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Historical Records Commission
County Of Sonoma › Administrative Support & Fiscal Services › Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters › Historical Records Commission › Calendar › Historical Records Commission Minutes August 11 2022
Historical Records Commission

Historical Records Commission Minutes August 11, 2022

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Members present:
Eric Stanley (Chair)
Gretchen Emmert
Steven Lovejoy
Michael Mueller

Members excused:
Margaret Purser (Vice-Chair)

Associate Members present:
Amanda King, Secretary
Deva Marie Proto, County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters
Erika Thibault, Interim Director, Sonoma County Library
Deborah Doyle, Library Commissioner & Liaison to HRC

Guests present:
Zayda Delgado, Supervising Librarian, History & Genealogy Library
Ray Johnson, President, Sonoma County Historical Society and Boardmember, Sonoma County Genealogical Society

  1. Call to order 4:05 pm
  2. Introduction of Guests
  3. The July 14, 2022 Minutes were approved
    1. Motion by Steven Lovejoy
    2. Second by Gretchen Emmert
    3. Approved
  4. Budget Discussion
    1. Balance is $3,834.31
    2. Michael's business cards have been ordered, not reflected in budget balance.
  5. Continuing Business
      1. HRC Commissioners Report
        • Steven's report:
          • Went to Finding History Day
        • Eric's report:
          • No report
        • Gretchen's report:
          • No report
        • Michael's report:
          • Sonoma County Land Surveyor's Association is going to be receiving an extensive amount of surveyor records from Fred Brown's collection.
        • Library Commissioner Report  
          • Update by Deborah Doyle:
            • Starting a new Fiscal Year and we plan to review policies.
            • The commission accepted an ADA Plan commissioned by the Sonoma County Library staff
            • Going to be doing a Library Director search with a search firm
          • Update by Erika Thibault:
            • $5 million has been allocated to the construction of the new Roseland Library.
            • Waiting to hear back from the State of California on a grant that was submitted.
            • Applied for and received technology grants
            • Took a field trip to Hayward Public Library - the San Mateo County Atherton branch - to see newer set ups.
            • Questions from Steve:
              • Any movement on the vacant seats?
                • Deborah: No, the three vacant positions are with the Board of Supervisors.  We believe appointments will be made in September.  If you would like to send an email or letter, it would be appreciated.
              • For the new Roseland Library are you anticipating using Measure Y funds?
                • Erika: We hope not.  We hope to raise money or use grants we are applying for.
              • Any update on the [Archives] operational agreement?
                • Erika: No, we have not heard from the County.  We have located original agreements and identified that Court records do belong to the Court.
        • Archives Activity Report
          • Update by Zayda Delgado:
            • 18 requests in the month of July; 13 patron requests and 5 county department requests.
            • Moving forward with interviews for the Librarian position at H&G
            • California State Library grant, Memory Lab, asked for digitization equipment that will be publicly accessible.  Will hear back in September
            • Participated in Finding History Day and had quite a bit of feedback.
            • Comment from Michael:
              • We use the H&G Library a lot for survey records and they are always so helpful.  Thank you!
          • Clerk of the Board of Supervisors pre-1906 BOS Meeting Minutes
            • Zayda reached out again and have not heard back yet
            • Steve also reached out to Marcie and has not heard back. 
            • Secretary to reach out to Marcie to check in.
        • Collections & Archives Recognition Awards
        • Outreach
          • “Researching the History of Your Sonoma County Building” pamphlet update:
            • Update from Secretary:
              • Document is in remediation for ADA and should be available by end of next week.  Secretary will notify interested parties when the final version is posted.
          • Other California County Historical Records Commission
            • Gretchen still working on the spreadsheet of commissions.
          • Sonoma County Historical Society 60th Anniversary and Sonoma County Finding History Day, Saturday, August 6, 2022, Finley Community Center, 10AM-2PM
            • Ray Johnson: We really appreciate the Library for sponsoring the event.  Contact Ray Johnson to submit feeback on the event.
            • Steven: Thank you to Betsy from the County Clerk-Recorder who staffed the HRC table all day.
        • County Recorder update on the status of the Restrictive Covenant Modification Program
          1. Restrictive Covenant Modification Program Plan has been posted to the County Recorder website
          2. Working on preparing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to locate a vendor to automate the process of identifying restrictive language, redacting the language, sign off by County Counsel, and submitting for electronic recording.
          3. Accepting documents identified by the public and will manually process, if needed.  Otherwise, the identified documents are being tracked manually to ensure they are picked up in the automated process.
          4. Questions:
            1. Michael Mueller: Question related to geolocation and mapping of historically restrictive covenants
              1. Deva Proto: The Recorder's office does not have Assessor Parcel (AP) numbers and indexes by names on the document.  The County Recorder and Assessor do not have available staff or budget for providing non-mandated services but we are looking at automated alternatives.  Hoping to index the legal descriptions for future projects and/or the public to have access to for their own research.  Looking at various options but have discussed teaming up with Sonoma State University.
            2. Deborah Doyle: Will this project have an impact on the documents being kept at the Archives?
              1. Deva Proto: No, there is no changes to the original recording.  New recordings will be a re-recording of the original with the language redacted.
      2. New Business
        1. Discussion on moving September meeting date
          1. Motion to move September meeting to September 1 by Steven Lovejoy
          2. Second by Michael Mueller
          3. Approved
      3. Public Comment
        1. Ray Johnson: doing research online based in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.  They appear to have all of their old deeds available online.
        2. Sonoma County Heritage Network Meeting, October 8, 10AM-12PM, at Fort Ross with a tour afterward.
        3. Library Commission meeting, September 7, 2022, 6pm, on ZOOM   
        4. Museum of Sonoma County Exhibits:  
          • Light, Clay, and Copper: Mid-Century Arts and Crafts in Sonoma County, August 20, 2021-Ongoing:  https://museumsc.org/light-clay-and-copper/
          • Year of the Tiger: Chinese Traditions in Sonoma County, 1890-2022, February 5, 2022-Ongoing
          • Collective Arising: The Insistence of Black Bay Area Artists, June 25, 2022-November 27, 2022
          • SoCoClicks, July 9, 2022-September 10, 2022
      4. Meeting adjourned at 4:49PM


      Next Meeting - September 1, 2022 - ZOOM, 4:00PM