State preservation official outlines grant, outreach and technical support for Narberth

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…