Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Records Audit Urban Renewal topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City and HRHA discuss third-party audit to locate missing urban-renewal records
Summary
City staff proposed hiring an independent auditor to review historical records related to urban renewal after earlier historians reported missing documents; HRHA said it will consider partnering and will address the matter at its August board meeting.
City staff and HRHA board members discussed hiring a third party to conduct an independent document audit of urban-renewal-era records at a July 25 liaison meeting.
City representatives said historians had identified additional documents around 2017 that do not appear in the files held at James Madison University (JMU) Special Collections and that a third-party auditor could recheck city holdings, JMU holdings and other repositories. The city clerk, identified in the meeting as Miss Ulmer, was named as the city—s records custodian who will help define qualifications and procurement steps for any auditor.
The city reported it has already contacted potential partner organizations, including JMU Special Collections, Rocktown History and the public library, to solicit recommendations for qualified auditors and to thank them for prior assistance. Committee members asked whether HRHA wanted to join the city in a joint procurement or pursue a separate contract; HRHA said it will discuss the matter at its next board meeting and consider whether to partner.
Why it matters: Committee members said locating the documents would fill gaps in the historical record about urban renewal and its effects on local communities. Staff noted the exercise may require coordination with Commonwealth of Virginia records-retention rules and could involve procurement timelines.
Next steps: City staff said they would follow procurement rules, collect qualifications for potential auditors, and return to HRHA and the liaison committee with recommendations. HRHA said it would add the item to its August board meeting agenda and consider next steps then.
Ending: Both the city and HRHA indicated willingness to continue the search and to coordinate on a procurement or a possible joint contract; no contract or funding decision was made at the July 25 meeting.
