Commission raises concerns after National Park Service loan agreement for map preservation moved forward without addendum

Commissioners pressed county staff for answers after learning that the National Park Service did not incorporate the commission’s requested addendum language into a loan agreement for a maps preservation project.

Paulina Pivock, HSRPC staff, told commissioners she had been led to believe the NPS would attach requested preservation and inventory language as an addendum. Instead, she said, Paul Rogers of the National Park Service recently informed her the agreement could not be revised without redoing signatures and the entire agreement. “I just got communication last week from Paul Rogers that they're saying they can't revise the loan agreement without redoing it,” Pivock said, adding she believed that limitation should have been communicated earlier.

Commission members said the county’s expected documentation — especially an inventory and written preservation procedures tied to the loan — was not clearly recorded in the agreement packet. Commissioners expressed concern that preservation steps were being followed “off the record,” which could leave the maps vulnerable if staff turnover occurs. A commissioner said that while NPS staff “assured us they followed the standard process,” the commission needed that assurance in writing so future staff could verify what was done.

Commissioners asked staff to prepare a memo for the Board of Supervisors documenting the timeline and communications about the loan agreement, and to request that county project manager Vince and National Park Service representative Paul Rogers meet with the commission to explain the decisions and provide the promised documentation. Pivock said she would forward the recent NPS communications to Danielle (county staff) and seek further direction.

Commission discussion also covered the county’s inventory and asset-tracking practices for records lent to outside agencies. Members argued that an explicit inventory and transparent tracking — not merely notes added to a file — are necessary to ensure accountability when materials leave county custody. One commissioner recommended including retrieval provisions in future agreements to allow the county to recover maps if necessary.

The commission asked staff to return next month with a memo outlining the timeline of events, the communications Pivock received, and proposed next steps for presenting the matter to the Board of Supervisors. Pivock said she would work with Danielle and Vince and try to secure NPS participation in a future discussion.