The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) has awarded $113,650 in Certified Local Government (CLG) grants to help municipalities with a wide array of heritage preservation activities.
Among the projects funded are educational workshops for the public, architectural surveys and training and technical assistance for Historic Architectural Review Boards (HARBs).
PHMC awarded nine grants selected from 11 eligible applications. Grant amounts range from $3,750 to $23,600 and require a 50/50 match from the municipality. Grants are awarded through a competitive selection process.
The Certified Local Government program is a decentralized partnership among the federal government, states and local governments. PHMC administers the National Park Service’s (NPS) grant program.
CLG grants support cultural resource surveys, National Register nominations, historic preservation planning, staffing and training, pooling grants and third-party administration.
To become certified, a local government must meet several requirements. Most importantly, it must have enacted a historic preservation ordinance and appointed a historic district (or preservation commission) with at least two members who meet NPS professional qualification standards.
One of the benefits of certification is a local government’s eligibility to compete annually for CLG grant funds. Every year, the commonwealth makes at least 10 percent of its annual apportionment of the Historic Preservation Fund available to CLGs meeting minimum requirements. There are currently 45 CLGs in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
MEDIA CONTACT: Howard Pollman, 717-705-8639
Editor’s Note: The following is a list of Certified Local Government Grant Awards by municipality.
City of Allentown - $10,000
Funds will be used to hire a consultant to provide guidance and administrative assistance for the Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) District.
City of Bradford - $3,750
Funds will be used to hire a consultant to develop design guidelines for the local historic district.
Borough of Gettysburg - $23,600
Funds will support year two of the central Pennsylvania CLG circuit rider program for the boroughs of Gettysburg, Mercersburg and Bellefonte. The circuit rider program will allow for joint training, development of local preservation priorities, and help to increase the capacity of each borough’s local preservation program.
City of Lancaster - $15,000
Funds will be used to support a Historical Preservation Specialist position to provide technical and administrative assistance to the city, Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB), Historical Commission and property owners as well as conduct a workshop for contractors.
Township of Lower Merion - $12,000
Funds will be used to hire a consultant to update the township’s historic resource inventory.
City of Pittsburgh - $18,000
Funds will be used to hire a consultant to conduct phase 3 of the city’s architectural survey of a priority neighborhood as identified in the City’s Cultural Heritage Plan for incorporation into the city and PHMC geographic information systems (GIS).
City of Reading - $15,000
Funds will be used to hire a consultant to provide guidance and administrative assistance for the Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) Districts and to update the city’s historic resource inventory.
City of Williamsport - $ 4,300
Funds will be used to conduct educational workshops for the public and fund a historic preservation specialist to administer the city’s local preservation program.
City of York - $12,000
Funds will be used to hire a consultant to provide guidance and administrative assistance for the Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) District.
###