Historic Preservation Commission

Tybee Island HISTORIC PESERVATION COMMISSON Meeting Minutes Date & Time: February 26, 2024, 6:00 pm Present: Holly Grell-Lawe (Chair), Marna Lewin, Mary Anne Butler, Cara Cole, Mike Goldberg, Cassidi Kendrick Absent: Observers: Jackie Boling (former HPC Intern), Pat Leiby (Tybee/MLK), Dawn Shay (Forever Tybee) Location: Burke Day Public Safety Building, Conference Building, 78 Van Horne Ave Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:01pm. A quorum was present. Due to a full agenda, Holly Grell-Lawe dispensed with the usual brief overview of HPC and its roles and responsibilities. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the January 8, 2024 HPC meeting were unanimously approved upon motion by Mike Goldberg and seconded by Mary Anne Butler. Announcements Tybee/MLK Pat Leiby provided an update. Tybee Island’s Annual Lazaretto Day will be celebrated on Monday, March 25, 2024 with a program, “How American Slavery Shaped Coastal Georgia,” at 6:00pm-7:30pm at the Guardhouse. Speakers include Dr. Kara Bridgman Sweeney from Georgia Southern University, Frank Middleton from Fort Pulaski, and Julia Pearce from Tybee/MLK. Lazaretto Coalition Marna Lewin checked with Peggy Hilary and Julia Pearce. Jim Hilary will be getting in touch with Julia Pearce about the status of the Lazaretto Coalition. The update from the Coalition is the announcement of the Lazaretto Day celebration as given above by Pat Leiby. HPC Chair -Holly Grell-Lawe distributed to members draft copies of parts of the outputs from the HPC’s Annual Planning Meeting on 2/3/2024 so the information can be used by members if they want to propose specific budget items for next fiscal year. Members need to communicate any ideas for next fiscal year, along with estimated costs, to Cassidi Kendrick and the Chair by the end of the week. Priorities already established for the year include the proposed Summer Strand Cottages/Central Tybee Island Residential National Historic District, the local economic incentives proposal, the grant proposal to Georgia DCA/HPD which we hope gets funded, and outreach, communication and engagement with the community. Ongoing Business 2024 CLG Grant Application The Chair advised the members that she delivered a presentation at the City Council meeting on Thursday, February 22, 2204 to explain the resolution needed to support the HPC’s CLG grant application to DCA/HPD. She outlined the financial requirements of the grant application as stated in the Resolution and explained the commitments within the Resolution, all of which were required for the grant application. The resolution was approved unanimously by City Council. Once the resolution is signed by the Mayor, Cassidi Kendrick will upload it to DCA/HPD’s online grant application system. HPC does not expect to hear whether they will be awarded the grant until May at the earliest and July at the latest. Strand Summer Cottage/Central Tybee Island Residential National Historic District The Chair reported on news coverage related to HPC’s application for this proposed national historic district, including a phone interview she did today with a reporter from WTGS for their online news outlet. An article about the proposed district appeared in the Savannah Morning News around January 18, 2024 which was later picked up by the Atlanta Journal/Constitution. Mayor West has also been interviewed about the proposed district by local tv news stations. A letter of support from HPC is needed for the application. With no objections from members, it was decided that the Chair will draft a letter on behalf of HPC. Jackie Boling (former HPC Intern) and Cara Cole have drafted an information sheet on the proposed Central Island National District for outreach purposes. HPC does not expect to hear back from State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) until March 23, 2024 when the 60-day review period ends. Bob Ciucevich, HPC’s consultant on the project, expects that SHPO will send back comments for revisions to the application. Depending on the SHPO response to the application, HPC should be ready to move forward as appropriate with planning community outreach, a presentation to city council, contact with property owners, and scheduling an open house. The Chair will email Bob Ciucevich to confirm that the July 2023 inventory (index) of properties included in the proposed district is current (the version submitted with the application on 1/22/2024), for purposes of generating a mailing list of property owners within the proposed district and developing an index to the inventory index. It was noted that SHPO may expand or contract the proposed district so it is premature to include a map in the draft information sheet. New Business HPC Letter of Support for Extending Georgia Historic Preservation Tax Incentives 2 The Chair reported that HB 1116 for extending the State’s historic preservation tax incentives received unanimous support in the Georgia House Ways & Means Committee but must be acted on by the House before February 29, 2024. Without objections, members agreed to have the Chair write a letter of support for HB 1116 on behalf of HPC to Representative Jesse Petrea asking him to support the bill. HPC Workshop Scheduling (Summer 2024) For the purpose of continuing work on its proposal for local economic incentives for historic preservation which was started last year, the HPC scheduled two 90-minute workshops: July 29, 2024 from 10:30am-12:00pm and August 12, 2024 from 10:30am-12:00pm. Both workshops to be held at the Public Safety Building. Tour of Homes Planning (May 2024 Historic Preservation Month) Advisory voting results from the HPC Annual Planning Meeting on 2/3/2024 determined that HPC would do a Tour of Homes fundraiser during May 2024 Historic Preservation Month, rather than the traditional Historic Trolley Tour. HPC members agreed on the dates and times of Saturday, May 18, 2024 (10am-2pm) and Sunday, May 19, 2024 (1pm-5pm). An HPC member or a volunteer from the Tybee Island Historical Society would be stationed at each home on the tour. Initial efforts to recruit participants will focus on the Fort Screven area which could allow for walking, biking or golf carts as personal transportation for ticket-holder. $35 per ticket is a target price with a possible discount for a 2-day ticket. Marna Lewin and Cara Cole are available to help Cassidi with upfront work on this project as needed. All HPC members will push hard on making contacts to recruit participating home owners before the March 2024 HPC meeting. HPC Advisor, Sarah Jones, has offered the TIHS Archives Building as a starting point for the tour. Permit Reviews 2 2nd Street—This demolition permit has been withdrawn at this time due to issues that the purchaser has with DNR. This is a beachfront property. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:36pm with unanimous approval upon motion by Cara Cole and seconded by Mary Anne Butler. 3