Historic District Commission to meet today
Members of the El Dorado Historic District Commission will tend to several items when they convene for a regular meeting at noon today at the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce.
The meeting is open to the public.
Commissioners are expected to learn more about a 2024 Certified Local Government grant, for which they have applied on the behalf of the city.
CLG grants are awarded each year to participating communities across the state.
Money for the grants come from the federal Historic Preservation Fund and is funneled through the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program to be disbursed to grant recipients.
The CLG program represents a partnership between the National Park Service, AHPP and local governments in the state to preserve historic resources at the local level.
A city or county is eligible to participate in the CLG program if it has established a historic district commission and has adopted a local preservation ordinance designating one or more local historic districts.
El Dorado is one of 21 CLG cities in Arkansas and over the years, the group has received several CLG grants, which are typically used to fund historic preservation projects — including the citywide historic preservation plan that was drafted in 2020 —; a stipend for the El Dorado Historic District Commission’s executive director’s position, which is held by Elizabeth Eggleston; travel and training expenses for commissioners; and membership fees for local, regional and national historic preservation organizations, including Preserve Arkansas, a nonprofit organization.
For the 2024 grant cycle,
commissioners agreed to apply for funding to cover:
• Travel and training expenses for 2024.
• The hiring a consultant to help amend a section of design guidelines for the El Dorado Commercial Historic District to address murals and streetscapes within the district.
• Costs for taking the next step in the process to review information about certain local properties that underwent a Determination of Eligibility Survey for possible nomination to the National Register of Historic Places as individually-listed properties or as a historic district.
• DOE surveys for three properties in two of the city’s African American neighborhoods for possible nomination to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places.
The properties include the James Johnston Gymnasium, which is adjacent to Mattocks Park; First Baptist Church-Cordell; and the Nile and Marzell Smith Museum of African American History (historically known as the Carver [Elementary] School building).
The latter two buildings are located in the St. Louis neighborhood.
Today, commissioners will flesh out the details of the CLG grant, including the amount of the grant, and later, the scope of work that was approved in the grant award.
EHDC chairman Linda Rathbun is on the agenda to discuss the commission’s annual letter that is sent to property owners within the city’s commercial historic district, which covers most of downtown El Dorado.
Each year, the commission reaches out to property and business owners within the commercial historic district to help familiarize property owners with the guidelines and the city ordinance that regulates the district.
Commissioners also offer their assistance and guidance with projects pertaining to historic preservation.
Rathbun has called on the EHDC to foster better relationships with business and property owners within the commercial historic district this year.
Eggleston said El Dorado City Council members-elect Jill Wineschke and Andre Rucks have been invited to the EHDC meeting.
Wineschke and Rucks won primary election on March 5 in races for the Ward 1, Position 2 and Ward 3, Position 2 council seats, respectively.
They will be sworn into office on Jan. 1.
Eggleston noted that the city’s two residential historic districts — Murphy-Hill and Mahony — are located in Ward 1 and portions of the commercial historic district lie in Ward 3.
The EHDC is also expected to continue discussions about information that was gleaned from a daylong workshop that was presented last September by the Preserve Arkansas Dollars & Sense of Historic Preservation.
The workshop was held in Texarkana and was attended by Eggleston and Commissioner Diane Murfee.
The Dollars & Sense program emphasizes the economic benefits of historic preservation; provides information and resources on preservation incentives; and encourages the use of incentives through practical, real-world examples.
Last month, commissioners watched a portion of a video featuring one of the presenters of the workshop before launching into a discussion about possibly hosting a similar event in El Dorado.