I think it was very clever of her to present the three options the way she did. Clearly she was in favor of option 3, the history center. But by going to the board and presenting multiple options, then steering them to option 3, she made them feel like they were involved in making the decision. Even though she wasn't able to convince outside organizations to join up for option 3 and they reverted to option 2, this method can secure board buy-in much better than presenting one option and saying it's this or the end of the line for HSP.
I was once trained by an army officer who, when planning, would invite his subordinates into the planning process, then steer them towards whatever plan he'd had in mind from the beginning. However, because they felt like they were included in creating the plan, they immediately took ownership of it and executed it with enthusiasm. As the article mentions, Stitt clearly got buy-in from her staff. I wonder if she did it in a similar fashion.
RE: In Cautious Defense of "Dictablanda" - A Benevolent Leader to Save the Cultural Sector