City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: SEPTEMBER 16, 2025 FROM: MUSEUM DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS NO. 2418 – PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANT SERVICES AGREEMENT TO HOLDEN FILMS, LLC, OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, FOR PHASE 1 DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING SERVICES FOR A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE HARADA FAMILY STORY AND REHABILITATION OF HARADA HOUSE FOR 27-MONTH TERM THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2028, IN THE AMOUNT OF $160,000 – SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION ISSUE:
Approve a Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Holden Films, LLC, of Palm Springs, California, from Request for Proposals No. 2418 for documentary filmmaking services for a documentary about the Harada family story and rehabilitation of Harada House for a 27-month term through December 31, 2028, in the amount of $160,000.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Approve the Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Holden Films, LLC, of Palm Springs, California, for Phase 1 documentary filmmaking services for a documentary about the Harada story and rehabilitation of Harada House, for a 27-month term through December 31, 2028, in the amount of $160,000; With at least five affirmative votes, authorize the Chief Financial Officer, or designee, to record an increase in revenue and an appropriation of expenditure in the amount of $160,000 in the Grants and Restricted Programs Fund, Harada Documentary revenue and expenditure accounts fully funded from the Interest-Bearing Special Deposits Fund Museum Donations/Gifts and Harada House Donations accounts as detailed in the report; and Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Holden Films, LLC, including making minor and non-substantive changes.
BOARD RECOMMENDATION:
At its July 23, 2025, regular meeting, the Museum of Riverside Board voted unanimously to recommend that City Council accept donations from the Riverside Museum Associates in the amount of $100,000 and donations from the Harada House Foundation in the amount of $40,000 to support the documentary about the Harada family story and rehabilitation of Harada House.
BACKGROUND:
The National Historic Landmark Harada House (Harada House) was donated to the Museum Department (Museum) of the City of Riverside by Harada family heirs (deed recorded 2004) on the condition that it be preserved as a civil rights resource for the public. Jukichi Harada, his wife Ken, and their first son Masa Atsu settled in Riverside, California in 1905. They soon were operating a rooming house and the Washington Restaurant. Following the death of their first American-born son, Jukichi and Ken sought a home with healthier conditions for their family. Aware of the 1913 California Alien Land Law prohibiting immigrants such as themselves from owning property, in December 1915, Jukichi Harada purchased the house at 3356 Lemon Street in the names of his three American-born children, Mine, Sumi, and Yoshizo. In 1918, he prevailed in Riverside Superior Court in a landmark court battle to retain the home. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990 due to the history surrounding this legal case.
Since that time, funds have been expended to arrest further deterioration or respond to weather-related emergencies, as well as to offer interpretation of the Harada story. Due to the compromised structural condition of Harada House, it has never been open to the public. On January 22, 2019, City Council approved the accession of Harada House into the Museum’s permanent collection.
In 2014, the City purchased the adjacent home, Robinson House, with privately donated funds. The purpose of the purchase was to use the property as an interpretive center for Harada House.
DISCUSSION:
On May 20, 2025, City Council approved a professional consultant services agreement with K+R Design, Inc. for architectural design services to rehabilitate Harada House and construct its Interpretive Center.
This project has been years in the making, and a documentary film will support the City’s commitment to the Harada family to preserve the Harada family story and provide a record of the complex process to rehabilitate Harada House.
The documentary is anticipated to proceed in two phases, as funding is available. The current funding ($160,000) will support Phase 1, which focuses on the family story, including review of archival materials, interviews, and the start of the rehabilitation. Phase 2 completes the filming of the rehabilitation process, additional filming of reenactments, editing and review, development of the musical score, final film editing, and a distribution plan. The Museum plans to seek grant funding and donations to support Phase 2 of the documentary and will pursue a contract amendment for Phase 2 upon securing sufficient funding and satisfactory completion of Phase 1.
The Riverside Museum Associates (RMA) is a 501(c)(3) incorporated as a private support group for the Museum in 1963. The RMA supports the Museum by 1) providing volunteers for outreach and events, 2) providing and scheduling docents to lead tours of Heritage House, 3) fundraising and receiving donations to support Museum programs, and 4) assisting with collections care and the acquisition and conservation of objects.
At the April 10, 2025, regular board meeting, the RMA agreed to support the Museum’s request for $100,000 from the Harada House Stewardship fund to support a Harada documentary. This request included $35,000 in grant funding that had been awarded to the RMA in 2022 and restricted to initiating this documentary and $65,000 in gifts made to the fund restricted for Harada-related use.
The Harada House Foundation (HHF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) incorporated in 2017 as a private support group focused on the National Historic Landmark Harada House. The mission of the HHF is, “To raise funds to protect and conserve the National Historic Landmark Harada House, its structure, archive, collection, and legacy by sharing the Harada family story and its relevant to immigration, housing, civil rights, and social justice.” In response to a request from the Museum for support for the documentary, the HHF awarded $40,000. A portion of this gift will be credited to the Mellon Foundation, which named the Harada House Foundation a sub-awardee of a grant to UC-Riverside, which is supporting a variety of Asian American cultural initiatives.
