HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-13-2015 CHC Presentation Item 1 - Palm St. Chinatown ArtifactsMemorandum
04/06/15
TO: Cultural Heritage Committee
FROM: James David, Principal Analyst, (805) 781-7151, jdavid@slocity.org
VIA: Brian Leveille, Senior Planner
SUBJECT: Palm Street Chinatown Artifacts. Update on stabilization of collection
excavated from 842 Palm Street Parking Structure site, and review of potential products that
demonstrate the collection’s historic significance in the community.
Background
In 1987 an archaeological excavation took place in downtown San Luis Obispo. The excavation
was part of the construction of a downtown parking garage, located in the heart of the old 1870's
Chinatown. The excavation uncovered features and artifacts from the Mission (1820s) and
Chinese (1870s) periods. The approved Palm Street Garage Environmental Review and the
City’s Archaeological Resource Preservation Guidelines require significant archaeological
materials removed from a project site be curated at a qualified institution. The City has agreed to
store the artifacts at the nearby San Luis Obispo County Archaeological Society.
Progress Update
The City continues its productive collaboration with Sonoma State’s Anthropological Studies
Center (ASC) on the collection of artifacts excavated from 842 Palm Street. The City began
working with ASC in July 2014. ASC has fulfilled the scope of their original contract to assess
the collection and begin the stabilization effort required prior to curation. ASC has been
professional, knowledgeable and practical in its work, and has leveraged the City’s initial
funding to utilize considerable student and graduate assistant help on the project. The ASC
Director has also contributed pro bono work on the project outside the scope of the original
contract. The most recent summary of ASC’s work on the project is enclosed (Attachment 1,
11/25/14 ASC Update).
The San Luis Obispo County Archaeology Society (SLOCAS) has been engaged throughout the
project. The SLOCAS Board has agreed to accept the collection for permanent storage
accompanied by the box contents database being prepared by ASC. However, there is still
significant work to be done before the collection is transported from ASC to SLOCAS.
Council Actions
On February 17, 2015, Council approved a mid-year budget significant operating program
change (SOPC) to fund completion of stabilization and curation efforts for the collection
(Attachment 2, Council SOPC). The SOPC also allocated funding to create products associated
with the collection of artifacts that demonstrate its historic significance in the community. This
work will complete required mitigation measures associated with the collection, and create
products from the collection that offer community value such as interpretative signage, displays,
CHC-P1 - 1
City of San Luis Obispo, Title, Subtitle
excavation reports, academic papers and dedicated web pages. A new agreement with ASC to
complete this work will return to Council for approval on April 21, 2015.
Community Products
The following products that will contribute to the community’s understanding of historic
Chinatown are proposed to be created from the collection:
Details on each of these items are enclosed (Attachment 3, ASC Project Ideas). SLOCAS has
also reviewed this list and associated costs, and confirms that the City is getting an amazing deal
on the proposed work products (estimated private sector costs to produce the excavation report
alone could be upwards of $100,000).
Timeframes
If the contract is approved by Council, the ASC agrees to perform work as expeditiously as
possible. First priority will be Collection Stabilization (Task 1) and Basic Excavation Report
(Task 2). Estimated completion date for Tasks 1 and 2 is June 30th, 2016. Faunal analysis (Task
3) and Analysis (Task 4) will be completed as suitable students are identified. The interpretive
products—Web page (Task 5), Signage (Task 6), and Display (Task 7) will be completed
following the completion of Tasks 1 through 4, but certainly by June 30th, 2018. Transportation
of the collection and associated products back to San Luis Obispo will be coordinated once all
work is completed by ASC in late 2018.
CHC-P1 - 2
Status Report for Palm Street Chinatown Site (CA-SLO-64H)
Collection
25 November 2014
Artifacts
On 29 July 2014, more than 220 boxes of artifacts excavated by ARS and associated with
the Palm Street Chinatown Site (CA-SLO-64H) in San Luis Obispo, California, were
transported from the City of San Luis Obispo to the Anthropological Studies Center at
Sonoma State University (ASC). The transfer was coordinated and supervised by ASC
Director Adrian Praetzellis, ASC Associate Director Mary Praetzellis, San Luis Obispo
County Archaeological Society director Christina MacDonald, and James David,
Principal Analyst for the City of San Luis Obispo.
