Hi Ken and all,
Thank you, Ken, for being part of this experiment.
By my guess, our volunteer outreach and "kamikaze" efforts helped anywhere
in the range of 50-150 persons in New Orleans connect with this state grants
opportunity (http://www.crt.state.la.us/hp/HBGrants.htm). Some of those who
came to the clinic mentioned they were suffering from "application fatigue."
They've applied for numerous Katina-related government and nonprofit
programs, and without our help, couldn't have lifted another pen to another
piece of paper.
I have an interesting postscript: Apparently, the final tally was 1800
applications received for the preservation grants!! I find this high number
an incredibly hopeful sign -- in spite of all the frustrations and
roadblocks of the last year, property owners in historic neighborhoods still
want to rebuild.
I also imagine that a good percentage found out about the grants through
word of mouth, and didn't let the challenge of a short window of time to
apply, estimating preservation work, etc. intimidate them. Skilled
contractors may end up being impossible to find, estimates may be a kamikaze
guess, but any grant application that gets one possibly closer to the dream
of being back home in New Orleans is powerful motivation indeed.
The LA-SHPO is now looking for persons to serve as grant evaluators, and
more information is below for those who may be close enough to Louisiana to
do this.
All the best, and Happy Holidays,
AA
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HISTORIC BUILDING RECOVERY GRANT PROGRAM
Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office – Division of Historic
Preservation
Office of Cultural Development
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism
Office of the Lt. Governor, State of Louisiana
GRANT EVALUATORS
The Historic Building Recovery Grant Program (HBRGP) in the Division of
Historic
Preservation, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture,
Recreation and Tourism
and the Office of the Lt. Governor seek nominations for Grant Evaluators to
review eligible grant
applications for restoring, preserving, or restoring architectural character
to hurricane damaged
and affected historic buildings. The HBRGP is seeking individuals with
professional
qualifications in the fields of historic preservation, preservation
construction and building trades,
or community representatives knowledgeable in historic preservation
standards and guidelines.
Grant Evaluators will receive an honorarium of $500. Grant reviews will be
conducted in mid-
January 2007.
The HBRGP will solicit interest from recognized professionals in the field
of historic
preservation, preservation construction and building trades, and from
community representatives.
All nominations will be reviewed and selected for participation according to
a) professional
qualifications, b) direct or potential conflict of interest, c) geographic
and diverse representation,
and d) availability.
All applications to the Historic Building Recovery Grant Program will
undergo a two-step grant
review process. Staff will review each application for completeness and
eligibility. Grant
Evaluators will evaluate applications and determine which applications will
be funded according
to established selection criteria as approved by the National Park Service.
Grant Evaluation
teams will award points on how well applications meet the selection
criteria.
If you are interested in submitting a nomination to be a Grant Evaluator,
please submit a letter of
interest and/or resume by email to [log in to unmask] or by
mail to: Dabne
Whitemore, Division of Historic Preservation, P.O. Box 44247, Baton Rouge,
LA 70804-4247.
For more information, please contact Dabne Whitemore at 225-342-0685 or call
the Historic
Building Grants Call Center toll free at 866-402-7043.
IMPORTANT: Conflict of Interest Statement
The Division of Historic Preservation adheres to the Louisiana Code of
Governmental Ethics
which states that a) no evaluator may be an applicant nor may any member of
his/her immediate
family be an applicant and/or b) no evaluator, member of his/her immediate
family, or legal
entity in which s/he has a substantial economic interest shall bid on or
enter into or be in any way
interested in any contract, subcontract, or other transaction, which is
under the supervision or
jurisdiction of the Historic Building Recovery Grant Program.
--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>
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