Megan McNish, a regional staffer from the state historic preservation office, told the Narberth Historic Preservation Commission that her office can provide technical assistance, grant opportunities and outreach models the borough could use to support local preservation efforts.

The presentation, delivered during the commission’s July meeting, walked commissioners through local options for funding and programs, including the Certified Local Government (CLG) program, the Keystone Historic Preservation Grant Program and a suite of outreach ideas such as neighborhood walks, homeowner workshops and speaker series.

McNish said CLG status can open access to federal CLG grants and technical assistance and that those grants have relatively low local match requirements. “One thing that’s really great about CLG funding is our match requirements are very low. So for most projects, we require a 10% match,” McNish said. She offered to forward links and resources to the commission and to speak to the borough at a later date if requested.

Why it matters: CLG certification and Keystone grants would give Narberth direct access to funding and professional design review tools that local boards and residents can use for planning, design guidance and problem-solving on difficult buildings. McNish described CLG grants as reimbursement awards that require municipal capacity to administer, but that can be used for design studies, planning and small project support.

Details commissioners heard: McNish summarized two state programs the commission flagged as priorities. The Keystone Historic Preservation Grant Program has two categories: planning grants with a $25,000 maximum award (50% cash match) for tasks such as National Register nominations and design guidelines, and construction grants with a $100,000 maximum award (50% cash match). McNish said the Keystone program is state-funded through real estate transfer tax receipts and typically supports roughly $2 million in awards annually; she cautioned the program is competitive and that planning grants are generally less competitive than construction grants. She said Keystone requires that properties be evaluated for National Register eligibility before certain grants will be approved and that the deadline for Keystone applications is typically March 1 (or the nearest weekday).

McNish described the CLG program as federal funding administered through the state office; she said CLG grants often require only a 10% match and can cover smaller outreach and training projects as well as planning work. She also described a design-assistance program—“designing for preservation solutions”—that can help communities sketch solutions for difficult buildings or ADA access issues.

On outreach and technical help, McNish offered concrete program ideas. She described a neighborhood-walk program (modeled on Tredyffrin Township examples), Jane’s Walks, homeowner workshops focused on simple repairs (for example, repairing windows rather than replacing them), bike- or walking-tour recordings used during COVID, and short quarterly newsletters with homeowner guidance. She recommended partnering with nearby certified jurisdictions (she cited Lower Merion Township) and local nonprofits (Lower Merion Conservancy, Preservation Alliance) to expand programming and amplify grant dollars.

Commission response and next steps: Commissioners discussed whether Narberth should pursue CLG certification. McNish said the certification process typically takes four to six months, depending on staffing and municipal readiness, and that she can provide a checklist and links. Commissioners agreed to explore CLG certification further: staff and commission members will review the state CLG checklist, consider a cost–benefit summary for borough leaders, and collect sample outreach materials to host on Narberth’s planned website redesign. McNish said July is often difficult for travel because of state budget timing, but she offered to provide materials and links by email and to come in person when scheduling permits.

Quotes from other commission members in the presentation: Kevin (the borough zoning officer) and commission members discussed using zoning application intake as an opportunity to distribute preservation guidance to homeowners; Kevin’s involvement was described as an existing touchpoint that could deliver outreach materials to permit applicants.

What remains unresolved: Commissioners asked for a short list of priority documents and templates they could add to a new Narberth web page. McNish agreed to share links to CLG resources, the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions materials, and the state preservation office’s architectural field-guide updates. Commission members also agreed to explore small event budgets for a fall and spring outreach event and to investigate sample trifold brochures used by nearby townships.

Ending note: McNish encouraged the commission to contact her with questions and offered to forward resources and links. She recommended starting early if the commission intends to pursue CLG certification or Keystone grant applications because some programs require National Register eligibility or multistep preparation.