A closer look
Montgomery County Clerk Brandon Steinmann made a presentation to Commissioners Court during the August budget workshops to discuss the recent issues surrounding the safety of archived materials.
Steinmann told commissioners that issues such as a water leak in the court annex building caused 1,262 books containing thousands of documents dating back to 1838 to be permanently lost.
Quote of note
“There are actually documents that are deteriorating literally in your hands. If you pick it up, the paper crinkles, and it's aging,” Steinmann said. “Just moving these documents costs hundreds of thousands, and repairing them sometimes costs $200,000 to $300,000.”
The cost
The new fee, approved Aug. 22, will be used to care for the documents and provide repairs and cover potential expansion costs, Steinmann said.
According to the estimate provided by Steinmann, the total cost of renovations at the county clerk’s records office will total $420,000.
- Relocation, restoration and preservation projects: $175,000
- Upgrades to repository workspace: $50,000
- Supplies and IT expenses: $20,000
- New records management and analyst positions: $175,000
