Item 1 - Boards and Commissions – Annual Work Plans-Reports

Browse Search

17 funding, staff time, other resources) associated with these proposed activities. Historic Resources Publication Project: The HPC will seek grant funds from private foundations and individual donors to allow the HPC to partner with the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough and the Town of Hillsborough to complete the manuscript for a comprehensive book/publication documenting the historic resources of the Town and County. (Fiscal impact: HPC will request $25,000 in County funds in FY 2018 -19 to secure $25,000 in matching /challenge grants in 2018; HPC staff will provide project support) County Historic Marker Program: Develop guidelines and procedures for a proposed Orange County Historic Marker program, modeled on several other successful county marker programs. The goal is to create a County- sponsored system of attractive, durable and informative roadside markers to identify important historic resources, places and people for the educational benefit of the general public. A web site would be established to allow for access to more in -depth information. Such markers will enhance other efforts to promote heritage tourism in rural parts of the county. (Fiscal impact: 2018 -19: none; the HPC staff will provide support to develop program guidelines) • Designating Landmarks in Town ETJ's: Continue working with the various municipalities to develop an interlocal agreement to govern the designation of historic landmarks within the various town's ETYs. (No fiscal impact) • Promote Landmark and National Register Programs: Increase efforts to promote the Local Historic Landmark and National Register programs to eligible property owners, working in cooperation with the Lands Legacy Program, to generate at least two new landmark and /or National Register applications per year (No fiscal impact— funding already budgeted for this in the Lands Legacy program funding) What are the concerns or emerging issues your board has identified for the upcoming year that it plans to address, or wishes to bring to the Commissioners' attention? Rural Heritage Preservation Grants: The HPC hopes to create a "rural heritage preservation grant program" to offer small incentive grants of approximately $1,000 to $3,000 to owners who wish to repair their endangered historic resources. The focus will be on the buildings that represent our agricultural heritage, such as diary barns, tobacco barns, silos, corn cribs, and livestock barns. Other eligible types include log houses, old schoolhouses and slave cemeteries. These resources help give Orange County its special historic character. Such a program will help owners afford modest repairs that could greatly extend the life of these resources, like new barn tin roofing or simple structural repairs. The preservation of these historic resources will enhance the county's efforts to preserve its rural character and will help efforts to promote agritourism and heritage tourism. Any such incentives would require agreements with the property owner stipulating ongoing protection of that resource, similar to the agreements used for the VAD program. The HPC envisions seeking grants from foundations to match a small amount annually from the County., to be able to offer a total of about $10,000 per year in grants to multiple property owners. HPC staff would administer the program. • Increase Diversity for Landmarks and National Register Properties: The HPC seeks to broaden the diversity of the Local Historic Landmark and National Register programs to encourage historic designations for sites of significance to the County's African - American heritage and archaeological sites relating to the region's Indian culture.