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HERITAGE
PRESERVATION, INC.
Minutes
of Meeting, 3-21-05
Those present: Betty Champion, Mary Peck, Charlotte
Dean, Hester Cope, Bill McDonald, Lee Freeman, Vince Brewton, Iva McClure,
Billy Warren
- Vince Brewton made the motion that the minutes of
the 2-28-05 meeting be approved. Mary Peck seconded the motion, and it
passed unanimously.
- Billy Warren presented this treasurer’s report:
- Checking Account
balance $6,348.27
- Forks of Cypress Account
balance 3,223.38 + 11.40
Vince Brewton made the
motion that the treasurer’s report be approved. Charlotte Dean seconded
the motion, and it passed unanimously.
- Vince Brewton presented the Board a note of
appreciation for the book which the Board placed in the public library
in memory of his late father.
- Lee Freeman distributed copies of a listing of
possible personages interred in the Florence City Cemetery whose lives
might be highlighted in our Cemetery Stroll. He created the list by
using Pat Mahan’s web site and Bill McDonald’s book, A Walk Through
the Past. After discussion by the group, these agreements were
reached:
- Lee agreed to narrow down the list to 12.
- The dates for the event are Saturday and Sunday,
September 24 and 25.
- The times for the event are 2:00 p.m. – 5:00
p.m. on each of the two days.
- Billy Warren reported that he and other members of
Main Street’s Design Committee met with the Mayor on Monday, March 7, to
present proposed Guidelines for Commercial Buildings in Historic
Districts and proposed Public Art Guidelines. At the Mayor’s request,
he then presented copies of these same documents to all members of the
City Council. The Design Committee is tentatively scheduled to appear
before the City Council on Tuesday, April 5.
- Billy Warren reported a successful T. S. Stribling
Celebration at Wesleyan Hall on the UNA campus on Saturday, March 12.
It took a storytelling format this year with these storytellers
participating:
- Dr. Randy Cross,
- Ms. Sherra Bowling,
- Dr. Bill Foster,
- Dr. Jim Link, and
- Dr. Ben Kitchen.
- Vince Brewton and Hester Cope will make
recommendations regarding an HPI Foundation at the Board’s April
meeting.
- Billy Warren distributed copies of:
- His letter to Mayor Irons (which he also sent to
Dr. William Cale, the president of UNA, and to Mr. Scott Carrier, the
City Councilman who represents District 2),
- A letter from Mayor Irons in response to his
letter, and
- A letter from Dr. Cale in response to his
letter.
Hester Cope reported that,
as a result of these letters, she is scheduled to conduct a tour of the
Shoals Theater building on Wednesday, March 23, for Dr. Cale and other
administrators from UNA.
- Billy Warren reported that William Smith, a local
attorney, plans to communicate with the antiques dealer in Rhode Island
who has for sale a collection of photographs of the construction of
Wilson Dam.
- Hester Cope explained that, throughout the United
States, there are discrepancies between local building codes for
commercial buildings and the requirements of the National Park Service
regarding the 20% tax credit for restoration projects. Tom Kaufmann,
the design specialist on the staff of the Alabama Main Street program,
has succeeded in assembling some nationally-known authorities for a
workshop/conference on this topic. It is the first such
workshop/conference to be held in America! It is scheduled for November
10 and 11 in Decatur. Hester solicited the group’s support for this
import event.
- Hester Cope:
- Distributed copies of a list of businesses that
have recently opened in downtown Florence;
- Reported that the marina at Florence Harbor has
been sold to a young couple from Louisville, Kentucky; and
- Distributed copies of a new brochure, “Antiques
and Art in Historic Downtown Florence.”
- Vince Brewton reported that Will Stutts’s one-man
show on Edgar Allan Poe netted $1,500 for the Lindsey Stricklin Memorial
Scholarship. Vince agreed to find out the current balance in that
scholarship fund.
- Lee Freeman reported that descendants of the
notorious Tom Clark are planning a reunion in Florence in September,
2005.
- Billy Warren stated that he conducted a very
enjoyable walking tour on March 15 for students in Dr. Koti’s Geography
class at UNA. The tour included structures on upper North Court Street
and the two Sears, Roebuck houses on North Seminary Street.
- Bill McDonald recommended that HPI revive the
Silver Pen Award at UNA that Lindsey Stricklin personally sponsored. It
was awarded annually to the student in English 112-120 who wrote the
best research paper. Vince Brewton agreed to discuss this award with
his colleagues in the English Department and to report to the Board at
the April meeting.
- Billy Warren reported that he met recently with a
group of Riverview Drive residents who wish to pursue National Register
status for this fine neighborhood. A follow-up meeting of those
residents is to occur this week.
- Hester Cope presented a request from Mary Page who
is moving her business, High Cotton, from Tuscumbia to Court Street in
one portion of the former Eva Marie’s location. The request was for a
$200 grant for façade improvement. Charlotte Dean made the motion that
the grant be approved. Vince Brewton seconded the motion, and it passed
unanimously.
- Bill McDonald reported that he recently received a
request from the public library in South Bend, Indiana, for a copy of
the video, “Follow the River.” Bill sent the library a copy gratis.
- Billy Warren stated that he will contact the
Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Bureau to see if the Bureau will assist in
funding the reprinting of our Historic District brochure.
- Billy Warren distributed copies of the current
list of HPI Board of Directors – which also includes U.S. Mail
addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of each person.
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