Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Commission Administration Outreach topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Historic Sites commission sets outreach and records-preservation priorities; elections and meeting schedule approved
Summary
The commission approved 2026 meeting dates and officer appointments and focused its work plan on public education, a short outreach video campaign, a county records inventory/digitization effort and engagement with a forthcoming Smithsonian rural-initiative visit.
At its Jan. 12 meeting the Mariposa County Historic Sites and Records Preservation Commission approved administrative items — including the proposed 2026 meeting dates and officer appointments — and devoted much of its discussion to outreach, records preservation and cross-agency engagement.
Staff asked commissioners for goals and objectives for the commission’s annual report to the Board of Supervisors and for 2026 priorities. Commissioners repeatedly emphasized public education and community engagement: creating a short informational video series and a landing page with a follow-up PDF to explain the commission’s role and local permitting steps for property owners in the historic overlay. Commissioner Clay River offered to draft a storyboard and said short videos would make the information more accessible.
Commissioners and staff also discussed a records-preservation stakeholder group. Staff reported the county adopted a records-retention policy in November and proposed developing a centralized inventory template for county departments and local historical societies to support digitization and shared stewardship. Staff proposed another stakeholder meeting in February to continue planning.
Staff announced that Mariposa County was selected to participate in the Smithsonian’s inaugural rural initiative and that a Smithsonian representative will visit in early February to meet at the Mariposa History Museum and consult with local historical societies. "Mariposa County has been included as one of the members of their inaugural rural initiative programs," staff said, and invited commissioners to participate in community-led planning.
On administrative business the commission voted to approve the proposed 2026 HSRPC meeting dates and held elections for commission officers; nominations were accepted and votes recorded on the public record.
The meeting also included an informational update on a courthouse security door/camera upgrade funded by a state grant; staff said the work was found exempt by the planning director and emphasized minimizing visible changes while improving security and accessibility.
Next procedural steps: staff will draft the outreach storyboard after the February meeting, schedule follow-up stakeholder meetings for records preservation, and coordinate the Smithsonian visit and related community outreach.
