maritime event in Lewes. Eventually the hall of fame will acquire housing where the public may come to learn of the accomplishments and contributions of the inductees.
 
B.        Five Year Goals
 
 
III.  Establish a Lewes Area Museum Without Walls
 
A.        Background
The concept of a museum without walls links existing community, education and historic resources. Through collaboration with other local organizations the Lewes canalfront would be an ideal site to present local maritime history to the public through signage and construction of outdoor kiosks extended all along the waterfront’s walking paths and decks.   There could be comprehensive educational programs for school children, local families, tourists, and seniors. The Foundation could work with the existing preservation and historic organizations that are away from the waterfront and in the town to be a part of an ongoing education program that links all the facilities together to tell Lewes’ maritime history. Hours of operation and special events would be communicated and coordinated with those of other organizations. Collaborative efforts at fundraising would be beneficial for the nonprofit organizations and the greater Lewes community.
 
Local resources fall into three basic themes – preservation, education, and history.
The preservation organizations include groups such as Lewes Historical Society, Zwaanendael Museum, Greater Lewes Foundation, Pilot’s Association for the Bay and River Delaware, Lewes Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, Delaware River and Bay Authority, the Overfalls Maritime Museum Foundation and local historians and authors. The Education groups include organizations such as University of Delaware College of Marine Studies, Cape Henlopen School District, Cape Henlopen State Park Seaside Nature Center, Southern Delaware Academy of Lifelong Learning, Children's Beach House, and the Lewes Public Library. The history resources include entities such as the Zwaanendael Museum, Lewes Historical Society, Greater Lewes Foundation, Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundation. Friends of the Lewes Canalfront Park, Fort Miles Historical Association, and the Overfalls Maritime Museum Foundation.
 
B.        Five Year Goals
 
 
IV.    Maintain the Vision for a New Maritime Museum in Lewes
 
A.        Background
In 2002, the Ad hoc Canalfront Park Committee of the City of Lewes adopted a three-phase plan for its canal front development which included a U-shaped museum building at the stern of the Lightship Overfalls.   Working with the City of Lewes and the Canalfront Park Committee, the Foundation is committed to this concept and anticipates developing this building site as an education and information center that would focus on the theme “Navigation through the Ages.” This theme ties closely to lightships and would provide the basis for displays in the museum and for the educational role to which the Foundation is committed. Some space may be dedicated to Delaware Maritime Hall of Fame inductees or to displays related to the Lightship Sailor s’ Association displays if Lewes is selected as their headquarters. 
 
The Foundation is encouraged by Governor Minner’s interest in establishing a Maritime Museum in Lewes and by Senator Carper’s proposal for a Lewes hub in a proposed U.S. Maritime National Park in Delaware. The Foundation’s Maritime Museum could be incorporated into the state or national initiatives mentioned above, as well as the currently existing museums in Lewes.
 
B.        Five Year Goals