Russellville Historic District Commission

RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting – Thursday, March 23 2017 City Hall – Council Chamber Commissioners Present Suzanne Alford-Hodges – Vice Chair Judy Galloway – Secretary Linda Carnahan Kathy Keenan Price Polly Hardin Steve Newby Beverly Hooten Steve Hubbard Commissioners Absent Greg Barborek – Chair Staff Absent Kurt Jones - City Engineer / HPO Advisors Present None Advisors Absent Trey Smith, City Attorney Brian Holstein, Director City Development Betsy McGuire, MSR Director Catherine Barrier, AHPP CLG Coordinator Call to Order & Welcome @ 5:00PM: Vice Chair, Suzanne Alford-Hodges, called the March 23, 2017 meeting of the Russellville Historic District Commission to order at 5:00PM and a quorum was established. Approval of Minutes: Ms. Alford-Hodges asked if everyone had read the minutes of the February 21, 2017 meeting. Motion was made by Ms. Harden to accept the minutes as written. Mr. Hubbard made the second and the minutes were approved unanimously by voice vote. Staff Report: None Agenda: The only item on the agenda was review of the COA submitted by J.P. Leonard for restoration and replacement of the missing second story windows at 320 West “B” Street. Ms. Amber Jones, Historic Tax Credit and Façade Easement Consultant, was appointed by Mr. Leonard to speak on his behalf. She was not able to attend but reported that Mr. Leonard was repairing existing windows and replacing missing windows with exact replicas. His application to the National Park Service has already been approved and he is free to begin his restoration. RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting of March 23, 2017 Page 2 There was a short explanation to new commissioners that for tax credits on a project, the applicant must meet the NPS Standards that are much more rigorous than our local commission’s requirements. Tax credits are a great incentive for property owners since they can be used over a period of years or sold for cash. In the discussion about this project, Mr. Newby asked if it would be possible to limit the length of applications for a COA to the pertinent facts to the exterior of the building. Mr. Leonard’s application was a bit lengthy at 21 pages. Ms. Galloway said she would discuss this with Mr. Jones. Ms. Carnahan made the motion to approve the COA and there was a second by Ms. Price. The COA was approved by a voice vote. Old Business: There was no old business at this time. New Business: Ms. Galloway pointed out that the next meeting of the Commission is scheduled for Thursday, April 27th , the same evening as “Taste of the Valley”. Since this is a major fund raiser for Main Street Russellville, the commission agreed that we should move our meeting to Tuesday, April 25th. Ms. Galloway will discuss with Mr. Jones. Ms. Galloway announced that on March 13th, Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed Senate Bill 253, to improve the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Act of 2009 by increasing the per project cap for income producing properties from $125,000 to $400,000 in credits. This bill now becomes Act 393 and will become effective on projects begun after July 1, 2017. Ms. Galloway will work on a press release and letter to property owners. Ms. Price will get updated addresses for the property owners. Adjournment: Ms. Galloway made the motion to adjourn at 5:15PM. Ms. Hooten made the second. Motion approved by a voice vote. Greg Barborek, RHDC Chair Date