After transfer to ASC’s facility, the artifacts were divided into two groups: those that
had been cleaned, cataloged, and prepared for curation by John Parker (75 boxes), and
those that were in an unsuitable state for curation (145 boxes and twelve oversize items).
No further work has been undertaken on the materials prepared by Parker.
The second group of materials had been stored in an unsuitable environment. The
contents of all these boxes had been contaminated by rodent feces. Some artifacts within
the boxes were stored in plastic Ziploc and garbage bags, many of which had been
gnawed through by rodents. Provenience information for some artifact lots was either
written on the storage box, on the interior bag, or on a tag within the bag. Some had no
provenience information either on the box or bag. Other artifacts were loose in the
bottom of boxes. These may have been separated from their labels when they fell
through holes chewed in the bags by rodents.
Artifacts were removed from contaminated plastic bags and rinsed with water, then set
outdoors to dry. As a health safeguard, laboratory staff members were required to wear
disposable nitrile gloves during this process. Once dry, artifacts were repackaged in
clean 4-mil Ziploc bags; a handwritten paper tag with provenience information was put
into each bag. Every effort was made to keep the existing provenience information with
Attachment 1
CHC-P1 - 3
the artifacts throughout this process. The bags were organized by provenience in clean
cardboard boxes.
A box contents database was created in Microsoft Access. The database fields consist of
“Box Number”, “Feature”, “Layer”, “Other Provenience”, and “Contents”. All fields
within the database are searchable.
The current count of boxes stored at ASC in the Palm Street Chinatown Site Collection is
185, plus twelve oversize items.
On 3 October 2014, ASC was notified by MacDonald that approximately 20 additional
boxes of cataloged artifacts had been transferred to SLOCAS. These additional boxes
will likely be delivered to ASC in December by MacDonald, and will be re-integrated
into the collection.
Documents
Two archive boxes of documents relating to the collection were delivered to ASC by
mail on August 29. These documents include field notes, feature summaries, and
catalogs from the ARS excavation and that company’s initial cataloging efforts; notes
detailing the history of the collection’s processing and cataloging as performed under
Parker’s direction; glossy reproductions of historical photos, presumably of Palm Street
Chinatown residents; and a DVD of electronic files containing Excel artifact catalog
databases for individual features, artifact photos, historical photos, and summaries of
work done in the lab. ASC staff converted the Excel-format catalogs into a single, fully
searchable Access database.
The collection is currently stored in a secured location at ASC.
Next Steps
The process of cleaning, rebagging, and reboxing has taken approximately 350 person
hours. With the completion of these tasks, the collection is 95 percent ready for curation
with the San Luis Obispo County Archaeological Society.
The final task in preparing the collection for curation will be the creation of a fully
searchable catalog of box contents, which will be produced as a Microsoft Access
database. This catalog will be completed in the first weeks of January.
CHC-P1 - 4
SIGNIFICANT OPERATING PROGRAM CHANGE: 2014-15 MID-YEAR BUDGET
(Parking Fund)
PALM STREET CHINATOWN ARTIFACTS
Summary of Change: Complete stabilization and preparation for storage of Palm Street Chinatown artifacts, and create
products associated with the collection that demonstrate its historic significance in the community.
Fiscal Impact: One-time cost of $55,000 in 2014-15, to be encumbered.
Service Level Impact: (1) Complete required mitigation measures associated with artifacts uncovered during
construction of the 842 Palm Street Parking Structure. (2) Create products from the collection that offer community value
such as interpretive signage, displays, academic papers, and dedicated webpages.
KEY OBJECTIVES
1.Complete required mitigation measures associated with artifacts uncovered during construction of the 842 Palm Street
Parking Structure.
a.Stabilization of the collection (cleaning, rebagging, reorganizing boxes).
b.Preparation for storage at the San Luis ObispoCounty Archaeological Society(SLOCAS).
c.Basic excavation report.
