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Director’s Report Action Items. 1. The Commission has voted to delay consideration of Bryant Park for landmarks designation status until the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department has had an opportunity to meet with the Commission Staff to consider the matter. The Parks and Recreation Staff has submitted the attached letter requesting that the Commission's consideration of this matter be delayed. Click here to read the letter. The action before the Commission is to consider whether you wish to honor the Parks and Recreation Department's request. Staff Recommendation: Continue discussions with the Parks and Recreation Department. Information Items. 1. The demolition of the house on the lot to which the Grier Rea House will be moved has been completed. The site preparation work is underway, and the Grier Rea House should be moved to the property at the end of January. 2. The bid package for the pavilion building at the Davidson Schoolhouse at Rural Hill is being circulated to contractors. Construction on the building should begin next month. 3. The construction drawings for the Rozzell House have been submitted to the North Carolina Division of Archives and History for review, so that Federal and State tax credits might be available for the restoration. Stewart Gray will be working on the National Register of Historic Places application form for the property. 4. The restoration of the exterior of the W. T. Alexander House is nearing completion. The Commission will be moving forward with marketing this property. 5. All is on schedule for a closing on the Palmer Fire School in late February. Bryan Turner and I continue work with Pat Nystrom to assure that all due diligence requirements are met. 6. Meca Properties reports that the Commission might be receiving an offer on the Croft Schoolhouse in the next couple of weeks. Of course, I will keep the Commission informed as this process moves forward. 7. Discussions continue with respect to the future of the Southern Public Utilities Streetcar Barn at South Bland St. and South Blvd. It is still unclear as to how the matter will be resolved. Lisa Grey has become the Executive Director of Charlotte Trolley. 8. Staff is completing a matching survey grant that will be submitted by January 31st to the North Carolina Division of Archives and History. Signage will be the principal focus of the survey if it is funded. 9. Staff continues to have discussions with the prospective buyers of the McAuley House. 10. I am obligated to give an annual report at each January meeting of the Commission. Here are my thoughts on the status of the Commission. Click here to review annual report. a. The Design Review process for the Commission is working well. Owners are satisfied with the Commission’s handling of Applications for Certificates of Appropriateness. The only concern is that some owner’s continue to make unauthorized alterations to properties. Staff is sending letters to those owners whose activities come to our attention. b. The Designation Process for Historic Landmarks continues to work well even with the increased volume which has occurred in the last two years. The Survey and Research Reports are routinely placed on the website. c. The Commission’s public awareness program continues to be effective. Publicity for the work of the Commission has been plentiful, even beyond that generated by the Grier Rea House. The event at the Good Samaritan Hospital Marker Ceremony was a great success. Finally, the website continues to be successful, and, happily, it is now under the complete control of the Commission’s staff. d. The Projects activities of the Commission have increased substantially with the increased funding provided by the County. Again, I feel that the process is working well. The prospective sale of the Palmer Fire School is a real breakthrough. The restoration of the W. T. Alexander Plantation, the Charlotte Cotton Mills, and the impending restoration of the Grier-Rea House, the Sidney and Ethel Grier House, the Rozzell House, and the Pavilion Building at Rural Hill will occupy much of Bryan Turner’s energies in the upcoming months. There are two comments I would make with respect to the Projects Program of the HLC. They are: 1) remember that the primary purpose of the fund is to save historic resources, not to make money; and 2) the surveys conducted by the Commission should form the essential database of potential projects. Respectfully submitted
Dan L. Morrill
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