Grand Island preservation group prioritizes CLG status, smokehouse and village buildings

Grand Island preservation volunteers and members of the Grand Island Historical Society met to set priorities for the coming year, focusing on pursuing Certified Local Government status, protecting an historic farmstead and several at-risk structures, and coordinating town-level support for grants and preservation work.

Those in attendance identified four near-term priorities: seek CLG (Certified Local Government) designation; work toward protection and a long-term plan for an old farmstead the group described as a candidate for community ownership or a legal transfer; stabilize or relocate an historic smokehouse the group believes is the island's oldest building; and conserve buildings and the character of Ferry Village (also called Berry or Fairy Village), including the Rose Cottage.

Why it matters: CLG designation at the town level is a prerequisite, participants said, for many local preservation tools and for making property owners eligible for certain state and federal programs, tax credits, and…