2.Create products associated with the collection that demonstrate its historic significance in the community.
a.Interpretive outdoor kiosk in the Chinatown District.
b.Interpretive display in City Hall or other exhibit case.
c.Academic papers and in-depth analysis of the collection to be available at SLOCAS, City Library, and
History Center.
d.Dedicated project webpages hosted on slocity.org.
NOTE:These products are initial ideas offered by the project consultant. The Cultural Heritage Committee will have
an opportunity to refine this list.
EXISTING SITUATION: FACTORS DRIVING THE NEED FOR CHANGE
In 1987 an archaeological excavation took place in downtown San Luis Obispo. The excavation was part of the
construction of a new downtown parking garage, located in the heart of the old 1870's Chinatown. The excavation
uncovered features and artifacts from the Mission (1820s) and Chinese (1870s) periods. Approximately 5 tons of artifacts
were recovered.
The approved Palm Street Garage Environmental Review and the City’s Archaeological Resource Preservation Guidelines
require all archaeological materials removed from a project site be curated at a qualified institution. The City has agreed
to store the artifacts at the nearby San Luis Obispo County Archaeological Society.
The City has contracted with two separate consultants –Archaeological Resource Service and Parker & Associates –in
the past to complete this work. They were both unsuccessful in delivering and respective contracts have been terminated.
A third consultant –Sonoma State’s Anthropological Studies Center –has completed the majority of stabilization efforts
and provided the cost estimate that will bring the project to a close, and deliver quality products that contribute to the
community’s historic character.
C-13
Attachment 2
B1-87CHC-P1 - 5
SIGNIFICANT OPERATING PROGRAM CHANGE: 2014-15 MID-YEAR BUDGET
(Parking Fund)
PALM STREET CHINATOWN ARTIFACTS
GOAL AND POLICY LINKS
1.The Major City Goal Assess and Renew the Downtown includes“support the continued development of cultural
attractions.”
2.The Conservation and Open Space Element of the General Plan contains numerous polices to preserve, document,
protect, and curatesignificant historic resources (COSE 3.2, 3.3.1, 3.3.3, 3.5.1, 3.5.5, 3.5.9).
3.The Archaeological Resource Preservation Guidelines require all archaeological materials removed from a project
site be curated at a qualified institution.
4.Historic preservation is an ongoing goal in the operating program Community Development –Long Range Planning.
Providing financial support in cultural areas is an ongoing goal on the operating program Leisure, Cultural and Social
Services –Cultural Activities.
PROGRAM WORK COMPLETED
1.Late 1980s and early 1990s – Archaeological excavation (Archaeological Resource Service)
2.Late 1990s and early 2000s – Cleaning and cataloguing (Parker & Associates)
3.2014 – Collection stabilization and cost estimates for completion (Sonoma State Anthropological StudiesCenter)
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
No future environmental issues are anticipated. The SOPC will enable the City to satisfy mitigation measures identified in
the Palm Street Garage Environmental Review (ER 31-86). In summary, the project’s environmental review required an
archaeologist on-site during construction, test and full excavation, and all archaeological materials removed from the
project site be curated at a qualified institution.
PROGRAM CONSTRAINTS AND LIMITATIONS
Sole sourcing this work to Sonoma State’s Anthropological Studies Center (ASC) is justified because they are the only
vendor with a high level of expertise and low-cost labor pool in the region. Specifically, the archaeology of the Chinese in
the West is one of ASC’srecognized specialties and has been for nearly 40 years. ASC has a large facility and the
experienced staff to manage the requested effort and working the project into student internships is a huge cost savings.
Furthermore, Cal Poly does not havethe appropriate expertise or a graduate program.Contracting with ASC makes good
fiscal sense given the challenges the City has faced over the last 25 years completing the project.
STAKEHOLDERS
Residents and visitors to San Luis Obispo will benefit from enrichedunderstanding of the recovered artifacts and their
historical association to the site and relationship to the Chinatown Historic District.
IMPLEMENTATION
Work is nearly completed on collection stabilization, and work on other key objectives will begin as soon as the funding is
secured. Timeframes vary based on product, but it is reasonable to expect finished products over the next two years.
KEY PROGRAM ASSUMPTIONS
Funds will be encumbered from the Parking Fund Completed Projects account. Costs for stabilizing the collection,
preparation for curation, and product alternatives were submitted by the ASC Director in October 2014. Ancillary costs
associated with transport of artifacts and installation of products are estimated by staff.
