To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Clerk-Recorder-Assessor
Staff Name and Phone Number: Amanda S. King 707-565-1805
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Approve Reappointments to the Historical Records Commission. (Countywide)
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Approve the following General Member reappointments to the Historical Records Commission:
A) Margaret Purser and Robert Chase to serve terms of four years beginning March 2, 2026 and ending March 2, 2030;
B) Michael Mueller to serve a term of four years beginning July 12, 2026 and ending July 12, 2030. (Countywide)
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Executive Summary:
The Historical Records Commission is a five-member commission established by the Board of Supervisors in 1979 to foster and promote the preservation of Historical Records. All members appointed by the Board serve for a term of four years. The terms of service for three of the existing members-Margaret Purser, Robert Chase, and Michael Mueller-expired in March (Margaret and Robert) and July (Michael) of 2026. This item seeks to reappoint these three members to serve an additional four-year term of service.
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: Seana Gause (professional archeologist), Margaret Purser (retired Sonoma State Anthropology professor), Steven Lovejoy, PhD (Member and Former President of the Sonoma County Genealogical Society), Michael Mueller (Licensed Land Surveyor), Robert Chase (academic professional historian and lecturer at Sonoma State University). The Commission recommends the reappointment of Margaret Purser, Robert Chase, and Michael Mueller.
Robert Chase was appointed to the Commission in June 2023. Robert is an Academic Professional Historian who has served as a lecturer in the Department of History at Sonoma State University for the last 13 years. His term expired March 1, 2026, if approved this item will reappoint him to a term of four years beginning retroactively on March 2, 2026.
Michael Mueller has served on the Commission since his appointment in July 2022. Michael has been a local licensed Land Surveyor since 2014, working in the industry since 2005. His term expired July 11, 2026, if approved this item will reappoint him to a term of four years beginning retroactively on July 12, 2026.
Margaret Purser has served on the Commission since March 2021. Margaret received her Ph.D. at the University of Berkeley and served as Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Sonoma State University. Her term expired March 1, 2026, if approved this item will reappoint her to a term of four years beginning retroactively on March 2, 2026.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Prior Board Actions:
Robert Chase
6/06/2023 (# 46) Appointed to the Historical Records Commission
Michael A Mueller
7/12/2022 (#34) Appointed to the Historical Records Commission
Margaret Purser
3/15/2022 (#12) Reappointed to the Historical Records Commission
3/16/2021 (#23) Appointed to the Historical Records Commission
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
N/A
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
HRC By-laws as Amended on April 8, 2021
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None