FRANKFORT, Ky. — Twelve projects in nine designated Certified Local Government (CLG) communities have been awarded matching grants for FY 2019-20, for activities ranging from exploring the role of public art in historic districts to creating an outdoor educational exhibit highlighting commercial properties and the people and businesses associated with their history.
Grants totaling $76,811 went to Bardstown, Bellevue, Campbellsville, Covington, Danville, Frankfort, Hopkinsville, Horse Cave and Metro Louisville from the CLG program, administered by the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office (KHC) with funds allocated annually through the National Park Service. An additional $51,208 in committed funds and in-kind services make up the required 40% local match total.
The Danville Public Art in Historic Districts Education Project is an exciting new proposal to assist local Architectural Heritage Board members, elected officials and staff with studying how other communities incorporate public art into their historic districts, according to CLG Coordinator Vicki Birenberg.
The project will involve a one-day field trip to Cincinnati to talk to local historic preservation planning staff and learn more about ArtWorks, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote workforce development and youth training though the creation of public art.
“A public event in Danville will be a second component to offer perspectives from historic preservation and public art experts and provide a venue for citizen input into what has been a contentious issue in the community,” Birenberg said.
Also new this year, the Bellevue Commercial Building History Education Project will detail the long history of commercial properties in two historic business districts, including photos of former businesses and notable people associated with them, in an effort to enhance the community’s preservation ethic. Signs will be posted outside places they depict, with QR codes linking to the city’s website for more information. As part of Bellevue’s 150th anniversary celebration, the project will also incorporate tours.
Other funded projects include a variety of workshops and educational programming, historic building survey and documentation, fieldwork for nominating sites to the National Register of Historic Places, and developing an interactive model of a Victorian-era house that can be used to demonstrate how different types of building alterations impact architectural integrity.
More than $13,000 from this grant cycle has also been set aside for a second grant round this fall that will supplement projects already in the works or provide scholarships to local CLG program coordinators and board members to attend annual training presented by the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, the National Trust for Historic Preservation or the Kentucky Main Street Program.
Grant awards were approved earlier this year by the KHC board. Activities must directly support goals outlined in “A Map Made of Memory: Kentucky’s State Historic Preservation Plan, 2017-2021.” Those charged with training and implementing projects must adhere to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the treatment of historic properties.
CLG designation offers a way for local governments to develop a comprehensive approach to historic preservation and promote the integration of preservation interests into the planning process. City and county-wide historic preservation commissions must become designated to qualify for the grants, made available through a federal Historic Preservation Fund pass-through to state historic preservation offices to assist their work in recognizing, protecting and saving historic places.
For more information visit www.heritage.ky.gov.
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