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CONSIDERATION OF SUBMISSION OF THE CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (CLG) PROGRAM 2018-2019 APPLICATION FOR FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $11,250 TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE OKLAHOMA STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE.
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BACKGROUND: On April 14, 1998, Council approved Contract K-9798-108 with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) making Norman a member city in the Certified Local Governments (CLG) Program. The CLG Program is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s national program for development and support of local historic preservation programs. Since its initial participation in 1999, the City of Norman has received an approximate annual average allocation of $11,000 in CLG grant funds. Over the 15 years that the City has participated in the CLG program, the City has received approximately $200,000 in funding. In January SHPO notified the City of Norman’s Historic Preservation Officer that the City was eligible to apply for up to $11,250 in CLG funding for the 2017-2018 program year.
Designation as a CLG city recognizes Norman’s historic preservation efforts and entitles the City to apply for a portion of the education/outreach funding set aside by the SHPO out of each year’s budget. Funding is intended to be used for historic research, public education and outreach programs. Over the past 15 years, Norman’s CLG funding has been used to create public information, educational materials about historic preservation, to conduct historic and architectural surveys, and to host free, workshops and hands-on training programs in historic home repair and design.
DISCUSSION: On February 12, 2018, the Historic District Commission voted unanimously to apply for funding to undertake the projects described below for the FY18-19 CLG Program, which will be July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019. The program requires a 60/40 in-kind match. In order to receive $11,250 in CLG grant funds, the City must document a minimum of $7,500 in matching funds or in-kind contributions of staff time. Matching funds are primarily derived by in-kind contributions of staff time and by the annual $2,200 (account 010-4080-419.40-03) contribution from the City of Norman General Fund.
Listed below are the details for the projects for the Certified Local Government funds.
The proposed 2018-2019 CLG projects and budget are as follows:
PROJECT 1: Attendance at Oklahoma State Preservation Conference June 2019 - $700
Attendance at the annual state historic preservation conference is strongly encouraged by SHPO for staff and commissioners of all CLG participant cities. It is anticipated that one staff person will be attending the conference which is to be held over the course of three days in June 2019. Total budget of $700 includes registration fees, travel expenses, and lodging.
PROJECT 2: Memberships Dues for National Alliance of Preservation Commissions - $150
Pay for the membership dues for staff and Commissioners to the National Alliance for Preservation Commissions. Total budget of $150 would provide membership for staff and all commissioners.
PROJECT 3: Updating the Historic District Guidelines - $10,400
City staff proposes to that the updating of the Historic District Guidelines be a multi-phased project. Due to the nature of the CLG grant funds each phase of the project will need to be completed n the fiscal year it started. With this in mind, staff recommends that the first year phase of updating the Historic District Guidelines would focus an evaluation of the current guidelines and revision of the guidelines to accommodate the new Southridge Historic District and any future historic districts. At the same time, the correction of simple errors, such as misspellings and incorrect information, could also be performed during this phase. Additionally, the Guidelines could be modified to provide for a more streamlined Administrative Bypass process for routine alterations to structures and sites. A second phase of updating the Guidelines may focus on resolving recurring issues such as the lack of clarity regarding parking and parking facilities, and the request for emerging materials in the energy and environmental conscious market. Staff anticipates that a consultant would be hired to develop and complete phase one of the update of Historic District Guidelines to be completed by May 1, 2019.
TOTAL BUDGET OF CLG FUNDS OF $11,250
RECOMMENDATION: The Historic District Commission has reviewed and approved the projects proposed for CLG 2018-19 Grant Application for Funding. Staff has reviewed the proposed the CLG 2018-2019 Grant Application for Funding and recommends authorizing the submission of the Certified Local Government Program application to the State Historic Preservation Office in the amount of $11,250. Upon notification of funding award, staff will forward any associated contract document to the City Council for approval, including a request to appropriate the approved contract amount. CLG funds are anticipated to be available July 1, 2018.