[MassHistPres] Thoughts and suggestions on 501 c 3 to manage town historic structures and landmarks, and for fundraising

[Diane Gilbert]

Greetings All, 

Some of us in Dartmouth are looking into the possibility of creating an
Historic Preservation Trust much like our local non-profit land trust.
This trust, as an independent non-profit entity, would partner with other
preservation organizations, federal, state, regional and local levels to
accomplish our own town-specific preservation goals.

Why attempt to form yet another preservation group in Massachusetts?  While
we value the efforts, the experience and the advice from many preservation
groups whose services are available to us, Dartmouth does not have a single
entity that is solely empowered to manage our historic buildings and
landmarks, to create cultural or educational centers or even museums
specific to Dartmouth¹s rich historic legacy that may not have a place
anywhere else.  Moreover, Heritage Tourism is an important attribute to
economic development yet no single group at the moment is focused on this
exclusively and a Preservation Trust could help lead those efforts.

Dartmouth is a CPA community and we also have a demolition delay bylaw which
is under the jurisdiction of our Historical Commission.   By law, the
Dartmouth Historical Commission has its own set of responsibilities as a
municipal agency in the town.  With opportunities to obtain public funds
dwindling, private fundraising has become increasingly more important when
we find ourselves financially challenged and efforts to protect our historic
resources thwarted for so many reasons.

A 501c3 representing the town¹s historic resources would be another entity
of advocacy for historic preservation, whereby CPA funds can be obtained as
well as grants.  This trust would spearhead any efforts to protect
Dartmouth¹s historic structures and landmarks through such tools as
preservation easements, taking a pro-active and planned approach to saving
buildings from demolition BEFORE they are even at risk, identifying other
opportunities before it¹s too late to save our historic buildings and
landmarks, hold restrictions, etc.

Over the past year, we have lost the Smith Mills Christian Church and the
Almy House to demolition, and who knows how many others we¹ve lost or are at
risk.  We are much better at preserving open space and farmland than we are
at preserving our structures.  As we learned with the Almy House, a
breath-taking historic landscape without a structure defining an important
period in our history is just open space with no soul. It is our belief that
a local Preservation Trust or Society would go a long way toward providing
the leadership that we need to identify, maintain, nurture, and preserve
what little we have left that¹s historically significant in our town.  We
would accomplish this with partnerships and with the community¹s support.
And accountability would lead the way to results.

Any thoughts on the above much appreciated.  Also, regarding town-owned
historic properties and landmarks, could I hear from communities who manage
museums or cultural heritage centers in their towns­­their successes and
best practices? How is this done?

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions.

Sincerely, Diane Gilbert
Dartmouth Select Board