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Commission reviews $30,000 preservation grant program and hears residents’ difficulties accessing funds
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Summary
Staff said $30,000 was budgeted for FY26 preservation grants (down from prior years); commissioners expressed concern about low uptake. Public commenters said finding three contractor bids and meeting eligibility rules discouraged applications; the museum announced the water filtration plant will be part of the walking tour.
City staff told the Historic Preservation Commission that $30,000 was budgeted for preservation grants in fiscal year 2026 and that the program reimburses eligible projects up to $10,000. "For fiscal year '26, 30,000 was budgeted," a staff member said. Staff noted eligibility is limited to properties that would be contributing to the historic district after work is completed and that outreach (direct letters to property owners, workshops) has been conducted to promote the grant.
Commissioners said they are concerned that relatively few property owners are applying despite outreach. Commissioner Vivre Hancock said she thought more funds should be used quickly to address at-risk properties. One commissioner suggested interviewing grant recipients to publish their experiences and reduce perceived barriers. "If we only have 4 grants to date, clearly, people in the historic district either don't want to use the grant, aren't aware of the grant, or maybe intimidated by the process," a commissioner said.
During final public comment, Brendon D'Aure described his difficulty using the grant program, saying finding three contractors to provide bids is "excruciatingly hard" and that repair quotes often exceed the $10,000 reimbursement. "Finding 3 contractors to bid ... is excruciatingly hard," D'Aure said, adding that one window quote four years earlier exceeded $20,000. He said he was unsure whether his property would be eligible under the preservation ordinance.
Abba Brown of the Boulder City Hoover Dam Museum said the museum plans to include the water filtration plant on the walking tour and cautioned that listed improvements depend on the museum's budgeting and fundraising schedule. Brandon Smith (staff) suggested additional outreach tools such as interactive maps, QR codes and short video presentations to broaden public awareness beyond the Boulder City magazine readership.
No formal policy change or new funding was approved; staff and commissioners agreed to continue outreach, consider profiling grant recipients and to revisit grant uptake and outreach strategies at a future meeting.