C-14 B1-88CHC-P1 - 6
SIGNIFICANT OPERATING PROGRAM CHANGE: 2014-15 MID-YEAR BUDGET
(Parking Fund)
PALM STREET CHINATOWN ARTIFACTS
Ongoing costs of storage at the SLOCAS are not included in this one-time SOPC. Those costs will be better understood
once the stabilization efforts are complete and the number of artifacts boxes to be stored is finalized. Funding for these
costs will require an ongoing SOPC that will be submitted as part of the 2015-17 Financial Plan or Supplemental Budget
.
PROGRAM MANAGER AND TEAM SUPPORT
Program Manager: James David, Principal Analyst, Administration
Project Team:Parking Manager
ALTERNATIVES
1.Cost proposals from other consultants or universities could be solicited, which will likely result in higher costs. Parker
& Associates submitted a revised proposal (that was rejected) to complete preparation for curation only at a cost of
$117,000.
2.Do nothing. Cleaning of the artifacts, placement in appropriate archive boxes, and a box inventory will be completed
by ASC. The artifacts will return to the City without a basic excavation report, which is a major gap in the
archaeological record. Furthermore,there will be no products that realize the research and interpretive potential of the
collection, making its historical significance less accessible to the San Luis Obispo community.
3.Reduce funding for products. According to the consultant, the excavation report should be the City’s first funding
priority at a cost of $15,000. Other itemized project costs are listed in the Cost Summary section below.
COST SUMMARY
Available funding in the Parking Fund’s Completed Projects account is $75,432, which is sufficient to cover this one-time
SOPC request (#51050600-99899999).
C-15 B1-89CHC-P1 - 7
1
ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES CENTER
1801 East Cotati Avenue 707.664.2381 • fax 707.664.4155
Rohnert Park, CA 94928-3609 www.sonoma.edu/asc
17
October
2014
James
David
City
Administration
City
of
San
Luis
Obispo
990
Palm
Street,
San
Luis
Obispo,
CA
93401-‐3249
RE:
SLO
Palm
Street
Chinatown
collection
Dear
James,
I
write
in
response
to
your
request
for
a
range
of
fundable
options
for
the
Palm
Street
Chinatown
archaeological
collection.
What
follows
are
some
alternatives
for
the
City
to
consider
in
order
to
realize
part
of
the
research
and
interpretive
potential
of
this
collection.
As
some
of
these
products
depend
on
previously
developed
information,
this
is
not
an
offer
to
create
specific
products
at
the
stated
cost.
All
costs
are
dependent
on
ASC’s
ability
to
find
suitable
students
to
carry
out
their
components
of
the
work.
Collection
stabilization
project.
Complete
the
process
of
cleaning,
rebagging,
reorganizing
box
contents,
and
creating
individual
box
packing
lists,
as
needed,
to
level
acceptable
for
curation
at
SLOCAS.
This
item
assumes
SLOCAS
is
willing
to
waive
its
usual
curation
requirements.
Staffing:
SSU
students
supervised
by
ASC
staff
archaeologist.
Product:
Collection
in
condition
to
be
accepted
for
curation
by
SLOCAS
Approximate
Cost:
$5000-‐10,000
Basic
excavation
report.
Although
a
technical
report
is
the
first
requirement
of
any
archaeological
project,
none
has
been
written
for
the
Palm
Street
excavation.
This
is
a
major
gap
in
the
record
and
should
be
one
of
the
City’s
first
funding
priorities.
The
report
would
include
text
and
graphics
to
document
the
process
of
excavation,
site
structure
(archaeological
features,
layers,
building
remains,
pits,
postholes,
etc.),
excavation
locations,
site
record
form,
and
the
basic
historical
association
of
the
site—i.e.,
its
relationship
to
SLO’s
Chinese
district.
Staffing:
SSU
grad
student(s)
and
ASC
staff
archaeologists.
Product:
Basic
technical
excavation
report.
Approximate
Cost:
$15,000
Attachment 3
CHC-P1 - 8
2
Topical
MA
theses.
