BUCKS COUNTY CONSORTIUM

Thursday, January 5, 2006

Meeting Minutes

A meeting of the Bucks County Consortium was held at the historic Moland House, Warwick Township on January 6, 2006. The following individuals were present:

Preliminary Remarks

Jeff Vey called the meeting to order, announced the morning's agenda, and thanked Warwick Township for sponsoring the January meeting of the Bucks County Consortium.

Approval of Minutes

Eileen Bradley made a motion, seconded by Mark Fournier, to approve the Minutes of 6 October 2005. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report

The Treasurer’s Report for December was presented.

A motion was made by Joseph Czajkowski, and seconded by John Cornelius, to approve the Treasurer’s Report for December. Motion carried.

Presentation: “Historical Preservation ”

Jeff Marshall of the Heritage Conservancy presented. Mr. Marshall, the Conservancy’s Vice-President of Resource Protection, is a planner and historic preservationist with over twenty-five years of combined experience in land protection and historic preservation. He is actively involved in administering the Conservancy’s conservation easement and façade easement programs with expertise in the employment of protection strategies for significant resources. He gives public education programs and acts as a preservation advocate throughout the County. Numerous articles have been published on his endeavors in the preservation field. Mr. Marshall discussed various aspects of historical preservation including: identifying Bucks County properties of historical significance, the historical preservation process, and grants.

Mr. Marshall notified members that the Conservancy has a twelve page synopsis of municipal historic preservation. This document is available to members. To obtain a copy contact him at 215.345.7020, ext. 113.

Mr. Marshall discussed the term “smart growth”. He stated that the term includes the idea that cultural resources are an integral part of the planning and growth process. The process begins with leaders taking a cultural inventory – identifying those cultural assets that are being taken for granted, and determining those that the community can’t afford to lose. He stated that the Heritage Conservancy can be retained to complete a cultural resources survey.

Mr. Marshall summarized the history of cultural resources surveys. He stated that there are examples of important resources that were missed in prior surveys. He identified several from the 1930’s and 1940’s.

Once the survey is completed he stated that there are many ways to protect identified resources and to promote their preservation. He highlighted several important steps, and these included the following: giving an award to recognize those who worked on preservation projects, enacting a preservation ordinance, creatively using other funding sources or “other people’s money”, placing a historical marker, creating a house genealogy, establishing structural design guidelines, researching successful preservation programs on the Internet, etc. Several examples of each of these steps were provided.

Mr. Marshall then focused his presentation on whether or not a community would benefit by having a historic preservation ordinance. If a municipality decides to enact such an ordinance there are several items that should be included. These are a statement of purpose, methods of enforcement, a provision for recognizing achievement, etc. He explained how the ordinance may interact with the subdivision and land development process, and provided an example of this in terms of barn preservation ordinances.

In the discussion of barn preservation ordinances areas covered included why barns made a community unique, why it made people want to live in the community, what makes barns obsolete, an example of identifying and rewarding barn preservationists, grant availability for barn preservation ordinances, the importance of having an ordinance in place before the commencement of the subdivision process, etc. Mr. Marshall stated that he is available to educate municipalities about historic barns, and has a document available to members titled “Giving Barns New Life”. It is available to members, and can be obtained by contacting Mr. Marshall.

Bob Pellegrino and Linda McNeill asked about the costs of funding a cultural resources study. Mr. Marshall stated that one source is the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Jeff Vey reported on historic preservation in Milford Township which included “demolition by neglect”, developer interaction, opt-in/opt-out provisions, etc. Mark Fournier reported on historic preservation in Telford Borough which includes the interaction of its Main Street program with historic preservation, façade easements, etc.

Jeff Vey asked that members forward historical related ordinances for placement on the Consortium website.

New & Old Business

Richard Sabol stated that the next meeting would be held at Doylestown Borough on 2 February 2006. One of the speakers would be Mr. Kligos of Sunoco, Inc. who would present on upcoming changes to the Consortium fuel bidding. Changes include changes in the diesel fuel specifications and a variable rate up to the moment of the Consortium member’s fixed price lock-in.

Mark Fournier made a motion, seconded by Joe Czajkowski, to elect Gail Weniger as President, Dave Drye as Vice-President, and Jeff Vey as Second Vice-President. Motion carried.

Adjourn

Tom Scott made a motion, seconded by Joe Czajkowski to adjourn the January meeting of the Bucks County Consortium @ approximately 10:10AM. Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

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