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Clerk-Recorder-Assessor

Historical Records Commission
County Of Sonoma › Administrative Support & Fiscal Services › Clerk-Recorder-Assessor › Historical Records Commission › Calendar › Historical Records Commission Minutes October 9 2025
Historical Records Commission

Historical Records Commission Minutes October 9, 2025

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Members present:
Robert Chase (Chair)
Seana Gause (Vice-Chair)
Steven Lovejoy
Margaret Purser

Members Excused:
Michael Mueller

Associate Members present:
Jaime Anderson, Collections Services Division Manager, Sonoma County Library
Eve Goldberg, County of Sonoma Library Commissioner and Liaison to the Historical Records Commission

Guests present:
Zaira Enriquez, Executive Assistant, Clerk-Recorder-Assessor

  1. Call to order 4:00 pm
  2. Introduction of Guests
  3. Approval of Minutes
    1. September 11, 2025 minutes
      1. Motion to approve the minutes by Seana Gause
      2. Second by Margaret Purser
      3. Approved
  4. Budget Discussion
    1. Balance is $3,598.64
  5. Business
      1. HRC Commissioners Report
        1. Robert's report
          • No report
        2. Seana's report
          • No report
        3. Steven's report
          • No report
        4. Margaret's report
          • Margaret has been talking to colleagues at Sonoma State and Zayda Delgado. She plans to hold a one-day workshop in the Anthropology and History departments on literacy about historical public records in the spring. Margaret would like the involvement of the recorders and the support of the HRC to leverage the visibility of the archives and the historical documents of the recorder’s office.
      2. Library Commission Liaison Report
        1. Update from Eve Goldberg:
          • The Facilities/Capital Improvements Task Force will begin exploring new properties for a new headquarters office.
          • The library commission is beginning naming rights for the Roseland library to raise funds to continue development.
          • Next week, the library's five-year strategic planning workshop will begin.
          • The two ad hoc committees continue working. The JPA committee and the Facilities-Capital Projects committee. The JPA committee is responsible for reviewing the JPA every 10 years to identify any necessary updates. The JPA committee will be reporting to the commission next month. The Facilities/Capital Projects Committee focuses on two main areas: developing general guidelines for the department’s direction on capital projects in collaboration with senior staff, and reviewing individual projects, such as the Rincon Valley Library update. The committee has reviewed the budget and provided recommendations.
      3. Library Report
        1. Library Director Report
          • Library Update by Jaime Anderson:
            • It’s a busy month! This month the library is celebrating LGBTQIA+ History Month and Latin American Roots. The library is also celebrating the freedom to read during Banned Books Week, which is this week, and Zero Waste Week next week, October 11-18. As we approach the special election on November 4, the library provides voter resources to the community including how to register to vote and non-partisan information about issues on the ballot.
            • The library is in the beginning stages of kicking off its new strategic planning process. The consultant, The Ivy Group, will be onsite next week visiting each branch and holding stakeholder sessions with staff, Library Advisory Boards, and Friends of the Library groups. At a later stage, there will be a public survey and community-wide listening sessions. I’ll keep you updated. It will be important for members of the HRC to participate and make your voices heard.
            • The lease for Library Headquarters in Rohnert Park is coming to an end in 2026. As such, the library is exploring all available options on the real estate market in Sonoma County that might meet our needs (including staying where we are).
            • The H&G Library remains closed and will reopen on Oct 14.
            • The Rincon Valley Regional Library will be the next branch to close for a remodel, in January 2026, for approximately 4 months. The Sebastopol Regional Library also has a planned 3-week closure in January while new carpet and sorting equipment gets installed.
          • Archives Operating Agreement Update
            • There is no update from the County on the Archives Operating Agreement.
        2. History and Genealogy Library Report
          • Update by Zayda Delgado:
            • No update
      4. Archives Activity Report
        1. Update by Zayda Delgado:
          • No update
      5. Collections and Archives Recognition Awards
        1. Sonoma County Historical Society (SCHS) Annual luncheon is to be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at Iron & Vine Restaurant in the Bennett Valley Golf Course, 3330 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa.  Purchase tickets here: https://www.sonomacountyhistory.org/annual-luncheon.
        2. Secretary sent a reminder email to Heritage Network to request nominations.  Will send another reminder the week of October 20-24.
      6.  Outreach
        1. Finding History Day, Saturday, November 1, 2025, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, Veterans Memorial Hall, Santa Rosa
          1. Robert, Seana, Margaret, and Amanda will be present. The HRC commission requests that Amanda plays the Archives video.
        2. Social Media Plan
          • Amanda and Seana set up the Facebook page, and both Seana and Margie have permission to post content. The posting and review procedure will be discussed further between Seana and Margaret. Next steps include creating an Instagram account and possibly other social media accounts. Margaret suggested that SSU’s social media guidelines may be used as a template for the posting and review process.
      7. Strategic Planning
        1. No update
      8. County Recorder update on the status of the Restrictive Covenant Modification Program
        1. Documents January 1964 through December 2024 have been sent through the system for OCR
          • Staff is currently reviewing documents from early-June 2004 that include keyword clues. 
          • 6,610,479 documents have been reviewed
          • 23,919,121 pages have been reviewed
          • 56 Restrictive Covenant Modifications have been recorded for 1964-2001.
      9. Legislative Updates pertaining to public records
        1. Assembly Bill 64 – Vital records: diacritical marks
          • Waiting for Governor to review
        2. Assembly Bill 883 – California Public Records Act: personal information of elected and appointed officials
          • Held currently
        3. Assembly Bill 1430 – County recorders: fee
          • Vetoed by Governor on 10/06/2025
        4. Senate Bill 255 – County recorders: notification
          • Approved by Governor on 10/06/2025
        5. Continuing to monitor legislation.
      10. 3850 and 3880 Brickway Blvd Building Purchase update
        1. No update
    1. New Business
      1. None
    2. Public Comment
      1. Library Commission meeting, November 5, 2025, 6 pm, Rohnert Park Branch Library
      2. Sonoma County Heritage Network Meeting, January 10, 2026, 10 am-12 pm, TBD
      3. Museum of Sonoma County Exhibitions:
        1. Sonoma County Stories, September 9, 2023-ongoing
        2. Light, Clay, and Copper: Mid-Century Arts and Crafts in Sonoma County, September 9, 2023-ongoing
        3. MSC Collections Gallery: New Acquisitions, June 15, 2024-ongoing
        4. Bruce Johnson: Sculptor, June 28-November 20, 2025
        5. SoCo Clicks, August 15-October 19, 2025
        6. 29th Annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), September 13-November 2, 2025
    3. Meeting adjourned at 4:27 pm


    Next Meeting - November 13, 2025 - 4:00 pm

    • In Person: County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor, Sonoma Room, 585 Fiscal Dr Rm 103, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
    • Virtual: Guests may also join virtually. Please see the meeting month’s agenda for login information.