STATE RECORDS COMMISSION
January 12, 2012
MEETING MINUTES
The State Records Commission met on January 12, 2012 at the State Historical building.
Barb Corson, chair, called the meeting to order.
Members/Designees present:
Trina Brietske, Department of Administrative Services
Barb Corson, State Library
Jake Friedrichsen, Treasurer of State
Carla Seemann, Department of Management
Jerome Thompson, Department of Cultural Affairs
Doug Struyk, Secretary of State
Stu Vos, Department of Revenue
Also in attendance:
Meaghan Christensen, Department of Cultural Affairs
Jeffrey Dawson, Department of Cultural Affairs
Pam Griebel, Attorney General
Brittani Jansen, Secretary of State
Bruce Kreuger, Department of Cultural Affairs
Jason Marcel, Department of Natural Resources
Craig Otto, Department of Natural Resources
Renae Park, Department of Natural Resources
New Designees:
Approval of Minutes:
Barb Corson called for approval of the October 13, 2011 meeting minutes. The
minutes were approved by the members present.
Election of Chair:
Barb Corson volunteered to serve as chair for another term, since there were no
other nominations brought forth.
Record Series Retention and Disposition Schedules:
Bruce Kreuger provided the commission members with a summary of the three
schedules being proposed. Doug Struyk pointed out that no oaths of office have been
transferred to the state archives. The Secretary of States office has all of the oaths of
office going back to 1917. It has been determined by the archives that the oaths of office
have no archival value.
Jeffrey Dawson mentioned that some records that fall under the schedule entitled
Air Quality Facility Files have already been transferred concerning the air quality
schedule. The state archives will need to determine if existing records will be given
back. Jerome Thompson had a concern about the volume of the records. There was no
mention of the volume of the records given at the meeting.
Two questions were proposed concerning the new schedule proposed by the
Department of Public Safety. Barb Corson wanted to know if the retention period for the
records adequately met the needs of the agency. She thought the retention period for the
records was a little short. Jeffrey Dawson explained that this record schedule only dealt
with course work. The actual permits are kept longer. Doug Struyk also raised concern
about this particular retention schedule. Mr. Struyk want to know is this record schedule
adequate since a liability arising from a construction project may last for fifteen years.
He asked if there are other records that would demonstrate that an electrician was
properly licensed and had the proper CEUs. No one from the Department of Public
Safety was at the meeting to comment on the schedule. Barb Corson proposed putting
the schedule on hold until the next meeting and having Brian Young either come to the
meeting or provide a written response to Doug Struyk’s concern.
Jerome Thompson motioned to table the schedule being proposed by the
Department of Public Safety and approve the other schedule changes currently being
proposed. Doug Struyk seconded the motion. The motion passed.
State Archives and Records Program Issues:
Jerome Thompson had received a request from the Government Efficiency
Committee for a presentation concerning electronic records. During the
presentation by Cultural Affairs director May Cownie the topic of agency
responsibility for maintaining records was also discussed. Before, there had been
lots of discussion focusing on moving the State Record Center from the flood
plain. The presentation by Director Cownie went beyond the issue of records
storage. The issue of fees came up but no recommendations concerning the issue
were made.
Jeffrey Dawson talked about the limited services at the State Records
Center. The State Archives and Records Program (SARP) is looking at having
Iowa Prison Industries come in and help move boxes on to shelves. Bruce
Krueger and Jeffrey Dawson have been going to the records center on both
Monday and Friday to put up boxes.
Jeffrey Dawson also discussed how destruction notices and retention
schedule reports that are created. The electronic reports are created from the back
end of Infolinx. Infolinx is a web based records management application for use
by all agencies. Iowa Technology Enterprise told Jeffrey Dawson that they would
be able to create the necessary reports but it would cost between $600 and $1,000
for each report. SARP is looking to see if there are less costly alternatives. The
new version of Infolinx will make secondary functions easier to produce. Pam
Griebel expressed that it as a disservice to the public when the list of retention
schedules is out of date.
The proposal to acquire the new version of Infolinx scored among the top
five proposals to the Return on Investment Program (ROI). Getting the new
version of the software is dependent on the funding made available to ROI. Doug
Struyk asked how much of the information within the Infolinx software is
available for the public. Currently the software is not publicly accessible. Right
now it is only available for agency use. Dough Struyk wondered if an upgrade to
Infolinx could be funded through Iowa Access money.
Stu Vos asked if anything has been mentioned so far this year about
moving the record center out of the flood plain. Nothing has been mentioned so
far this year. Moving the record center depends on whether the Department of
Administrative Service can find a suitable space. In the past there has been some
of possibly creating a state record center on the grounds near the Newton
Correctional Facility.
Barb Corson requested an update on the subject of fees being applied to
record center operations since the issue was discussed at the last meeting. Jerome
Thompson stated there has been some discussion on fees and at the same time a
higher level of support being given to records overall. Mr. Thompson would
prefer to give agencies time to plan for record center fees if they are put into
effect.
Public comment:
Barb Corson asked if a meeting should be scheduled at the record center since so
many of the commission members are new and probably have never been to the state
record center before
With no other agenda items remaining, the meeting was adjourned.