City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
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File ID: 2023-01568 12/12/2023 Consent Item 24.
Lease Agreement: Collection Storage Lease at McClellan Park for the Center for Sacramento History and the Crocker Art Museum [Published for 10-Day Review 11/30/2023] File ID: 2023-01568
Location: Building 250, Bays M & N 5008 & 5016 Luce Avenue, McClellan, Sacramento County Recommendation: Pass a Motion: 1) authorizing the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to execute a ten-year Lease Agreement with McClellan Realty LLC in an amount not to exceed $3,716,098 for space to store the collections of the Center for Sacramento History and Crocker Art Museum at McClellan Park.
Contact: Marcia Eymann, City Historian, (916) 808-5960, [email protected]; Dustin Hollingsworth, Assistant Director, (916) 808-5538, [email protected], Convention and Cultural Services Department
Presenter: None.
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Lease Agreement with McClellan Realty LLC
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: Founded in 1953, the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) is the City and County’s official repository for historic collections. CSH’s collection contains countless irreplaceable artifacts from Sacramento’s history dating back to 1848. CSH is responsible for the care, maintenance, and protection of the items in this collection and to continue to collect relevant items that will tell the story of Sacramento’s history for generations to come. These collections are held in the public trust and reflect the many aspects of the social, political, geographic, and cultural history of the Sacramento region.
The Crocker Art Museum (CAM) is entrusted with the care, maintenance, and protection of the original Crocker family collection as well as all art acquired since then in accordance with the museum’s city approved collection’s management policy. CAM is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and is the only museum in the Sacramento region accredited by the AAM, a recognition given to fewer than 1,100 of the nation’s 33,000 museums.
File ID: 2023-01568 12/12/2023 Consent Item 24.
Both CSH and CAM have exceeded their space to store their respective collections. Current facilities are inadequate and don’t meet the requirements of proper collections care. Without enough storage space, objects will continue to be stored and processed in substandard conditions for these unique collections, such as lack of climate control. The lack of adequate climate control already threatens loss and destruction of the valuable, irreplaceable, documents, artifacts and artwork owned by the City. Both institutions will be forced to stop collecting artifacts and CAM faces losing AAM accreditation without additional storage and sufficient climate control.
For the last 15 years, staff at both CSH and CAM have tried to find viable solutions to what has become a collection-storage crisis. The space at McClellan Park provides a stopgap while the City continues to find a permanent solution.
The Department of Convention and Cultural Services (CCS) is recommending the City enter into a lease agreement with McClellan Realty LLC to provide a climate-controlled collection storage space at McClellan Park for the city owned collections that are managed by CSH and CAM. The 28,889 square foot space will be subdivided in two, 12,850 square feet for CAM, and 16,039 square feet for CSH. Obligations in the lease agreement will require McClellan Realty to make modifications to the existing space, including but not limited to: a new mechanical system capable of maintaining necessary temperature and relative humidity required to protect the collections; additional insulation to assist in conserving energy; window coverings to reduce heat absorption and sun damage; a dock leveler to improve the ability to get collections in and out of the space; and an interior partition to keep the collections separate. These improvements are essential to provide a safe, climate- controlled environment for storage of the collections and the ability to move them into and out of the location.
The City currently has a lease with McClellan Realty for storage of part of CSH’s collection. Not only has the existing space grown too small to store all the City’s collections, but that space does not provide environmental controls and CSH recently learned that it is in jeopardy of losing its ability to insure the collection because conditions at the existing site do not satisfy the environmental requirements of the underwriters.
Policy Considerations: The City of Sacramento holds the collections for both the CSH and the CAM in public trust. It is the City’s responsibility to care for and preserve these collections in perpetuity.
Specifically, it will uphold CSH’s mission, “The Center educates and enriches the public by collecting, preserving, and making accessible the region’s vast cultural heritage.” As conveyed in the Collections Management Policy, as approved by council in 2017, section VII of the Policy sets forth the Center’s “legal, ethical, and professional obligations to provide proper physical care for its collections held in the public trust; it will provide necessary care for materials both accessioned and borrowed as set by accepted professional standards in the Archival and Museum fields.”
