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La Porte preservation commission concurs with Section 106 review for Civic Auditorium elevator; funding identified
Summary
The La Porte Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously Aug. 19 to concur with a Section 106 review for a new elevator at the Civic Auditorium, allowing city staff to proceed with state and federal clearances. The project will be funded with leftover COVID-era CDBG dollars and will not alter the building exterior, commissioners were told.
La Porte Historic Preservation Commission members voted unanimously Aug. 19 to concur with a Section 106 review for installation of a new elevator at the La Porte Civic Auditorium, a step city staff said is required before state and federal agencies will release grant funds.
Mary Ann Richards, the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program manager, told the commission the project qualifies for a Section 106 review under federal rules and that the city is using leftover COVID-era CDBG funds to pay for environmental review and the elevator work. “Community development block grant or otherwise known as CDBG, is funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,” Richards said, and the Section 106 consultation is required “in order to present the request for the release of funds.”
Richards said the elevator has not worked for some time and that the planned installation would make the entire building handicapped accessible without changing the building’s exterior. She told the commission the city needs signed letters of concurrence from consulting parties—such as the commission and state archaeology staff at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources—before HUD will accept the package. “Once I get the letters of concurrence back…if that doesn’t happen, then it’s dead in the water,” Richards said.
Commissioners debated briefly and then moved to record formal concurrence. A motion that “no historic properties will be affected by the installation of a new elevator in the Port City Auditorium” was made and seconded; a roll-call vote recorded four ayes and no dissents, and the motion carried. Commission staff said the interior framing around the elevator will remain in place and that the exterior appearance and historic signage will not be removed.
The commission’s concurrence is a consultative finding required by the Section 106 process; Richards said the city will forward signed concurrence letters to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Archaeology, and then submit the package to HUD’s grant portal. Commission members emphasized accessibility benefits for public programs: the elevator would enable use of the auditorium’s second floor for vaccinations or other public health activities while keeping testing or other functions downstairs.
Next steps described at the meeting: commissioners sign the concurrence form, staff file for the state archaeology concurrence, and then proceed with HUD submission and the environmental review process. No exterior alterations were proposed, and commissioners said they were glad to see progress toward a working elevator.
Votes at a glance
- Motion: “No historic properties will be affected by the installation of a new elevator in the Port City Auditorium.” Outcome: approved (roll-call: Peter Steele — aye; Fonda Owens — aye; Sally — aye; Krista Hurley King — aye).
