Mount Vernon City Council will explore efforts to help the Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission come up with additional funding needed for their design guideline improvements at a coming meeting.
Sue Astley, MVHPC director, presented the history of the design guidelines originally adopted by MVHPC in the 1990s.
“That came about because of the work of Ed Sauter,” Astley said. “It was after the commercial historic district and Ash Park Historic District were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.”
Those guidelines have helped the commission over the past 30 years.
The design guidelines were intended to help homeowners on some of the common repairs or changes that need to be addressed in a home over time.
Astley said Mount Vernon may have been one of the first communities to institute a design review process on properties, helping preserve the historic nature of the communities.
Astley said while the design guidelines have worked great in the commercial district, there are areas that have been trickier to navigate for homeowners, including porches and windows.
With the loss of Leah Rogers and Sauter from the commission and not as many architectural design knowledgeable members of the commission currently, it has been harder for them to work at these design guidelines.
A subcommittee of five people selected JMV of Columbus, Ohio, as the company they want to do the design guidelines. The commission had $16,000 from the city and $5,270 from the Maurice Family Foundation, but it needs roughly $2,800 to be able to pay the $24,927 bid.
Astley said there is a grant that could be applied for to make up the remaining cost, but with the effort that could take and limited time window to apply, it might not be the most feasible. It would also potentially delay the project.
Council member Craig Engel asked if it would be possible to split the costs of this grant between this fiscal year and next fiscal year, to give the commission time to raise more money or allow the city to make an additional donation during budget review this fall. Astley said they could have those discussions after the contract has been signed with JMV.
Council member Paul Tuerler, who is also a liaison for the council with MVHPC, said that part of what made JMV the right company for the job was their focus on community outreach on the projects.
“Their real strength was getting those impacted by these changes looking at what is being proposed and making sure they are clear, as those are the people who are encountering the holes in the current design guidelines and will use them in the future,” Tuerler said.
He also said the diligence by the subcommittee and their methodology in deciding between the RFPs was one of the best processes he has seen.
Nosbisch recommended Astley visit with Joe Jennison about the grant application and see if that is feasible. The council will approve the contract with the firm at the next meeting and discuss the funding further at that time.