Council approves moving forward on fourth edition of Glendale history book; staff to scope costs

Glendale — Council members on Sept. 9 agreed to move forward with plans to prepare a fourth edition of the city history book commonly titled Glendale: A Century of Diversity and asked staff to seek cost estimates and consult the Glendale Historical Society before requesting a budget supplemental.

Deputy City Manager Thomas Adkins told the council staff would seek permission to go to market for an editor and return cost estimates so the council could include a budget supplemental in the next fiscal‑year process. “Staff is requesting today permission to go into the market, hire an editor, or at least start talking contractually with an editor to find out exactly what would the cost be,” Adkins said.

The vice mayor, who presented the item as one of their council items of interest, said the new edition should bring the city’s history current and noted the prior edition stopped before the 2008 recession. The vice mayor suggested getting the story into print every 10 years rather than attempting to compress multiple decades into a single volume.

Council members asked that staff coordinate with the Glendale Historical Society and explore options for a children’s version or a companion book that could be used as a fundraiser, but several members recommended completing the primary adult edition first and then considering any derivative works.

Council consensus: staff may proceed to solicit cost and scope proposals, to consult the historical society, and to return to the council with a budget estimate and recommended contract approach. No formal appropriation or contract was approved at the workshop; the matter will return to the council for budgeting and contract authorization.