Historical Records Commission Notes January 9, 2025

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Members present:
Michael Mueller (Chair)
Seana Gause

Members excused:
Robert Chase (Vice-Chair)
Steven Lovejoy
Margaret Purser

Associate Members present:
Amanda King, Secretary
Deva Marie Proto, County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor & Registrar of Voters
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:
None

Call to order 4:08 pm
Introduction of Guests
Approval of Minutes
1. December 12, 2024 minutes
  1. Minutes have been moved to the February 2025 meeting due to lack of quorum for the vote.
Election of Officers
1. Election for Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson moved to the February 2025 meeting due to lack of quorum.
2025 Meeting Schedule
1. Meeting schedule is currently set for the 2nd Thursday of every month. Secretary requests change for meeting dates: February 13, July 10, and September 11 due to being unavailable.
2. Secretary to send email to all board members for discussion on date change for February to February 6.
Budget Discussion
1. Balance is $3,615.09
Business
1. HRC Commissioners Report
  1. Michael's report:
    - A retired surveyor donated maps from the 1910s and 1920s.
  2. Seana's report:
    - No report
2. Library Commissioner Liaison Report
  1. Update from Eve Goldberg:
    - LC is very happy and relieved that Measure W passed and library services may continue as they are and work on improvements.
    - In negotiations with the union for a contract
    - Sonoma Valley is still in need of an LC.
    - There is a Citizen’s Committee that reviews how the library and the commission has been spending Measure Y money that will soon be Measure W money. It is a part of the ballot measure. They issued their report to the Library Commission, and it is perfect and everything is good with how the Library is spending money.
3. Library Report
  1. Library Director Report
    - Library Update by Jaime Anderson:
      - The Library Commission approved a new mission, vision and values for Sonoma County Library. The new mission statement is: Sonoma County Library creates community through discovery, culture and connection.
      - The library launched a new and improved mobile app in December that lets you search the catalog, check your account, lookup events and more.
      - This month, the library is promoting its Winter Reading Challenge which runs thru Jan. 31, intellectual freedom, and joining one of our many book clubs in 2025.
      - The renovations of the Petaluma, Healdsburg, and Windsor Regional Libraries are underway and on-track. Each community has a “mini library” open and available for service.
      - Equipment has been ordered and is being built for the HVAC and ADA project at the H&G Library. Closure for this project is planned tentatively for summer 2025.
      - Library staff has kicked off its budget planning process for fiscal year 25-26 and will present a balanced proposed budget to the Library Commission at its annual budget workshop on April 16.
    - Archives Operating Agreement Update
      - There is no update on the Archives Operating Agreement with the County.
  2. History and Genealogy Library Report
    - Update by Zayda Delgado via email:
      - HVAC & ADA work to H&G building still slated to happen – current ETA is Summer 2025.
      - Furniture upgrade still in the works as well.
      - H&G's disaster grant has officially wrapped up.
      - H&G looks forward to hearing back about their partner grant with the Russian River Historical Society later this month.
      - Upcoming Programs
        
        Playback Memory Lab Appointments: https://events.sonomalibrary.org/events/upcoming?keywords=VHS%20Station&program_types%5B306%5D=306
4. Archives Activity Report
  1. Update by Zayda Delgado via email:
    - Six (6) resources requested in the month of December from 5 unique requestors and no requests from any county agencies.
5. Collections & Archives Recognition Awards
  1. Received no applications. Application deadline extended to January 17. Secretary to send Heritage Network an email again.
  2. HRC to discuss the future of the awards in the February meeting.
6. Outreach
  1. “Researching the History of a Sonoma County Property” pamphlet update:
    - Commission to review pamphlet in March 2025 for updates to be published in June 2025.
7. Strategic Planning
  1. Seana Gause to prepare a social media proposal for consideration of the Commission.
8. County Recorder update on the status of the Restrictive Covenant Modification Program
  1. Documents January 1964 through February 2007 have been sent through the system for OCR
    - Staff is currently reviewing documents from December 1998 that include keyword clues
    - 4,655,106 documents have been reviewed
    - 14,692,893 pages have been reviewed (of an approximate 24+ million)
    - 49 Restrictive Covenant Modifications have been recorded for 1964-1997
9. Legislative Updates pertaining to public records
  1. Assembly Bill 1785
  2. Continuing to monitor legislation.
New Business
1. None
Public Comment
1. Library Commission meeting, February 5, 2025, 6PM, Rohnert Park Library
2. Sonoma County Heritage Network Meeting, January 11, 2025, 10AM-12PM, Tomales Regional History Center
3. Museum of Sonoma County Exhibitions:
  - Sonoma County Stories, September 9, 2023-ongoing
  - Light, Clay, and Copper: Mid-Century Arts and Crafts in Sonoma County, September 9, 2023-ongoing
  - MSC Collections Gallery: New Acquisitions, June 15, 2024-ongoing
  - Tattooed and Tenacious: Inked Women in California's History, November 16, 2024-February 23, 2025
  - 35th Annual Artistry in Wood, December 7, 2024-February 2, 2025
Meeting adjourned at 4:43PM

Next Meeting - February 6, 2025 - 4:00PM

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.