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Director's Report December 11, 2000
A. Action Items. 1. In 1993, the Historic Landmarks Commission through its then non-profit affiliate applied for a grant from the Knight Foundation to erect a bathroom and assembly room facility for a one-room schoolhouse at Rural Hill Plantation, which the Historic Landmarks Commission restored in the early 1990s. The amount was $45,000. The facility has not been constructed. Historic Charlotte, which became an independent agency in 1999, has the $45,000 in a savings account. Two principal factors have stood in the way of completing the project. They have been: 1) political complications arising from the lease of Rural Hill by the Catawba Valley Scottish Society (the Historic Landmarks Commission leases the schoolhouse site), and 2) the issue of what type of bathroom facility would be permissible. After much discussion, both of those issues have finally been resolved. All parties now support the construction of the bathroom facility, and it has been determined that a septic system will be necessary. In short, the facility can now be built. AB Architecture has developed plans which have been submitted to the Park and Recreation Department of the County.
Item for Action. You are being asked to approve a motion to have the Historic Landmarks Commission accept the $45,000 from Historic Charlotte which will be used to assist in the construction of a bathroom/assembly room facility for the one-room schoolhouse at Rural Hill Plantation. B. Information Items. 1. The Joint Public Hearing with City Council to consider the prospective designation of the Thies House, the Frederick Apartments, the Helms-Bell House, and the Neely Slave Cemetery will occur during City Council's meeting which begins at 6 p.m. on December 18, 2000. 2. The City has notified the County that it has no need to use the Palmer Fire School on Monroe Road. This means that the County will be looking to the Historic Landmarks Commission for leadership in devising a historic preservation strategy. The Projects Committee will be considering how to move forward with this issue.
3. The Commission has received the deed for Building B at the Charlotte Cotton Mills. Bryan Turner is working with LS3P, the architects, on the scope of design services that will be needed. 4. Progress continues at the W. T. Alexander Plantation. Bryan Turner has received Yelverton Architects design fee and will be moving ahead with completing negotiations for the contract.
5. The situation with respect to the Oehler Farm continues to look favorable. Bob Benford of the Building Standards and Engineering Department is preparing the materials to request that the Board of County Commissioners approve purchase of the entire tract with "land banking" bond money. The Board will probably make its decision in January or February. The County will be securing the property against unwarranted entry.
6. Staff continues to develop costs for moving the McAuley House to the Oehler Farm. Withrow Properties will donate the house to the Commission, but it must be moved off site by March 15, 2001. 7. Percivals has developed a revised flyer for the marketing the Croft Schoolhouse. No offers have been received during the past month. I draw the Commission's attention to the following statement from the March 1999 Commission minutes. Dr. Morrill expressed concern about expenses that might be associated with the restoration of the Croft Schoolhouse. The bid from Mann Contractors is $388,000 and does not include the septic system, treatment for insect infestation, or fire doors. He asked if the Commissioners would be willing to consider the placement of additional buildings on the site if such were necessary to allow the Commission to recover its costs for restoring the Croft Schoolhouse. The general consensus was that new construction should be a last resort and that the loss of some money would be justified in order to save this important historic resource.
8. The Public Service and Information Department of the County is working with the Commission and the Education Committee in organizing a ceremony celebrating the unveiling of the historic marker for the Alexander Slave Burial Ground. It is scheduled for Thursday, January 18th. More details will be forthcoming. 9. Discussions are on-going about the Commission's prospective purchase of the Rozzelle House on Old Rozzelles Ferry Road. The Projects Committee will be considering this matter at its next meeting.
10. Committee Chairpersons should submit in writing by December 15th what programmatic enhancements they wish to see included in the HLC's budget request for FY 2001-2002. 11. Staff is moving ahead with contacting local historians about the concept of establishing a scholarly historical journal on the website. More about this later. 12. The Chairman Blake House (1861) in Davidson has been moved, but the prospective buyers have not moved ahead with the purchase. This is one of the most important 19th century houses in Mecklenburg County. I have been discussing the possibility of the Town of Davidson joining with the Historic Landmarks Commission in purchasing the house. The Projects Committee might be considering this issue in the near future.
13. There have been developments with respect to the Thomas Griffin Warehouse Building. Don Yelverton has visited the building and has at my request developed a fee for services to assist the owner in determining how he could achieve an economically viable project within the context of the Secretary of the Interior's Guidelines. Bryan Turner has informed me that the Commission cannot pay for any expenses associated with a privately owned building that the Commission is not planning to purchase. Therefore, I will forward Yelverton's proposal to Levine Properties.
Respectfully submitted,
Dan L. Morrill |
