For Immediate Release

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Council Briefed on Combined Management Trial Period for Littleton Museum and Bemis Library

Move will save more than $100,000 annually

The Littleton City Council was briefed at a study session January 25 by City Manager Jim Woods regarding a trial period to combine the management of the Littleton Museum and Bemis Library effective February 1. Littleton Museum Director Tim Nimz will become Acting Director of Bemis Library for up to two years. The move will result in more than $100,000 in annual savings in salary and benefits.

On December 15, after 40 years of dedicated service to the city, Bemis Library Director Margery Smith retired. Library Adult Services Supervisor Phyllis Larison has served as the acting library director since that time and will continue to serve as Deputy Library Director.

The Littleton Museum has 12 full-time and seven part-time employees. The Bemis Library has 17 full-time and 49 part-time employees. The two departments have a combined budget of $3.49 million and include 10 divisions and three city council appointed citizen advisory boards.

Woods told the council that during the trial period, the city management staff will solicit feedback from employees, citizens, the library and museum boards, and city council as to the success of the consolidated management structure.

Nimz earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from Fort Hays State University, specializing in English and British history. Among his professional accomplishments are serving as director of the Casa Grande Valley Historical Society and Museums in Casa Grande, Arizona; director of the Old Shawnee Town Museum in Shawnee, Kansas; and executive director of the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, Kansas. Nimz was hired as the director of the Littleton Museum in 2002. Under his leadership, the museum became the first in Colorado to be named an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. Nimz oversaw the $8.5 million construction of the new museum building in 2004-2005, a project that expanded the facility from 9,000 to 32,000 square feet.

In 2010, the museum set a new attendance record with more than 144,000 visitors. Bemis Library also set a new record last year with 519,755 items circulated.

Nimz’s annual salary will be $103,863 during the trial period.