Chairman Waters called the meeting to order at 8:58 a.m. and welcomed everyone to the meeting. Mark Smith welcomed Louellen Lowe and introduced agency Employees of the Quarter Jennifer Ronsen and Caitlyn Burhans.

Consideration of commemorative resolutions.

Chairman Waters called on Sharon Carr to receive a commission resolution which Mark Smith read in recognition of Ms. Carr’s service on the commission from September 2005 to June 2018 and as vice chair for many of those years.A motion to approve the resolution was made by and seconded by all commissioners. Motion passed unanimously.  All commissioners and Mark Smith expressed their appreciation for Ms. Carr’s long tenure of dedicated service, sensitivity, integrity, knowledge of all facets of the agency as well as her near perfect attendance at meetings and representing the commission on the Friends of Libraries & Archives of Texas board. Ms. Carr thanked everyone and said she appreciated the hard work and dedication of the commission and agency staff and that serving on the commission was very enjoyable and rewarding.

Mark Smith presented a resolution for Curtis Herman who retired from agency service at the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty on August 31, 2018. Commissioner Mann moved to approve the resolution and Commissioner Wong seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Waters asked that commission regards and thanks be conveyed to Mr. Herman.

Approve minutes of August 1, 2018 Commission Meeting.

Commissioner Holt moved to approve the August 1, 2018 commission minutes as corrected. Commissioner Garza seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Public Comment. There was no public comment.

Conflict of interest disclosures.  No conflicts were disclosed.

Review of consent agenda: non-substantive corrections in other agenda items such as spelling, numbering, punctuation, grammar, or other revisions. No corrections were noted.

Discussion with Texas Public Finance Authority regarding capital project financing.

Following up on discussions at previous commission meetings regarding the financing of a proposed expansion of storage space for the agency, Mark Smith introduced Lee Deviney who explained the process of financing construction projects such as the one requested in the agency’s Legislative Appropriations Request and answered questions from the commission. Mark Smith thanked Mr. Deviney for the great support and assistance he and his staff provided TSLAC staff as they prepared the agency’s LAR. Chairman Waters thanked Mr. Deviney for attending the meeting and providing information to the commission. No action required.

Chairman Waters recessed the meeting at 9:52 a.m. and called it back to order at 10:05 a.m.

Report and recommendations of the Audit Committee for possible action on contract for internal auditor.

Commissioner Givens said the Audit Committee met and evaluated two firms for agency internal auditor services noting that the audit firm of Weaver and Tidwell received the top vote in the evaluation process. He moved to grant agency administration the authority to negotiate with Weaver and Tidwell to contract for internal audit services and that if those negotiations exceed the budget, that agency administration be granted permission to negotiate with the second vendor, Postlethwaite and Netterville so that commissioners will receive an audit plan at the February commission meeting. Commissioner Mann seconded. Motion passed 6-0 as Commissioner Garza was not present for the vote.

Report of the Archives and Records Committee meeting of November 1, 2018.

Vice Chair Holt reported that the Archives and Records Committee did not meet due to a lack of a quorum. No action required.

Review and approve contracts greater than $100,000 contract renewals, and amendments.

No contracts were brought before the commission at this time.

Review and approve acceptance of gifts and grants greater than $500.

Jelain Chubb requested approval to accept a $3,600 donation from the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA) to fund a part-time project assistant to process NAGARA records. TSLAC has been asked to serve as the official repository for the association’s records. Commissioner Wong moved to accept the donation and Commissioner Tocker seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Report on Sunset Review.

Gloria Meraz reported on the Sunset Review process and answered questions from the commission, noting that since the agency’s August 29, 2018 hearing before the Sunset Advisory Commission, staff have proactively provided information and responses to the key concerns regarding grants management, library accreditation and transfer of legislative records to the Archives and conducting meetings with Sunset commission members and/or their staff. In response to Chairman Birdwell’s questions about library accreditation during the hearing, she said staff have begun a full review process of library accreditation including a complete rule review of 13 TAC Chapter 1, Library Development, as well as planning to convene focus groups comprised of local government officials and librarians to explore concerns regarding the rules.  Ms. Meraz said that the Sunset Commission will issue decision documents on November 8, 2018 and take action on the recommendations on November 14, 2018.  No action required.

Discussion of request to grant an easement at the State Records Center.

Chairman Waters welcomed Sandy Guzman and Jacob Cottingham to the meeting noting that the commission had received a letter from Senator Watson, Rep. Howard and Rep. Hinojosa in which they say they would look with favor on the commission granting an easement for a pedestrian bridge on the State Records Center property. Mark Smith said he received the request on September 4, 2018 requesting easement on the southmost end of the property to allow access to a bridge over the Shoal Creek to connect the neighborhood to the Grove development currently under construction across the creek. Director Smith said he has discussed the issue with the agency’s legal counsel and was told it would be a complex review process to provide the commission a full answer on the legality of this request. The commission discussed the request and brought up numerous issues.

