| 2/24/2009 3:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Consultant: City needs preservation expert
New position would focus on preservation efforts, tourism
Peggy Vlerebome
Courier Staff Writer
The City of Madison should consider having a staff person whose job would be to make a stronger connection between the value of historic preservation and the success of tourism, a consultant said Monday night.
Tourism provides 1,000 jobs and brings $50 million a year to the local economy, he said, citing Convention of Visitors Bureau figures. Tourists come to Madison, consultant Phil Thomason said, for the "authenticity of character - the buildings, architectural details."
Historic tourism is "an economic generator you have now and will be for generations to come," he said at a public meeting to discuss guidelines for interpreting Madison's nearly 30-year-old historic district ordinance. About three dozen people, including members of the Historic Board, attended the meeting.
Money for such a city staff position could come from tourism profits, said Thomason, a preservation specialist. "You're getting a lot of revenue from tourism," he said. "Take some of that and dedicate it to preservation."
Thomason has been working for a year on guidelines for preserving, restoring repairing and remodeling buildings in the historic district downtown. He was hired by the Cornerstone Society preservation group.
He said the guidelines are tailored to Madison but are based on the Secretary of Interior's guidelines for historic districts. The basis for those guidelines, he said, is to preserve materials, preserve architectural details, repair when possible and replace only when repairing cannot be done, and repair with like materials and dimensions.
Thomason said there could be some changes to the proposed guidelines discussed Monday after he reviews written comments from several people in Madison, mostly people involved in historic preservation. It is likely a final draft will be available for review before the city Historic Board is asked to approve them.
Historic Board chairman Tony Hertz said attorneys for the city are reviewing the proposed guidelines to tell the board that if it approves and uses the guidelines "will they become part of the ordinance, or can we follow just the ordinance? We don't want to get sued."
Having a city staff person involved with historic preservation has come up before. The Cornerstone Society asked the City Council to put $3,000 in this year's budget to pay for a part-time historic preservation specialist to help property owners and the Historic Board to follow the guidelines.
A majority of council members and the city building inspector, however, criticized the idea and accused Cornerstone President Rich Murray of threatening to have the National Historic District designation revoked if the position was not funded. The council did not put money in the budget for the position.
Murray said he made no such threat, but that he has told city officials the designation could be revoked if guidelines are not in place to be used by people seeking Historic Board approval.
He was echoing what the president of the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana had told an audience in Madison in February 2007. The downtown received the designation in 2006.
The guidelines are intended to be used to interpret what the city's nearly 30-year-old historic district ordinance requires. Thomason, of Thomason & Associates in Nashville, Tenn., said the guidelines will be applicable for homeowners to use as a guide regardless of what happens to them officially.
What Thomason said about tourism differs from what another consultant has said about Madison.
Roger Brooks, who was hired by the Convention and Visitors Bureau with money from a state grant to develop a "brand" for Madison, told an audience in April that historic tourism is not a successful brand for a community.
Instead, he said, it is a secondary reason people visit a place. He said that having noteworthy architecture and a historic district aren't enough to make downtown Madison a successful tourist destination in an increasingly competitive market.
"My guess is you're resting on your laurels a little too much," Brooks said.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Article comment by:
R Murray
You could contact the city building inspector, but the city has NOT felt the need to hire anyone for such a position and the City Council removed the $3000. line item from this year's budget last fall.
Posted: Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Article comment by:
Monna Goforth
Article on Consultant, City needs preservation expert does not mention whom should be contacted to review position requirments. Can you advise me with this contact information?
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