Wilmette Historical Society

General Explanation Attachment

“Each compensated member of the museums staff is an employee of the village of wilmette and not an employee of the museum. The society reimburses the village some or all of the compensation for certain staff members. The reimbursement amount is based on an invoice sent by the village, either in jan. Or feb. Of the following year. For monthly, internal accounting purposes, the society reserves 1/12 of the villages estimate.the estimate is made in dec. Of the preceding year as part of the societys budget process. In this tax return, the reserve as of 12/31/20 is listed as a liability. The museums collection of historical artifacts and materials are not recorded in the balance sheet since many of the items are the property of the village and the other items, while of historical significance, do not have material or ascertainable value. The museum maintains a large collection of items of historical interest, including artifacts, costumes, photogrpahs, archives, micorfilm, books and records. These materials are invaluable to persons interested in the history of wilmette and the chicago north shore area and are the backbone for guided tours of wilmette. The museum also holds records of many local and govt organizations, including the village government, new trier township and local high schools. The museum also collects and mainitains records on residential properties in wilmette, which are of great interest to homeowners. The museum is located in an historically significant building at 609 ridge rd, wilmette, commonly known as gross point village hall. The name derives from the history of the building as the municpal headquarters for the village of gross point. Gross point was dissolved by its residents in 1919 and most of the territory comprising gross point was merged into the village of wilmette in the early 1920s. Ownership of gross point village hall resided in private ownership for a variety of purposes until 1990, when the village of wilmette acquired the building and the underlying land and entered into a 99-year lease with the society for use as the home of the museum (theretofore operated as part of the village government). The building required extensive renovation work, which was completed in 1995 at the societys expense. Nine years later, the society constructed an addition to the building, again at the societys expense. The combined cost of the 1990-1995 renovation and the 2003-04 building addition was $1,499,650. Depreciation on the societys books and records is recorded at approx. 2.5% annually. Not being a cash flow item, depreciation does not affect the soceitys operations.”