Some
MA
students
at
SSU
have
expressed
an
interest
in
using
the
Palm
Street
artifact
collection
in
their
theses.
Topics
might
include
the
history
of
SLO’s
Chinatown,
Chinese
American
foodways,
Chinese
ceramics,
health,
food
and
diet
(faunal
analysis),
etc.
Students
would
be
given
a
stipend.
Staffing:
SSU
grad
student
assisted
by
ASC
staff
archaeologist.
Product:
MA
thesis.
Approximate
Cost:
$
7000/thesis.
Faunal
bone
analysis
internship.
This
item
would
involve
an
ASC
faunal
analyst
teaching
a
one-‐semester
internship
in
faunal
identification
and
analysis
to
SSU
students.
The
collection
contains
an
enormous
quantity
of
food
bone
that
represents
a
range
of
traditional
cultural
practices
around
diet.
Everything
from
turtle
shell
to
exotic
fish
from
southern
China
appear
to
be
represented.
None
of
this
material
has
been
cataloged
or
studied.
The
internship
would
focus
on
selected
portions
of
the
collection
that
appear
to
have
high
interpretive
potential.
Analyses
may
be
developed
by
students
into
thesis
projects
and/or
publishable
articles.
Staffing:
ASC
staff
archaeologist.
Product:
Internship
and
partial
catalog.
Approximate
Cost:
$
5000.
Conference
symposium
&
publishable
articles.
Five
topics
such
as
those
described
above
would
be
developed
into
a
symposium
to
be
presented
at
a
professional
conference
(e.g.,
Society
for
California
Archaeology).
Individual
papers
would
be
developed
for
publication.
The
symposium
might
be
reprised
at
a
venue
in
SLO.
Students
would
be
offered
a
stipend
per
participation.
Staffing:
SSU
grad
student
assisted
by
ASC
staff
archaeologist.
Product:
Organized
symposium,
five
published
articles.
Approximate
Cost:
To
be
determined.
Palm
Street
Chinatown
website.
The
site
would
be
hosted
by
the
City
using
City’s
architecture
for
a
seamless
appearance.
It
would
include
simplified
versions
of
the
topics
described
above
and
written
at
8th
grade
level.
Staffing:
ASC
staff
archaeologist
assisted
by
SSU
grad
student,
and
web
designer.
Product:
Website
containing
at
least
five
pages.
Approximate
Cost:
$10,000.
Interpretive
signage.
A
permanent,
professional
quality,
Vitratek
porcelain,
36”x24”
interpretive
sign,
and
steel
frame
mount
would
be
prepared
for
outdoor
installation
by
the
City.
The
artwork
and
design
will
be
created
by
ASC
and
the
sign
by
a
commercial
vendor.
The
sign
would
highlight
Chinese
history
and
archaeology.
Topics
might
include
those
described
above.
CHC-P1 - 9
3
Staffing:
ASC
staff
archaeologist
assisted
by
SSU
grad
student.
Product:
Design,
artwork,
text,
finished
sign
and
frame.
Delivery
&
installation
not
included.
Approximate
Cost:
$6300.
Interpretive
display.
Assist
the
City
in
preparation
of
an
interpretive
display
in
existing
City
Hall
or
other
exhibit
case.
ASC
would
design
the
exhibit,
chose
items
for
display,
and
create
graphics
and
labels
for
installation.
Staffing:
ASC
staff
archaeologist
assisted
by
SSU
grad
student.
Product:
Design,
artwork,
text.
City
to
install.
Approximate
Cost:
$5000-‐25,000
depending
on
venue.
In
addition
to
these
suggestions,
the
City
might
consider
working
directly
with
the
SLO
County
History
Center
to
fund
research
and
public
interpretation.
The
latter
might
include
an
exhibit
in
the
Center’s
revolving
display
space.
Similarly,
overtures
might
be
made
to
faculty
in
the
departments
of
Anthropology
and
History
at
Cal
Poly
to
gauge
their
level
of
interest
in
pursuing
student
research
with
this
collection.
Please
let
me
know
if
you
need
any
additional
information.
Regards,
Adrian
Praetzellis
Professor
of
Anthropology
CHC-P1 - 10