Commissioner Garza said he did not wish to vote on a blanket easement and would like more details, drawings and maps before considering the request. Commissioner Givens said he would like to know what other options have been considered other than looking at state property and wondered why there is not a value associated with the request since the development across the creek is a commercial activity. He and Commissioner Wong expressed concerns about the easement creating a security and liability risk for the agency but emphasized that he was not objecting to the request but asking. Commissioner Wong asked about the maintenance of the bridge and who would be responsible for that and if it would be possible for the state to obtain some value from leasing the land rather than granting an easement. She also wondered about the possibility of fencing in TSLAC property because of the easement and who would finance that if it were determined if one is needed. Vice Chair Holt said the commission hopes to work out something that would accommodate all parties and reinforce the commission’s fiduciary responsibility. However, he expressed concern about the impact on the neighborhood across the street and the fact that Shoal Creek Boulevard is not a large street. Also, he expressed concerns about flooding because he said a bridge not properly designed can become a dam. He and Commissioner Givens opined that one request may lead to larger requests. 

Director Smith said staff are comfortable that a 10-foot easement would not impede agency operations but that staff are not in a position to suggest how a bridge should be structured and emphasized that the commission can continue discussions at future meetings or until the OAG returns with information on the legality of granting an easement. Chairman Waters emphasized that the commission has significant time to consider the request as construction on the development will continue for some time. Ms. Guzman said that a meeting with all parties including city staff to walk the property would be planned in the near future.  Chairman Waters asked Ms. Guzman and Mr. Cottingham to convey to Senator Watson and Rep. Howard that the commission will be doing its due diligence on their request and thanked them for attending the meeting. No action required.

Report of the Director and Librarian.

Mark Smith provided a written report on TSLAC activities and initiatives and added the following notes and announcements:

• A new memorial commemorating Texas military personnel who have served since September 11, 2001 has been constructed on the southeast corner of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building property.
• No new information is available regarding the cell phone tower lease on the State Records Center property at this time.
• In response to a suggestion from the agency’s Sunset review, staff have opened a dialogue with General Land Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Historical Commission, State Preservation Board and the Governor’s Mansion Conservancy staff to discuss their storage needs and possibly including them in TSLAC’s request for more storage before the legislature. He said he has reported this initiative to the Sunset Commission. He said this could possibly favorably impact the financing arrangement for the project. Presently the THC and the Preservation Board are most interested.

Chairman Waters noted that today’s meeting marks Director Smith’s fifth anniversary as Director and Librarian and congratulated him on his five years on the job.

Mark Smith reviewed future meeting dates that had been set and asked the Commission to set a meeting for August. After discussion, the Commission set a meeting on Monday, August 12, 2019 in Austin.

Craig Kelso reported on a two-year project that involved TSLAC assisting the Department of Information Resources to conduct a digital data storage study as required by House Bill 8 from the 85th Legislative session resulting in a report approved by the DIR board November 1 and submission to the legislature in December 2018.The report included four recommendations three of which require involvement by TSLAC including:

1. ) implementing a statewide information governance coordinator position within TSLAC to increase resources and outreach for state agency records management programs
2. ) require implementation of data classification, security and retention requirements
3. ) establish a training schedule for state agency staff regarding agency-specific records retention schedules and records management program
4. ) require DIR in collaboration with TSLAC to develop a strategy for agencies to transfer appropriate records to the Texas Digital Archive and to develop long-term cost-effective non-archival storage options.

No action required.

Authorization to propose amended rules regarding juvenile records retention 13 TAC §7.125:

1. ) 13 TAC §7.125(a)(3), local government retention schedule CC (Records of County Clerks)
2. ) 13 TAC §7.125(a)(4), local government retention schedule DC (Records of District Clerks)
3. ) 13 TAC §7.125(a)(5), local government retention schedule PS (Records of Public Safety Agencies)
4. ) 13 TAC §7.125(a)(8), local government retention schedule LC (Records of Justice and Municipal Courts)

Craig Kelso requested approval to propose amended rules regarding juvenile records retention 13 TAC §7.125(a)(3), local government retention schedule CC (Records of County Clerks), 13 TAC §7.125(a)(4), local government retention schedule DC (Records of District Clerks), 13 TAC §7.125(a)(5), local government retention schedule PS (Records of Public Safety Agencies), and 13 TAC §7.125(a)(8), local government retention schedule LC (Records of Justice and Municipal Courts). Vice Chair Holt moved to approve the amended rules and Commissioner Wong seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Authorization to adopt proposed amendments to 13 TAC §8.1, §8.3, §8.4, and §8.5, TexShare Library Consortium.  

Jennifer Peters requested approval to adopt amendments to the TexShare Library Consortium rules 13 TAC §8.1-8.5. Commissioner Mann moved to approve the adoption and Commissioner Wong seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Authorization to post a rule review pursuant to Tex. Gov’t Code §2001.039 of 13 TAC Chapter 1, Library Development.

Jennifer Peters requested authorization to post rule review of 13 TAC Chapter 1, Library Development. Commissioner Givens moved to approve posting the rule review and Commissioner Wong seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

The Commission did not meet in Executive Session.

There being no further business to come before the commission, Chairman Waters adjourned the meeting at 11:14 a.m.