File ID: 2023-01568 12/12/2023 Consent Item 24.
Additionally, in 1885, when the City accepted the Deed of Trust for the Crocker Art Gallery, it committed to the care and maintenance of the real property, as well as the collection. That commitment has been reaffirmed multiple times since, most notably in the Operating Agreement with the Crocker Art Museum Association (CAMA). Margaret Crocker’s 1885 Deed of Trust and later agreements between the City and the CAMA give ownership of CAM’s collection to the City and obligates the City to maintain the collection for the public’s benefit.
Execution of this lease agreement will also further the visions, goals, and objectives of the 2035 General Plan by creating a supporting asset that will strengthen Sacramento as the region’s cultural center and support the development and expansion of cultural attractions.
Sacramento City Code section 4.04.020 and Council Rules of Procedure (Chapter 7, Section E.2.d) mandate that unless waived by a 2/3 vote of the City Council, all labor agreements and all agreements greater than $1,000,000 shall be made available to the public at least ten (10) days prior to council action. This item was published for 10-day review on November 30, 2023, in compliance with the City Code.
Economic Impacts: In 2019, CAM hosted approximately 275,000 visitors. 85,000 of those visitors came from outside a three-hour driving radius. Of those, 25,000 were visiting from outside the state or country. These visitors stay in Sacramento hotels, eat in Sacramento restaurants, and shop in Sacramento stores. Studies of tourist spending habits show that “cultural tourists” - those that visit museums - spend on average three times more than those who travel for other purposes.
The CSH also draws cultural tourists and visitors to Sacramento including film crews from Netflix, HBO, and other producers and studios, seeking the extensive and unique collections that the Center has to offer.
To continue having collections at both facilities that draw visitors, further the public good, and draw attention to the importance of Sacramento as a city, adequate and appropriate storage is necessary.
Many of the items that will be stored at this site have been and will continue to be used in exhibits locally, statewide, and nationally. These collections add to the draw of the City’s museums and bring visitors, researchers, filmmakers, and enthusiasts from around the world. They also contribute to the prestige and professional reputation of the two City institutions.
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): The proposed activity is not a project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378(b)(4 and 5) and is not subject to CEQA [CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3)]. The leasing of existing storage space is a fiscal and administrative activity that does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment.
File ID: 2023-01568 12/12/2023 Consent Item 24.
Sustainability: The improvements to the McClellan Site include significant energy efficient improvements designed to minimize energy consumption while protecting the sensitive collections.
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
Rationale for Recommendation: Approval of the lease agreement will provide appropriate storage facilities for both CSH and CAM, ensuring the City can maintain and care for both collections and ensure the continued accreditation of CAM.
Financial Considerations: Sufficient funding for this Lease Agreement is included in the Convention and Cultural Services Department’s FY2023/24 Approved Operating Budget. Funding for the following years is subject to sufficient funding available in the approved budget for the applicable fiscal year.
Resolution No. 2022-0198 allocated $366,000 to increase the budget in Rental of Land and Buildings and Custodial Services for the Center for Sacramento History and the Crocker Art Museum to cover the annual lease payments, utility costs, and maintenance for a facility at McClellan Park to house parts of the collections from both institutions. Lease payments of $56,400 annually from the current McClellan site will also be redirected to contribute to the lease and utility costs of the new site. The monthly rent for year 1 will be $27,013.09 for a total of $324,158. There will be a 3.00% increase each subsequent year for the duration of the lease. Total lease payments for the 10-year term will be $3,716,098. Utility costs in year 1 are estimated to be $31,696 and, based upon an electricity inflation index of 4%, would be a total of $380,549 across the 10-year term.
Alternatively, if the two collections continue to be subjected to substandard storage conditions, the potential financial impact from damage or loss of irreplaceable collections cannot be easily estimated, nor can the potential increased insurance costs or loss of insurance. Conservation costs to repair damaged collection items can be expected to be thousands of dollars per artifact or art piece, depending upon many factors.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.