John McCluskey took over as president at the Annual General Meeting on Monday night. The previous attempt to hold an AGM failed when not enough people turned up to give it the legal authority to make decisions. If the same had happened on Monday, there was a real risk of the whole institution being wound up.

In the event, the reconvened AGM was quorate and Mr McCluskey was elected as the new president of the governing committee.

He thanked his predecessor, Robyn Condon, for the hard work she had put in. He also paid tribute to Stephanie McIntosh (out-going secretary) and Patricia Turner (out-going vice-president and treasurer). “I would like to thank the out-going committee and what they were able to achieve”, he said.

Mr McCluskey has a business background as the proprietor of the Rest Point Motor Inn on the New England Highway.

He said that he was looking at the fundamental questions about the gallery which is part of the library complex on Grey Street and what its role in the town is. There is clearly much discussion to be had within the new committee but he wondered if the gallery was in the right place.

“It’s in a location which is not currently being accessed by enough visitors”, he said. He thought the gallery was “under-utilised and under-valued” in the town. he thought its current location was “great” in terms of it being part of a “hub” but “we need to assess whether it’s in the right location”.

Mr McCluskey has been particulary impressed by the galleries in Dubbo and Orange which he says are much bigger. They are larger and, as regional galleries, able to attract touring exhibitions. “There are all sorts of ways to expand reach”, he said, “and I don’t see why Glen Innes shouldn’t do it”.

He thought merchandising might be introduced.

The Examiner talked to him shortly after he was elected and so his thoughts and plans were far from firm. It is clear, though, that he is ambitious.

Much, though, may turn on money and the funding from the council.

Separately, the council is considering revamping the Town Hall so that its staff can be centralised there – some have offices on Church Street. That rebuilding would cost substantial money, probably more than $1.5 million.

The view of the council’s general manager, Hein Basson, is that the expansion of the Town Hall would probably rule out an expansion of the gallery. He said in a report to the council: “If it boils down to a choice between the co-location of Council’s administrative offices and the expansion of the Art Gallery, the first-mentioned project should be much higher on the priority list than the other one.”