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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2026.08.13 - 43077 AGENDA ITEM: Support for Oakland County Historical Organizations Coordination DEPARTMENT: Board of Commissioners MEETING: Board of Commissioners DATE: Thursday, August 13, 2026 9:30 AM - Click to View Agenda ITEM SUMMARY SHEET COMMITTEE REPORT TO BOARD Resolution #2026-6831 Motion to approve a one-time allocation in the amount of $20,000 from the FY 2026 Board of Commissioners General Fund Program Special Projects line-item budget to support coordination and planning related to Oakland County historical organizations, including the Oakland County Historical Commission, the Oakland County Historical Society, Oakland County Parks, Oakland County Planning, and other relevant stakeholders. Following approval, notification of funding shall be made to the Board Study Group on Historical Organizations Coordination and Planning, which shall make a recommendation regarding whether to contract with a consultant or transfer the funds to the appropriate County department to support the work. Any recommended consultant contract, departmental transfer, or related implementation action shall proceed through the applicable Board approval, County contracting, and purchasing processes. ITEM CATEGORY SPONSORED BY Special Project Gwen Markham INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Please provide the full name, title, and organization of the person submitting this request. Commissioner Gwen Markham, Oakland County Board of Commissioners Please provide the requester’s email address and phone number. Not provided. Please provide the organization’s address and website, if applicable. Oakland County Board of Commissioners 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac, MI 48341 www.oakgov.com/boc Please identify whether the organization is a governmental entity, a nonprofit, or another type of entity, and include tax status if applicable. Governmental entity Please identify the sponsoring Commissioner(s) for this request. Commissioner Gwen Markham Describe what you are requesting the Board to fund and what the public will receive as a result. This request seeks funding to support coordination and planning related to Oakland County historical organizations, including the Oakland County Historical Commission, the Oakland County Historical Society, Oakland County Parks, Oakland County Planning, and other relevant stakeholders. The purpose of the request is to support the next phase of work by the Board Study Group on Historical Organizations Coordination and Planning. Following Board approval, notification of funding will be made to the Study Group, which will make a recommendation regarding whether to contract with a consultant or transfer the funds to the appropriate County department so the recommendation can proceed through the applicable Board approval, County contracting, and purchasing processes. The public will benefit from a more coordinated approach to preserving, promoting, and improving access to Oakland County’s historical assets and resources. This work is especially timely as Oakland County and local historical organizations continue preparing for and participating in America 250-related activities. Is this request best classified as a sponsorship of an event or support for a program? Sponsorship generally supports a one-time event and includes recognition/visibility, while a Program supports services, deliverables, or lasting community benefit beyond a single event. Program If this request includes an event, please provide the event date(s), location(s), expected attendance, and whether the event is free and open to the public. This request does not fund a single event. It supports coordination and planning related to Oakland County historical organizations and long-term public history, preservation, and community engagement efforts. What is the total budget for the overall project, program, or event, and what is the specific amount requested from the Board of Commissioners? Please present both figures clearly and explain how the requested amount fits into the total budget. The full cost of the project has not yet been determined. The request to the Board of Commissioners is limited to $20,000 to support the next phase of coordination and planning related to Oakland County historical organizations. Following Board approval, notification of funding will be made to the Board Study Group on Historical Organizations Coordination and Planning. The Study Group will review the appropriate next steps and make a recommendation regarding whether the funds should be used to support a consultant contract or transferred to the appropriate County department to carry out the work. Any recommended consultant contract, departmental transfer, or related implementation action would proceed through the applicable Board approval, County contracting, and purchasing processes. Please provide a narrative budget explanation describing what costs exist in the overall budget and which costs the Board’s requested funds would pay for. The full project budget has not yet been finalized. The requested $20,000 would provide initial funding for coordination, planning, and professional support related to the review of Oakland County historical organizations, including the Oakland County Historical Commission, Oakland County Historical Society, Oakland County Parks, Oakland County Planning, and other relevant stakeholders. Potential uses may include professional consulting services, stakeholder engagement, research, meeting facilitation, review of existing organizational roles and assets, and preparation of recommendations related to coordination, preservation, public access, and long-term promotion of Oakland County history. However, the specific use of funds will be reviewed by the Board Study Group on Historical Organizations Coordination and Planning before any contract, transfer, or implementation action proceeds through the appropriate Board and County processes. Please describe all confirmed funding partners, matching funds, sponsorships, or in-kind contributions, and specify the amount or estimated value of each. No confirmed external financial partners or matching cash contributions have been identified for this request. However, the project is expected to rely heavily on in-kind participation and subject-matter expertise from the Oakland County Historical Commission and the Oakland County Historical Society. The Oakland County Historical Commission is expected to contribute institutional knowledge regarding County historical preservation efforts, public history priorities, existing County- related historical assets, and opportunities for better coordination with County departments and local historical partners. The Oakland County Historical Society is expected to contribute historical expertise, organizational experience, knowledge of collections and archives, public programming experience, and perspective on community engagement through its long-standing role in preserving and promoting Oakland County history. Additional in-kind participation is anticipated from Oakland County Parks, Oakland County Planning, and other relevant County departments, historical organizations, municipalities, and community stakeholders through interviews, meetings, document review, planning