SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Brockhouse Collection Workgroup — tasked with finding a solution to what to do with the collection of taxidermy animals residing at the now-closed Delbridge Museum, met Friday to consider their next steps.
Great Plains Zoo President and CEO Becky Dewitz is part of that workgroup, and she spoke with KELOLAND News over the phone from a conference in Calgary, Alberta.
“At this time the working group has determined to reach out to try to find what’s called a Request for Qualified Expressive Interest (FRQ),” said Dewitz. “So really reaching out to non-profits, educational institutions — also governmental entities that would be qualified should they have interest.”
Ideally, said Dewitz, the interested party would be a natural history museum.
Dewitz also cautions that this is an early step in the process.
“This is step one, is to advertise it as something that we are looking to get that RFQ,” she said, “and then once we get the information, more determinations would be made.”
Essentially, the workgroup is currently trying to gauge the level of interest there may be from qualified institutions in taking the collection, Dewitz explained.
Speaking to what “qualified” means in this context, Dewitz explained the process the group has undergone. “We had to do some work related to changing a statute that’s protecting the taxidermy collection,” she said.
The statute in question, according to Dewitz, stated that the collection could only go to a non-profit, that ownership would revert to the City of Sioux Falls, and that the collection must stay within the state.
Now, Dewitz said any agency taking over the collection would still need to be a non-profit (which included governmental agencies, she notes), but that the collection could leave state lines, and could be given as a permanent donation.
“We’re asking for an understanding of how they would use the specimens before we can make any determination going forward,” said Dewitz.
While the workgroup is seeking out interested parties and gathering information, Dewitz noted that the final decision rests with the City Council.
Asked to speculate on potential landing spots for the collection, Dewitz was careful not to name any specific institution, but she did say that universities are also a possibility.
