Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Historic Preservation Mitigation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Historic preservation commission recommends county not sign mitigation agreement; $260,000 set aside in mitigation bank
Summary
The county was briefed on a mitigation plan tied to the removal of two historic bridges; the State Historic Preservation Office, LTAC and the Army Corps will place $260,000 in a mitigation bank available to local nonprofits and the county’s preservation commission, which recommends not concurring on the memorandum negotiated without local input.
Court staff and the Kootenai County Historic Preservation Commission updated commissioners on an agreement among the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LTAC), the State Historic Preservation Office and the Army Corps of Engineers that resolves mitigation for removal of two historic bridges.
Courtney Beebe, speaking for the Historic Preservation Commission, said the Canyon Road bridge (near Cataldo) will be relocated to the city of Star at a projected relocation cost of about $1.3 million, and the Springston bridge (near Harrison) will be removed and destroyed. As mitigation for the Springston loss, LTAC has committed $260,000 in state funds to a mitigation bank, Beebe said. That mitigation bank will accept applications from local historic nonprofits and from the Kootenai County Historic Preservation Commission for projects to offset the loss of historical assets.
Beebe told commissioners the county was not part of negotiation of the memorandum of agreement and that the commission recommends the Board of County Commissioners decline to be a concurring party because the county was excluded from the negotiation process. She added that, regardless of concurrence, local organizations will be able to access the mitigation funds through a grant application process. Beebe also said LTAC agreed to place the Yellowstone Trail on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the overall package.
Why it matters: The mitigation money — state funds controlled by LTAC and the State Historic Preservation Office — is intended to support local historic preservation work to offset the loss of two county historic assets; the choice whether the county signs the memorandum is political and procedural rather than one that determines access to the mitigation payments, the preservation commission said.
Commissioners asked that the finalized memorandum, expected April 4, be forwarded to legal for review. Beebe said the commission will return with a formal recommendation after the finalized agreement is available.
No formal vote was taken at the briefing. The commission’s recommendation is to not sign as a concurring party; staff will forward the final memorandum to legal for review when it is available.
