City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: AUGUST 16, 2022 FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WARDS: ALL
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: STATE OF CALIFORNIA, OFFICE OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION 2022-2023 CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $40,000 TO PREPARE AN LGBTQ+ HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT – SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION ISSUE:
Accept a State of California, Office of Historic Preservation 2022-2023 Certified Local Government Grant in the amount of $40,000 to be used to prepare an LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement and create a study list of associated sites.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Accept the State of California, Office of Historic Preservation 2022-2023 Certified Local Government Grant in the amount of $40,000 to prepare an LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement and a study list of potentially associated sites; With at least five affirmative votes, authorize the Chief Financial Officer, or designee, to record an increase in estimated revenues and supplemental appropriation in the Development Grants Fund, Community & Economic Development Department, 22/23 CLG LGBTQ Context Statement project revenue and expenditure accounts in the amount of the grant for consultant costs related to the completion of an LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement; and Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the Office of Historic Preservation grant award, including making minor and non-substantive changes, and to sign all documents and instruments necessary to complete the transaction, including, but not limited to agreements, payment requests and so on, which may be necessary to complete grant funded activities.
BACKGROUND:
In 1995, the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) recognized the quality of the City’s historic preservation program by designating Riverside as a Certified Local Government (CLG). One of the main benefits of becoming a CLG is that the City is eligible for annual competitive grant awards for projects related to certain historic preservation criteria. Since being granted CLG status, the City has received approximately $297,800 in State CLG grants.
On May 12, 2022, the Community & Economic Development Department (CEDD), in partnership with the University of California Riverside (UCR) Public History program, submitted an application to OHP during the 2022-2023 CLG grant cycle application period. The application included a request for $40,000 to prepare a historic context statement for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Community in Riverside. On July 14, 2022, the City received notice that OHP had accepted the application and awarded a $40,000 grant (Attachment 1).
DISCUSSION:
The development of an LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement will play a vital role by building greater equity and inclusivity in the identification of the related cultural resources. Additionally, the Context Statement will benefit the community by ensuring an understanding of the richer and more complete history of marginalized groups, their role in advocating and agitating for civil rights, and their resilience in the face of continued oppression, intolerance, and violence. This has been a largely “hidden” secret or insider history.
The LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement project will include:
Preparation of the Historic Context Statement and a study list. The context statement will also include eligibility standards.
Conducting a minimum of three community meetings for outreach and storytelling collection.
Completion of three to five oral history interviews to be recorded and transcribed.
Preparation of a story map that provides a narrative of the LGBTQ+ Community history.
The awarded $40,000 in grant funds will be used to hire a consultant to prepare the context statement and study list, with the assistance of City staff and UCR students. The community meetings will be conducted by CEDD staff with the assistance of the consultant and volunteers. The oral histories will be completed by a UCR Public History Ph.D. candidate and faculty. CEDD staff will complete the story map with the assistance of UCR Students.
This project is in line with the goals of the City of Riverside’s Historic Preservation Element as follows: Aid in the identification, interpretation, and designation the City’s cultural resources; and promote the City’s cultural resources as a means to enhance the City’s identity as an important center of Southern California history.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This project contributes to Strategic Priority 2 – Community Well-Being (Goal 2.4 - Support programs and innovations that enhance community safety, encourage neighborhood engagement, and build public trust) and Strategic Priority 5 – High Performing Government (Goal 5.3 – Enhance communication and collaboration with community members to improve transparency, build public trust, and encourage shared decision-making).
This item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – The proposed LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement project will include community workshops, allowing input from community members throughout the process.
Equity – The proposed LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement project will enhance the recognition of a largely underrepresented group within the city, and aid in the identification of cultural resources associated with that community.
Fiscal Responsibility – The proposed LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement project will be grant funded through a CLG grant from the State.
Innovation – The proposed LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement project will make use of innovative GIS based story mapping to help tell the associated history.
Sustainability and Resiliency – The proposed LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement project will include aid in the identification and designation of cultural resources that are associated with the LGBTQ+ community so that efforts can be made to retain them for future generations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of this action is estimated at $40,000. With at least five affirmative votes, the Chief Financial Officer, or designee, will record an increase in estimated revenues and supplemental appropriation in the Development Grants Fund, Community & Economic Development Department, 22/23 CLG LGBTQ Context Statement project, State Operating Grants revenue account no. 9346300-334100 and State Operating Grants expenditure account no. 9346300-440210 in the amount of the grant award.
All staffing and incidental printing costs incurred by Community & Economic Development Department Planning Division will be absorbed by the Division’s operating budget.
Prepared by: Chris Christopoulos, Acting Community & Economic Development Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Interim Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachment: CLG Grant Award letter
LGBTQ+ Historic Context CLG Grant ● Page 2