Heritage Advisory Board recommends $12,500 in small grants; county attorney clarifies mural rules for facade funding

The Board of County Commissioners on July 14 reviewed Heritage Advisory Board recommendations that would send two small grants to formal consideration: a $10,000 award for a train restoration project and a $2,500 award for exterior repair work to the Elks building.

Legal eligibility and limits: Jay, a county staff member who reviewed the advisory board recommendation, advised commissioners on what the heritage funds can and cannot be used for. "Restoration of a historic building can be repaired, restored, and maintained, but the creation, basically, visual arts...the creation of a mural itself or a painting on the building is not eligible for heritage funds, but painting, maintaining, scraping, power washing is," Jay said. He added that preparing a surface for a mural with grant funds would not be acceptable, but later adding a mural at the group's own expense would be allowed after maintenance work funded by heritage dollars.

Commissioner support and next steps: Commissioners indicated support for the eligible portions of the Elks application and for the train restoration recommendation. One commissioner said, "When I first read that Elk's application, I thought, oh, this is just about a mural, and really it's not the, repair, power washing, and painting, which they show pictures. It's just maintaining a historic building." County staff said they will combine the two awards into a single resolution and place it on the next regular meeting consent agenda for formal approval.

No formal award was passed on July 14; the Heritage Advisory Board's recommendations and staff eligibility guidance were presented to commissioners for action at a later meeting.