Records committee moves forward on routine destruction reviews, server cleanup and a 50-year time capsule

The records committee reviewed and approved minutes from its June 12, 2024 meeting and considered notice-of-destruction submissions as part of routine records-management work.

The chair read the minutes and a motion to approve them was made; the committee approved the minutes by voice vote. Committee members then reviewed proposed destruction submissions and a second was recorded before the committee voted in favor of the notice-of-destruction items.

Committee members discussed an ongoing server-cleanup project after Ramsey, the county information technician with Midwest Data, reported the Dearborn server that serves the administration building "is getting full." Committee members were reminded that electronic mail and desktop files are records and should not be deleted without following the committee's review process.

The historical society outlined a separate plan to assemble a climate-controlled time capsule to hold community photos and documents. The society said the capsule will "not be buried in the ground" but kept in storage and "padlocked not to be open 50 years," and encouraged schools and civic groups to contribute photocopies of newspaper articles and properly sleeved photographs.

Members discussed logistics for scanning, moving heavy bound records to create storage space and enlisting high-school volunteers for community-service hours to help organize archived materials. The committee also touched on courthouse preservation work—members described plaster deterioration in the historic courtroom and interim plywood repairs while exploring restoration options and private fundraising.

The committee set a tentative schedule for future 2026 meetings (avoiding November and December) and adjourned; motions to adjourn were recorded and passed by voice vote.