[MassHistPres] Town owned historic buildings

[Roughan, Michael]

Daniel,

Thanks for your prompt response. I do believe I would benefit from a more thorough understanding of CPA funding and I agree that the Community Preservation Coalition should be my first source for the applicability of CPA grants.

....Mike

Michael Roughan, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP

D +1.617.357.7725 M +1.617.784.6463


From: Daniel Bibel [mailto:dbibel at verizon.net]
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2016 2:20 PM
To: Roughan, Michael; M Fenollosa; masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Town owned historic buildings

I question your town counsel that CPA funds can't be used for 'maintenance'.  From what I gather from a DOR table, 'preservation' of historic resources is an allowable use.  Perhaps you should reach at to the Community Preservation Coalition for clarification.

Dan Bibel
CPA Study Committee
Medfield


On 4/7/2016 2:04 PM, Roughan, Michael wrote:
Marilyn,

Regarding the question of ownership and maintenance of historic structures, I have been informed by the Hopkinton town counsel that CPA funds cannot be used for maintenance of historic structures and, in fact, we recently discovered they do not permit use of CPA funds for signage informing the public of the historic nature of the structure either. So within this context, our town administrators are very leery of expanding beyond the two historic structures the town currently owns. In fact this week, a historic home on town library property will be demolished and next week a 200+ year braced timber frame home once used as a "Toll house" will be demolished (6 month demo delay on both).

While these events should be construed to mean no more than I need to do a better job as HHC chair, it does emphasize that having a legitimate way to pay for maintenance is critical. One of the two historic structures that Hopkinton does own is an old Train Depot that has been used by volunteer groups as an "event store" and bottle collection facility that generate donations that help justify its existence. The second facility, McFarland Sanger house, is a 280 year old home that has had no significant modifications in the last century. Our town CPC last year allocated $50k of our $100k request for renovation funds, fortunately this year they have agreed to restore the full request so we can hire North Bennett St School / Keefe Tech to begin the restoration work. However, we still don't have a legitimate use for the facility once it's restored and may sell it to a private party with a deed restriction.

If anyone has recommendations for how to repurpose the McFarland Sanger house or would like more information on the property, please email me and the studies and reports we've commissioned to date.

Hopefully, going forward, I'll have a more positive story to tell.

....Mike

Michael Roughan, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP
Chairman - Hopkinton Historic Commission

Town of Hopkinton
18 Main Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748

D 617.357.7725 M 617.784.6463



From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu<mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of M Fenollosa
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2016 9:51 AM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu<mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Town owned historic buildings

Hi --

there is another reason why a town owning historic buildings may not be such a bad thing:  to the extent the town is responsible for the preservation and rehabilitation of these buildings, CPA money would likely be available to help, drawing on money from the state (through the state match) and possibly relieving the pressure on the municipal budget for non-CPA eligible projects likes roads and schools--

Marilyn Fenollosa
Lexington HDC, HC and CPC
On 4/6/2016 4:32 PM, jworden at swwalaw.com<mailto:jworden at swwalaw.com> wrote:

Sally,

Arlington owns several historic buildings, including our library (1893), town hall (1912), plus some old houses, one (ca. 1820) used as offices, one (a mansion, 1799) used for meetings, offices, and rented out for functions, and another (ca. 1830) as a museum.  The two houses were given to the Town so that they would be preserved, and then the uses were found.

John Worden, Arlington HDC



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