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Carthage has a vast and expansive historic legacy, from Civil War history to the mining titans who built the Victorian mansions, to Route 66 and the Jefferson Highway.
It’s a legacy that draws thousands of visitors to Carthage each year.
Preserving that legacy is a complicated dance between public and private interests that can lead to controversy and hard feelings, however.
In that vein, city leaders are seeking direction on how the city should proceed when it comes to preserving historic Carthage for future generations.
Carthage City Administrator Tom Short, the Planning, Zoning and Historic Preservation Commission, members of the private group Carthage Historic Preservation and others met for almost two hours on Monday to discuss the city’s role in preserving the homes and businesses that make up Carthage’s historic legacy.
The questions are many.
Should the city participate in federal and state historic preservation programs that could generate money in the form of grants and other financing, but may produce added work for city staff and therefore added expense?
Should the city adopt new regulations for making changes to buildings in the historic districts that would preserve the historic character of the districts but limit what homeowners could do to their property?
How does the city proceed in preserving the historic character of Carthage and turn that character into revenue?
“It’s pretty much an open discussion on where this committee wants to recommend to the city where we should go,” Short said. “It’s mentioned in the comprehensive plan numerous times that the city realizes that the historic preservation is an asset. The question is what is the best way to manage that asset and get a benefit from that asset.”
Carthage Historic Preservation, a private group that owns the Phelps House on Grand Avenue and has renovated a number of historic structures over the years, has volunteered to help city officials fill out paperwork or provide expertise on various aspects of historic preservation.
The group proposed that the city join the federal Preserve America Communities program and become a Certified Local Government in order to qualify for federal and state grant money for historic preservation.
The city has filed the paperwork for the Preserve America Communities program but council members had questions about the Certified Local Government Program.
At Monday’s meeting, Short provided a handout that showed what the city would have to do that it does not already do to qualify for the Certified Local Government Program.
Carthage has a vast and expansive historic legacy, from Civil War history to the mining titans who built the Victorian mansions, to Route 66 and the Jefferson Highway.
It’s a legacy that draws thousands of visitors to Carthage each year.
Preserving that legacy is a complicated dance between public and private interests that can lead to controversy and hard feelings, however.
In that vein, city leaders are seeking direction on how the city should proceed when it comes to preserving historic Carthage for future generations.
Carthage City Administrator Tom Short, the Planning, Zoning and Historic Preservation Commission, members of the private group Carthage Historic Preservation and others met for almost two hours on Monday to discuss the city’s role in preserving the homes and businesses that make up Carthage’s historic legacy.
The questions are many.
Should the city participate in federal and state historic preservation programs that could generate money in the form of grants and other financing, but may produce added work for city staff and therefore added expense?
Should the city adopt new regulations for making changes to buildings in the historic districts that would preserve the historic character of the districts but limit what homeowners could do to their property?
How does the city proceed in preserving the historic character of Carthage and turn that character into revenue?
“It’s pretty much an open discussion on where this committee wants to recommend to the city where we should go,” Short said. “It’s mentioned in the comprehensive plan numerous times that the city realizes that the historic preservation is an asset. The question is what is the best way to manage that asset and get a benefit from that asset.”
Carthage Historic Preservation, a private group that owns the Phelps House on Grand Avenue and has renovated a number of historic structures over the years, has volunteered to help city officials fill out paperwork or provide expertise on various aspects of historic preservation.
The group proposed that the city join the federal Preserve America Communities program and become a Certified Local Government in order to qualify for federal and state grant money for historic preservation.
The city has filed the paperwork for the Preserve America Communities program but council members had questions about the Certified Local Government Program.
At Monday’s meeting, Short provided a handout that showed what the city would have to do that it does not already do to qualify for the Certified Local Government Program.
It showed that while many of the requirements for the program are in current city ordinances, the program would require things like maintaining an inventory of the historic properties in the city, and some reports that would take staff time and paperwork to meet.
Carthage Historic Preservation President Karen Herzog repeated the group’s pledge to be available to help the city staff meet these requirements.
Short asked that the Planning, Zoning and Historic Preservation Commission review the requirements and recommend to the city council whether the city should pursue the CLG designation.
Short also said the 2010-2011 budget, which will receive final consideration at Tuesday’s Carthage City Council meeting, includes $6,000 to pay Drury University of Springfield for a study of the historic central business district to determine what needs to b done to improve that area and draw in more revenue.
This is the same group that completed a study of Webb City’s downtown district last year.
Short and new Planning, Zoning and Historic Preservation Commission Chairman Harry Rogers said this was the beginning of a discussion about historic preservation in Carthage that would last a long time and include meetings with the public to determine a strategy to preserve Carthage’s historic legacy.
