McEwen Commission moves to trim conservation contract, asks staff to remove archival boxes

The McEwen Commission on Sept. 17 reviewed a city contract with conservator Karen Zukor to stabilize and conserve five volumes and reached consensus to ask staff to remove custom clamshell archival boxes from the work order.

Chair Trumper told commissioners she wanted to "explore the possibility of revising, amending the contract with Karen Zukor to only complete the stabilization work and not to spend the $1,500 to create archival boxes, which we could do in house as volunteers for no additional cost." That request prompted a detailed back‑and‑forth about the contract scope and the status of payments.

Commissioner Beecher supported reducing costs, saying he "very much support[s] the concern out of fiscal prudence to not use funds where we have the professional kits... to create these enclosures." Legal counsel warned the commission to check the written contract before taking formal steps: "I need to look at the contract... I'm not seeing that that's included in the scope," counsel said, adding staff would review the invoice and the contract language.

Commissioners were told the preservation funds for fiscal year 2025 are encumbered for this work and that the contract runs through December 2025. Staff reported half of the initial payment has been made; commissioners discussed that any down payment could become a credit for future work if the boxes are removed. One staff member summarized the group decision: the commission would like to remove the clamshell boxes from the agreement and staff will contact the contractor to amend the order.

The discussion laid out three practical options commissioners want staff to pursue: keep the current contract unchanged, amend the contract to eliminate the custom boxes and retain stabilization, or use only stabilization while deferring full conservation pending a completed work plan. Commissioners stressed acting as good stewards of limited funds and asked for a report back once staff has reviewed the contract and invoicing.

Next steps: staff will examine the contract language and the invoice, discuss the scope with the conservator, and report back to the commission. No formal vote was taken on an amendment; commissioners recorded a consensus directing staff to pursue removing the boxes and clarifying financial credit for the existing down payment.