Council committee plans to retrieve paper files from Iron Mountain as contract nears May expiration

Madam Chair opened the meeting by raising the Iron Mountain off‑site public storage contract, which expires in May, and asked the committee whether to tackle the issue as a whole council or jointly with Budget & Finance. Council members clarified the contract terms and possible costs and agreed to bring paper copies back to city custody when the contract ends.

The committee discussed two separate fees: a recurring electronic storage fee and an annual fee tied to the handling of scanned paper files. Staff noted there is an ongoing cost for digital storage; committee members discussed whether city digital backups already on the web host or Microsoft environment would make the outside service redundant. The meeting record reflects staff saying the recurring electronic storage fee is $150 per month for the digital files.

Members directed staff to locate the original contract, confirm whether vendor notification deadlines apply, and circulate copies of invoices and the records‑retention policy to the full council. Council asked administration to retrieve receipts for recently purchased fireproof cabinets and to identify which cabinets belong to council versus finance so returned files can be stored securely. The committee also discussed whether some older records could be destroyed under the city’s retention rules once digital versions are verified.

Next steps: the committee said paper records should be returned in May when the contract expires, staff will circulate the contract and retention policy to council, and the committee will request invoices and a plan for acquiring additional fireproof cabinets if needed. No formal motion or vote was recorded at the meeting.