Agenda - 10-17-2017 - 8-a - Minutes

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3 1 Chair Dorosin had no comments. 2 3 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations 4 5 a. Endorsement of Proposed National Register of Historic Places Nomination for the 6 Efland Home (NC Industrial Home for Colored Girls) 7 The Board considered the Historic Preservation Commission's recommendation that the 8 historic property known as the Efland Home be submitted for listing in the National Register of 9 Historic Places, and to authorize the Chair to sign the attached Elected Official Comment 10 Letter. 11 Peter Sandbeck, Cultural Resources Coordinator, made a PowerPoint presentation of 12 photographs, and reviewed the following information: 13 14 BACKGROUND: 15 The process for listing a property in the National Register of Historic Places includes a provision 16 allowing the BOCC to offer an opinion for or against the listing of a particular historic property 17 within its jurisdiction. The owners of the Efland Home initiated the National Register Nomination 18 process for their property as part of their long-term effort to protect the property and ensure that 19 its important history is documented and shared. The Historic Preservation Commission 20 undertook this project to prepare the National Register Nomination as one of its program goals 21 for 2017. Funding was provided through the County's Lands Legacy Program, which includes 22 as one of its priorities the protection of"lands of historic, cultural, or archaeological 23 significance". 24 25 The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) fully supports the nomination of this property to 26 the National Register. The Commission held an informational meeting and received public 27 comment about this National Register Nomination at its regular meeting on September 27, 28 2017. A letter from the HPC Chair in follow-up to that meeting is provided at Attachment 3. 29 30 The National Register is an honorary designation that carries no local regulatory burden but 31 does provide a federal and state process for protection in the case of projects receiving federal 32 or state funding, or projects that require some form of federal or state permit or license. 33 Examples include highways, pipelines, wetland disturbance and cell towers. 34 35 The attached excerpt of the National Register Nomination document provides a detailed 36 discussion of the history of the Efland Home. The information details its statewide significance 37 as North Carolina's first reform institution for African American girls when it opened in 1925. 38 The project was spearheaded by Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, a nationally recognized black 39 educator and social reformer. Funds to build and operate the Efland Home were raised by black 40 women across the state under the auspices of the NC Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. 41 42 Commissioner Jacobs said he thought the significance of the home was known at the 43 time that the solar installation was put in next door. 44 Peter Sandbeck said the home was known of, but it was not on the historical register. 45 He said federal law only protects a property once it is on the register. 46 Chair Dorosin asked if an historical marker can be secured. 47 Peter Sandbeck said he talked with the owners, and they are shy about doing this, and 48 are also concerned about vandalism, but he said he will continue to pursue this. He said the 49 home can also be a County landmark, which would entitle it to a property tax benefit, and some 50 additional protections.