Request for Proposal (RFP) No.2418 was posted on the City’s online bidding system, Planet Bids, on October 3, 2024, seeking prospective bidders to provide production services for a documentary film about the process of rehabilitating the National Historic Landmark Harada House and the story that lies behind the historic designation of the site.
The solicitation notification is summarized in the table below:
Action
Number of Vendors
External Vendors Notified
500
City of Riverside Vendors Notified
165
Vendors who downloaded the RFP
60 Proposals received
10 A mandatory pre-proposal meeting was held on October 16, 2024, with 26 vendors in attendance. RFP No. 2418 closed on November 19, 2024, with a total of ten (10) responses. Of the ten (10) responses six (6) were found to be responsive and responsible, with four (4) found non-responsive for not meeting minimum bidding requirements. Under the guidance of the purchasing department, three (3) City staff and four (4) individual(s) that are subject matter experts from outside City staff evaluated the proposals for two rounds, which resulted in Holden Films, LLC ranking No. 1. The evaluation criteria, total points and rankings for each evaluation round are summarized in the tables below.
Round 1
Evaluation Criteria
Total Points
Approach and Methodology Specific to this Project
30%
Prior Experience in designing similar facilities
30%
Qualifications
20%
Professional References
10%
Pricing
10%
Evaluation Results
Vendor
Location
Total Cost
Total Point
Rank
Holden Films, LLC
Palm Springs, CA
$353,629.50
595.74
1 Fire Starter Studios, LLC
Santa Clarita, CA
$287,890.00
536.61
2 VideoVets
Hughson, CA
$103,745.00
492.02
3 336 Productions, LLC
Costa Mesa, CA
$294,750.00
453.12
4 The Safe Community Project
Huntington Beach, CA
$494,800.00
427.16
5 Fiat Luxx
Sacramento, CA
$93,000.00
287.60
6 *Black Diamond Pictures, Inc.
Santa Barbara, CA
$250,000.00
N/A
N/A
*InterSection Films
Los Angeles, CA
$315,321.00
N/A
N/A
*Flash Cuts Inc
Los Angeles, CA
$315,322.00
N/A
N/A
*57TH ST Media LLC
Silver Spring, MD
$699,800.00
N/A
N/A
*Non-responsive
The top three (3) consultants were within a competitive point range and were invited to move forward into Interviews (Round 2 Evaluation).
Round 2
Evaluation Criteria
Total Points
Approach and methodology specific to the Harada House story 35%
Look book/deck
35%
Experience conducting and using interviews as a storytelling element 10%
Experience using archival materials as a storytelling element 10%
Experience using a building/site as a storytelling element 10%
Evaluation Results
Vendor
Location
Total Cost
Total Point
Rank
Holden Films, LLC
Palm Springs, CA
$353,629.50
636.00
1 Fire Starter Studios, LLC
Santa Clarita, CA
$287,890.00
593.00
2 VideoVets
Hughson, CA
$103,745.00
223.00
3 Holden Films, LLC entered into negotiations with City staff and while they did not decrease pricing they agreed to split project into two phases. Originally priced at $353,626, Phase 1 will be performed at a cost of $160,000. Phase 2 will be addressed through a future amendment, in the amount up to $241,129, to include the remaining scope at $193,629 and could incorporate additional recommendations up to $47,500.
Purchasing Resolution 24101, Section 508 Awards states, “Contracts procured through Formal Procurement shall be awarded by the Awarding Entity to the Lowest Responsive and Responsible, except that… (d) Contracts for Professional Services procured through Formal Procurement shall be awarded by the City Council.” The Purchasing Manager concurs that the recommended actions are in accordance with Purchasing Resolution 24101.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of the award is $160,000. The fiscal impact of the supplemental appropriation is an increase in revenues and expenditures of $160,000. Upon City Council approval, an increase in revenue and an appropriation of expenditures will be recorded in the amount of $160,000 as indicated in Table 1.
Table 1. Supplemental Appropriation/Funding Source
Fund
Account Name
Account
Amount
Interest-Bearing Special Deposits
Deposit Account/Funding Source
Museum Donations/Gifts
0000721-225250
($140,000)
Harada House Donations
0000721-225468
($20,000)
Grants & Restricted Programs Fund
Revenue
Harada Documentary
9930300-374222
$160,000
Expenditures
Harada Documentary Professional Services
9930300-421000
$160,000
Prepared by: Ann Lovell, Manager of Operations
Approved by: Robyn G. Peterson, Ph.D., Museum Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager Approved as to form: Rebecca McKee-Reimbold, Interim City Attorney Attachments:
Museum of Riverside Board DRAFT Minutes – 7-23-25
Award Recommendation
Agreement
Award RFP 2418 – Harada Documentary ● Page 2