Benton County historic commission sets Jan. 29 deadline, asks consultant to add historic photos to driving-tour booklet

The Benton County Historic Resources Commission directed staff and a small working group to finalize the county driving‑tour booklet’s text and requested that the consultant add historic photographs and remove or flag stops that cannot be seen from the road.

Commissioners said the consultant, Eric, is waiting for finalized copy before laying out the design in InDesign, and that changes to add photos or substantially reorganize stops will increase production work. Commission members agreed to assemble edits and a short list of prioritized photos and submit final text for approval at the commission’s Jan. 29 meeting.

The commission’s staff member said the consultant prefers clean text to copy into the layout. Commissioners discussed two practical options: (1) form a three‑person working group to mark up the PDF visually and translate those markups into final text, or (2) have individual members use tracked changes in the Word document and consolidate the edits. Several members volunteered to help, and the commission agreed to a timeline that would allow the consultant to proceed once the text is finalized.

Members emphasized stronger visual content. One commissioner said historical “then‑and‑now” photos would make the booklet more useful for people who drive or walk the routes and suggested using archival photos when available. Commissioners also suggested adding a short notice in the booklet to indicate when a listed resource cannot be viewed from the public right‑of‑way so users are not misled.

Staff reported there is up to $1,500 available from prior public information office funding to finish the driving‑tour project if additional design work is needed. The commission asked staff to compile a photo hopper and to coordinate with the consultant on whether extra pages or layout changes would be required.

Next steps: commissioners will collect and submit edits and suggested historic images to the working group; the working group will translate PDF markups into clean Word copy for the consultant; and the commission will consider the finished text and layout at the Jan. 29 meeting for formal approval.