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agreement with the Town to allow us to officially designate the Inn as a landmark. This is just a concept at this point but there could be a time when we may be asked to play a role. More recently, the Town has adopted an ordinance allowing it to designate special structures as landmarks, for now limiting this to the two historic mill structures —Eno and Bellevue. The landmark status permits the 50% deferral of Town property taxes, which provides a modest financial incentive. b. State Historic Preservation Tax Credits: Staff described the current House bill proposing a revised tax credit program that caps the amounts that can be claimed, thereby reducing the cost of the program to the state budget. A plus is that this version lowers the expenditure threshold for homeowners, down to $10,000. Thus, someone could do an approved scope of work to their historic house, and spend relatively little, and be able to use the credit program. Under the old rules, the minimum threshold was $25,000. This current house bill may be eliminated by the Senate which has gone on record in opposition to this and all other tax credit programs. One Senate concept calls for local governments to implement their own local tax credit programs. This might be something that would gain some traction in some of the progressive metro counties, like Wake, Durham and Mecklenburg, and perhaps even Orange. This would be new territory for the counties. c. Survev Proiect Status and Book Update: Staff explained that the project is moving forward nicely. All fieldwork must be completed by the end of August and all forms and database work submitted. It has been hard for the consultants to get into some of the houses. They sent an excellent letter to all of the targeted property owners and are getting a good response. Staff would like to get some help from members for some of the owners that they may know. d. Member Report on CLG training workshop in Wake Forest: Ireland and Golan attended, so thanks to them we have now met our CLG training requirement for the year. SHPO staff did most of the programs. Ms. Mitchell spoke initially about general issues. Mitch Wilds spoke about alternative materials. Reid Thomas did a great program about energy efficiency, and how to properly insulate wall cavities so as to prevent the insulation from getting wet and losing its R value. The idea now is to install 2" solid foam panels between the studs, but mounting it in the middle of the wall cavity, so that there is an air space on both sides, an air gap. Duct booster fans help move conditioned air to the farther reaches of a building. Thomas recommended Preservation Brief #3 by the National Park Service; this covers this same information. e. Blackwood Farm Park Opening Update: DEAPR has picked the date of June 20th for the formal opening of Blackwood Farm Park, to be held that Saturday morning from 10 -12. All HPC members will be invited. The County Commissioners will make some remarks, and Bob Strayhorn will talk about life on the farm back in his earlier days. f. Open Air Time: Golan reported on the status of his ongoing effort to preserve his mailing address on Halls Mill Road, rather than Bane Road for 911 purposes. ITEM #7: STAFF PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION: a. Sampling of Blackwood Farm Photos Staff reported that the IT folks have not yet installed the software driver for the office scanner but he will share these at the next meeting. 2