Title
Proposed Library-Historical Commission Reconfiguration and Advisory Position to Address the Lack of Historic Preservation Expertise on the Commission
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
At the City Council Meeting of May 3, 2021, Councilmember Cox requested that the City Council Rules Committee consider adding a Commissioner to the Library - Historical Commission (LHC) who has an historical or building preservation background. Under this solution, the LHC would increase to 9 members with the Mayor appointing another At-Large Commissioner. This request arose because of the concern that when historic preservation issues were reviewed by the LHC, the Commission has lacked the expertise to evaluate them.
After discussion among City staff (Library Services, Community Development and City Manager's Office), community stakeholders, and commissioners, other challenges and concerns regarding the LHC and Arts Commissions emerged.
Concerns include:
* Limited Architectural Preservation Actions - Only 2 registered historic properties have come forward to the Library-Historical Commission within the last 15 years and both were under the State's Mills Act, which provides tax incentives for historic property owners.
* Commissioner Attendance - Even during pre-pandemic times, commissioner attendance has been and continues to be an issue.
* Meeting Cancellations - Meeting cancellations are due to lack of substantive agendas or lack of quorum.
* Finding People to Serve on Commissions - It has been a challenge, especially for the Arts Commission, to find people to fill open seats.
* Expertise Gaps - Architectural preservation issues come before the Library-Historical Commission, but the Library does not have staff expertise in architectural or building permit matters; Community Development has familiarity with architecture/design but no one on staff has historic structure preservation expertise.
* Inefficiencies of Process - About 20 years ago, the Library and Commun...
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