[MassHistPres] Thank you town vs civic use for historic building

[sally milne]

Anne,
    I believe your approach is spot on. We always have to adapt to move forward. Your record is Impressive. I just turned form VT. And New Hampshire. We are always impressed with how many of the historic buildings, even private farm houses appear in such good condition. Then I come back to Harwich and wonder “what’s Wong here”?
Thank you for sharing,
SAlly



> On Sep 19, 2021, at 8:43 AM, Anne Lusk <annelusk at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Sally, 
>     Climate change is the most pressing issue that all of us face. Old houses, lawns, and trees are what I call "climate lockers,"  They are carbon sinks and help the earth's climate through carbon sequestration but those terms are harder to picture. If the old growth lumber, lathe, plaster, windows, trim, doors, and floor boards are taken to the dump, that pollutes the ground, throws away existing building resources, and involves trucking with combustion-engine vehicles.  New building materials are required and these use precious resources, have to be manufactured (which pollutes) and often include plastic and new growth lumber which has open pores (and is more susceptible to rot). Then, all of the new materials have to be trucked to the site, which, with combustion engine vehicles, pollutes even more. 
>      We used to defend historic buildings because they tell a story about our past. That story is still true but we now need to emphasize the benefits of saving the "climate lockers."  The BOS needs to do a full energy assessment and compare savings of sustainably renovating the existing building compared with demolition and building a new building.  The historic school house also needs a good use that would benefit the community.  In the late 1970's, I was chair of the restoration of the Old Stowe High School in Stowe, Vermont that was slated for demolition. It was to be replaced with a one story ranch style library. I also worked to have 124 houses in Stowe Village, including the school, put on the National Register.  The two story old high school building is now the highly valued Helen Day Library and Art Center.  
> Anne Lusk, Ph.D.  
> 
>  
> 
> On Sun, Sep 19, 2021 at 8:17 AM sally milne <urbanosally at gmail.com <mailto:urbanosally at gmail.com>> wrote:
> Thank you to everyone who  helped me solidify ideas to try and convince our BOS that the RFP we proposed for our Historic Schoolhouse was a good one and fiscally responsible.
> Monday night  we will try to breathe our last  lpush towards saving our proposal but I believe they have already turned it  down.
>      To everyone on the list who contributes, to everyone  who try to preserve our historical assets THANK YOU.
> Win or lose we find solace in this group
> 
> Sally Urbano
> West Harwich
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