HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC meeting summary 02282024 Orange County
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Approved Meeting Summary
February 28t", 2024
Bonnie Davis Center, 1020 US 70 West, Hillsborough
MEMBERS PRESENT: Tom Loter, Art Menius, Cecelia Moore, Paul Noe, Anne Whisnant
MEMBERS ABSENT: Todd Dickinson, Steve Peck
STAFF PRESENT: Peter Sandbeck
GUESTS: None
ITEM #1: CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 6:32 pm.
ITEM #2: CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO AGENDA: None
ITEM #3: APPROVAL OF MINUTES for January 24t", 2024:
Noe moved to approve the minutes; seconded by Whisnant, motion approved.
ITEM #4: ITEMS FOR DECISION:
a. Election of Officers for 2024-25: Staff reported that our adopted policies and procedures
document stipulates holding the annul election of officers at the February meeting. Staff
noted that officers currently holding positions can be re-elected for up to three terms.
Moore moved to reappoint Menius as chair and Loter to serve as vice chair; seconded by
Whisnant. Discussion followed. Motion approved.
ITEM #5: DISCUSSION ITEMS
a. Annual HPC review of outside agency grant applications for county funding: As in
past years, the HPC received outside agency grant applications from historical
organizations to review as part of the county's overall Advisory Board grant application
evaluation process. This year three applications were presented to the HPC: the Historic
Hillsborough Commission (Burwell School); the Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and
Orange County (Orange County Museum); and the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough. Staff
provided a brief overview of how this is supposed to be handled this year and reviewed
how the process has worked in the past. Some members reiterated their opinion that the
application format is designed for social service organizations and thus still does not work
well for historic sites and museums. Members discussed all aspects of each application in
depth, then evaluated each section of the application and worked with staff to arrive at a
composite group average for each question. Staff filled out the evaluator scorecards for
the group. Those members who were absent will be asked to do their own scoring and
share the results with staff, which will be averaged into today's evaluation scores. There
was a general consensus that the organizations provided better information about the
respective programs this year. The applications for the Alliance and the Historic
Hillsborough Commission were relatively straightforward, with all the needed information.
Both groups had solid proposals with feasible budgets. Members expressed concerns
about the application from the Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and Orange County
(Museum), due to the unsustainable nature of their budget, which consistently runs at a
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deficit. Members gave a positive evaluation for all three groups, with the strong
recommendation that the Museum needed to work to address their operating budget to
allow them to eliminate their ongoing deficits. Staff will share the final evaluation scores
with the appropriate staff, then will meet with the County Manager and David Stancil in
mid-March to DEAPR to hear presentations by staff from each organization. Staff will
report back at the next meeting.
b. Membership update and review of roster: Staff handed out the current roster to show
the membership status. Unfortunately, several members will be rotating off soon. Both
Noe and Peck will finish their terms on March 31, 2024, after two full terms of dedicated
service and good attendance. Loter will rotate off on June 30, 2024. Staff asked members
to definitely be on the lookout for potential applicants, and to share any prospects for staff
follow up. Staff will likewise scout for applicants.
ITEM #6: UPDATES AND INFORMATION ITEMS
a. Report back on the Presentation of Annual Report and Work Plan to BOCC: Staff
reported that Menius did a fine job of presenting our report to the BOCC, who seemed
pleased with the HPC's accomplishments in 2023.
b. County Land Use Plan 2050 and HPC input: In the interest of time, staff suggested
postponing this presentation until the following meeting.
c. Stone mounds at Blackwood Farm: Staff met with Judge Scarlett at the site, with Noe
joining. The group assessed the mounds near the old enslaved burial ground, then viewed
evidence of additional graves or burials near the enslaved cemetery that lie beyond the
area initially investigated and mapped by the archaeologists. These features continue to
be enigmatic and certainly merit further investigation.
d. Book Protect update: Staff is continuing work on compiling somewhere around 650
digital photos and organizing them in file folders for each of the 250 property entries and
for each essay chapter, which has proven to be time-consuming.
e. Open air time: No information was shared in the interest of time.
ITEM #7: ADJOURNMENT: Noe moved to adjourn, seconded by Loter; meeting adjourned at 8:17
pm.
Meeting summary by Peter Sandbeck, DEAPR staff
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