HPC Minutes 121218 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

2 There was some misunderstanding at that meeting about the various jurisdictional responsibilities for the County versus the towns. c. Carrboro preservation commission ideas: See discussion under item 5-b. d. Norwood-Jones Law Office: possible lease: Staff provided a brief overview of the concept of having the county lease the historic office to the Preservation Fund of Hillsborough. Dean Ruedrich, president of the Fund, approached staff about using the office for their meetings and interpretive events. Their conceptual proposal is to operate the office as an historic attraction in cooperation with the Alliance. They are willing to complete the restoration by installing an appropriate heating and air conditioning system, doing interior painting, and adding some interpretive exhibits. The electrical service may need upgrading. The Fund was the group that paid for the restoration work done there in the late 1990s. This lease could be handled much like the Dickson House lease; the Alliance pays for interior maintenance while the county handles all major repairs inside and out. Members supported the concept. ITEM #6: UPDATES AND INFORMATION ITEMS a. Piper-Cox House Update: Dickinson gave an update on the status following the submittal of the HPC’s inspection report and recommendations. After a period of no activity, Dickinson sought assistance from State Senator Mike Woodard, who inquired about the status. Within 24 hours, park management shared the news that a contractor had been selected to perform the work. So that is welcome news. Dickinson will monitor and provide an update in January. b. Report on the Chapel Hill Historic District conference: see item 5-b. c. Ideas/discoveries from the sign/marker/digital map subcommittee: Noe provided a visual demonstration of a British web site called Megalith, which shows one way to provide photo and narrative content, coordinated with GIS-style maps with a Google map option. This site that relies mostly on users for its content. It is really just a big database with images and links. Members discussed the issue of posting information and photos about private properties. Many owners will not want any attention or unwanted visitors. Maybe there could be explicit statements cautioning users to respect the property owner’s wishes. Staff gave a demonstration of the Orange County section of the historic site GIS map system developed by the State Historic Preservation Office. This has the capability of including photos and a brief written entry about each property. That is the goal for our data, to have it all loaded into the state web site when we finish the book project; then move on to have it hosted on our county web site. d. Schley Grange National Register Presentation: Deferred to January meeting. e. Book project status/update: Staff noted that our editor/author Laura Phillips will resume work in January on our entries once we can provide her with additional historical information. Our new researcher has done a good job. The Historic Preservation Fund of Hillsborough declined our request for a $25,000 grant to help fund the book. That group has been re-energized with new members and will be undertaking new projects. They plan to be a sponsor. f. Open Air Time for members to share information: Peck provided an overview of activities at the Burwell School. The director has resigned. They are going to produce a small book depicting the enslaved people associated with the Burwell School, 1837-57. He noted that Henry Evans, a skilled free black craftsman, created some furnishings for the altar of St. Matthews Church. These items later got moved to St. Jude’s, a mission church on Dimmock’s Mill Rd. It is pos sible that some of those pieces ended up in Harvey’s Chapel, so we should investigate while we are working on the landmark report. They will have Wm. Andrews there on Feb. 10 to talk about his book “Race and the American South.” There will be a second event on Feb. 23 to release the new booklet about enslaved people. He hopes to provide copies to the HPC members. ITEM #7: ADJOURNMENT: Menius moved to adjourn, seconded by Noe; meeting adjourned at 8:30 Meeting summary by Peter Sandbeck, DEAPR staff