Historic Preservation Commission Minutes 2020 12 21

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Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes 21 December 2020 Page 7 of 14 Klemme stated that the purchase option would be the most straightforward tonight and that the conservation agreement should be edited to say that any money should be used to preserve the front of the property. She asked Director Zuccaro about the $30,000 amount. Zuccaro replied that the amount matched the Historic Structure Assessment. Johnson stated that the amount was for the original portion of the house. He noted that there would be some foundation reinforcements for the front portion of the house, but most of it would go toward materials on the outside of the house. Klemme and Mr. Johnson discussed the foundation work, concluding that the proposed foundation work was only for the 10 feet of the structure that was under easement. Haley asked how the Commission would decide a purchase amount for a future house. Klemme replied that she thought the amount was based on being half of what the assessment said the work would be. Haley confirmed that that was the process for this application, but asked if that would be the same process in the future. Parris stated that this structure had a Historic Structure Assessment. She was not sure if a future applicant would need to have an assessment in order to apply. Haley stated that this was a reasonable amount and was less than a regular grant, so she did not have a problem with the amount, but her concern was what the Commission would do if someone came in January with a larger request. Dunlap stated that the Commission could treat it as a landmarking incentive, with a single amount, stating that until the Commission made changes to the funding resolution the amount could just be $30,000. Zuccaro stated that the Commission did not have to assume that it was always going to be 50% of the amount of preservation. The goal was to pay for some of the work to make the project attractive and feasible to avoid scraping it. The Commission did not always have to approve a 50% match, and he reminded the Commission that "extraordinary circumstances" language in the resolution allowed for some flexibility on higher amounts, but the intent was not to pay for 50% of all preservation work on a property. Haley stated that she was not suggesting that they wanted to do the 50%, she was just worried about what to apply for future applications after approving this project. Zuccaro stated that you could stick with the purchase amount, which would be an individual negotiation, and in a future meeting the Commission could amend the resolution to come up with specific and therefore more predictable amounts. Haley asked if the language of purchase allowed for a little more negotiation. 7