discussions, and review of findings or recommendations. The value of these in-kind contributions has not been assigned a specific dollar amount but is central to the success of the project. If contributions are not yet confirmed, please describe what is anticipated, what is pending, and when decisions will be made. No additional cash contributions are confirmed at this time. The anticipated non-cash contribution is the participation, expertise, historical knowledge, and staff or volunteer time of the Oakland County Historical Commission, the Oakland County Historical Society, and other relevant stakeholders. Following Board approval, notification of funding will be made to the Board Study Group on Historical Organizations Coordination and Planning. The Study Group will determine the appropriate next steps, including how to engage OCHC, OCHS, Oakland County Parks, Oakland County Planning, and other stakeholders, and whether to recommend contracting with a consultant or transferring the funds to the appropriate County department. Any recommendation involving a consultant contract, departmental transfer, or implementation action would proceed through the applicable Board approval, County contracting, and purchasing processes. If the Board does not fund this request, what would change, be reduced, or not occur? Without Board funding, the Board Study Group may not have dedicated resources to support the next phase of coordination and planning related to Oakland County historical organizations. This could delay or limit the County’s ability to conduct a structured review, engage relevant stakeholders, and develop recommendations for better coordination, preservation, public access, and long-term promotion of Oakland County history. Please explain the public purpose of the project in clear terms, including how Oakland County residents will benefit. The public purpose is to preserve, promote, and improve access to Oakland County’s historical and cultural resources. Oakland County residents benefit when historical assets are protected, interpreted, and made accessible through coordinated planning, public programming, collections stewardship, educational opportunities, and community engagement. This project will help the County make informed decisions about future support, resource allocation, preservation planning, public history programming, and partnerships among County departments, historical organizations, municipalities, and community stakeholders. Please explain what the County receives in return for the expenditure. If the request is a sponsorship, describe recognition benefits. If the request is a program, describe program deliverables and measurable public outcomes. Potential deliverables may include stakeholder engagement, review of organizational roles and areas of overlap, identification of opportunities for collaboration, recommendations for improving preservation and public access, and guidance for future County support. Specific deliverables will depend on the recommendation of the Board Study Group and any subsequent Board-approved contract, departmental transfer, or implementation action. Measurable outcomes may include the number of stakeholders engaged, meetings or interviews completed, recommendations developed, and actions taken to improve coordination and public access to Oakland County history. If this request includes improvements to property not owned by Oakland County, please explain who owns the property, who will control and maintain the improvements, and how the public will have continued access to the benefit funded by the County. Not applicable. This request does not fund physical improvements to property. Please provide a clear implementation timeline with start date, milestones (if applicable), and completion date. Following Board approval, notification of funding will be made to the Board Study Group on Historical Organizations Coordination and Planning. The Study Group will review the request, identify appropriate next steps, and make a recommendation regarding whether to contract with a consultant or transfer the funds to the appropriate County department to support the work. Any consultant contract, departmental transfer, or related implementation action would then proceed through the applicable Board approval, County contracting, and purchasing processes. Because the final implementation path has not yet been determined, the timeline for completion will depend on the recommendation of the Study Group and the applicable approval and procurement process. Please describe who will benefit from the project, including estimated number of Oakland County residents served and which communities or geographic areas are expected to participate. All Oakland County residents may benefit from improved preservation, interpretation, and public access to Oakland County history. Historical organizations, local museums, municipalities, educators, students, researchers, families, and visitors may also benefit from better coordination and clearer public history planning. The project is countywide in scope and is expected to involve stakeholders connected to historical preservation, public history, local museums, cultural resources, parks, planning, archives, and community education. Please describe how success will be evaluated and what measurable outcomes will be reported. Success will be evaluated based on actions taken following Board approval, including the Study Group’s recommendation, stakeholder participation, any consultant or departmental work authorized through the appropriate process, and the development of findings or recommendations related to coordination, preservation, public access, and long-term promotion of Oakland County history. Reported outcomes should include actions taken, organizations or stakeholders engaged, meetings or interviews completed, services delivered, major findings or recommendations, and how the work supports resident access to Oakland County history. Please confirm that the organization will submit an outcomes report to the Board of Commissioners by the end of the calendar year and describe what that report will include, such as attendance, participation, services delivered, and resident impact. Yes. If requested, please confirm the organization will provide proof of expenditure, invoices, or comparable documentation showing how Board funds were used. Yes. POLICY ANALYSIS FISCAL IMPACT: No Budget Amendment Needed Committee members can contact Barbara Winter, Policy and Fiscal Analysis Supervisor at 248.821.3065 or winterb@oakgov.com or the department contact persons listed for additional information. CONTACT Gwen Markham, Commissioner ITEM REVIEW TRACKING Aaron Snover, Board of Commissioners Created/Initiated - 8/13/2026 AGENDA DEADLINE: 07/30/2026 4:30 PM ATTACHMENTS None COMMITTEE TRACKING 2026-07-16 Full Board - Refer to Finance 2026-08-16 Finance - Recommend to Board 2026-08-13 Full Board - Adopt Motioned by: Commissioner Penny Luebs Seconded by: Commissioner Robert Hoffman Yes: Charles Cavell, Ann Erickson Gault, Marcia Gershenson, Robert Hoffman, Brendan Johnson, Karen Joliat, Christine Long, Penny Luebs, Gwen Markham, William Miller III, Kristen Nelson, Robert Smiley, Yolanda Smith Charles, Michael Spisz, Linnie Taylor, David Woodward (16) No: None (0) Abstain: None (0) Absent: Michael Gingell, Philip Weipert (2) Passed