To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor
Staff Name and Phone Number: Amanda S. King, 707-565-1805
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Recommended Action:
Title
Approve the Re-Appointment of Steven Lovejoy, PhD, to the Historical Records Commission for a term beginning June 6, 2023 and ending June 5, 2027; Approve the Appointment of Seana Gause to the Historical Records Commission for a term beginning June 6, 2023 and ending June 5, 2027; and Approve the Appointment of Robert Chase to the Historical Records Commission to complete an unexpired, vacant term beginning June 6, 2023 and ending March 1, 2026. (Countywide)
End
Executive Summary:
Approve the Re-Appointment of Steven Lovejoy, PhD, to the Historical Records Commission for a term beginning June 6, 2023 and ending June 5, 2027; Approve the Appointment of Seana Gause to the Historical Records Commission for a term beginning June 6, 2023 and ending June 5, 2027; and Approve the Appointment of Robert Chase to the Historical Records Commission to complete an unexpired, vacant term beginning June 6, 2023 and ending March 1, 2026. (Countywide)
Discussion:
The Historical Records Commission was established by the Board of Supervisors in 1979 to foster and promote the preservation of Historical Records. The Commission is charged to make recommendations for records management programs and create an informational network; identify preservation of additional governmental business, professional and private records historically significant; encourage local participation; establish liaison with (Sonoma County) Landmarks Commission; Historical Genealogical Society; seek outside funding.
On February 27, 2018, by Resolution No. 18-0066, the Board approved the current administrative procedures for the Commission consistent with Government Code Section 26490. The Commission is comprised of five voting members, drawn from the following areas: county government (the County Clerk or designee); County Library (the County Librarian or designee); library services (a professional librarian with demonstrable experience in archival and records management); academic professional historian (an academic professional historian affiliated with one of the accredited institutions of higher education in the county); community history (an active member of one of the established historical societies in the county who has had significant experience in researching and writing community history); genealogical research (an active member of the Sonoma County Genealogical Society with significant experience in researching local genealogical records); business and/or professions (a recognized, licensed, or accredited professional from a field in which historical records are a significant concern of that business or profession); records manager and/or archivist (a professional trained in the creation, maintenance, disposition of records and/or permanent preservation and conservation of archival records).
All members appointed by the Board to the Commission serve for a term of four years. A member may be reappointed by the Board. The terms of the five members of the Commission are staggered so that the terms of three members will end the same year, unless renewed, and the terms of the remaining two members shall end two years later, unless renewed. All members serve at the pleasure of the Board.
Current Commissioners include: Margaret Purser (retired Sonoma State Anthropology professor), Steven Lovejoy, PhD (President of the Sonoma County Genealogical Society), Eric Stanley (Associate Director and Curator of History at the Museum of Sonoma County), and Michael Mueller (Licensed Land Surveyor). The terms of both Steven Lovejoy, PdD and Eric Stanley expired on May 14, 2023. The fifth and final commission position was previously held by Gretchen Emmert, who resigned on March 1, 2023.
The Commission recommends that Steven Lovejoy, PhD be reappointed to a term ending on June 5, 2027.
Seana Gause is recommended due to her extensive business and professional experience as a professional archaeologist with a Master of Arts degree issued by Sonoma State University, being a member of the Society for California Archaeology, and her current role at the Sonoma County Transportation Authority. The Commission recommends that she be appointed to a term ending on June 5, 2027 in the position previously held by Eric Stanley.
Robert Chase is recommended as an Academic Professional Historian who has served as a lecturer in the Department of History at Sonoma State University for the last 10 years. The Commission recommends that he be appointed to complete Gretchen Emmert’s unexpired term ending on March 1, 2026.
Prior Board Actions:
2022.03.15: Approve the Re-Appointment of Gretchen Emmert and Margaret Purser to the Historical Records Commission for a four-year term beginning March 15, 2022 and ending March 1, 2026 (Countywide)
2019.05.14: Approve the Reappointment of Steven Lovejoy, PhD And Eric Stanley to the Historical Records Commission with terms ending May 14, 2023.
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
N/A
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
HRC By-Laws as Amended by April 8, 2021
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None