Council approves document‑scanning contract; resident urges preservation of historic maps

Williamsport — City council authorized a professional services agreement with Data Management International to digitize city records, after staff said the company offered a single‑price approach that fit the available grant funding.

The contract: Public records manager (Mr. Black) told council he received 19 responses to the solicitation; Data Management International proposed to scan the prioritized collection within the grant amount and provide one year of online retrieval. The presenter said the city will download and preserve a local copy once the conversion is complete.

Historic maps concern: During earlier public comment Bruce Huffman asked the city to pay special attention to historical city maps stored in a 15×15 basement room and suggested that if the city does not retain some originals they consider donating them to the county historical society. "I'd like to suggest that when it does happen... consider donating them to the like County Historical Society," Huffman said.

Officials said staff will move the maps out of the basement — staff estimated the room is approximately 15 by 15 feet and full of maps — and that state statute and city record‑retention rules guide which originals must be retained. The presenter confirmed the scanned collection will be accessible online for one year through the vendor’s retrieval platform and that the city plans to keep a local copy.

Funding: Council thanked First Community Foundation staff and city staff who helped secure the grant that supports the scanning project.

Outcome: Council approved the contract and directed staff to ensure historically valuable items are handled appropriately and to follow record‑retention rules when deciding whether to retain or donate originals.