HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
P.O. Box 65
Accord, NY 12404

Minutes

Monday, February 27, 2017 at 1:00 p.m.

Members Present: Alice Cross (President), Frank Dannecker, Elaine Laflamme, Ward Mintz, Alice Schoonmaker, Howard Kagan.
Others Present: Neil Larson, Historian; Lynn Archer, Chair of HARP
Absent: Carl Chipman as Town Board Liaison

Call to Order – Alice Cross called the meeting to order at 1:08.

Minutes – Minutes from November 14th discussed.

Action – Ward Mintz moved to approve the November Minutes. Howard Kagan seconded the motion. All approved.
Correspondence
A. Cross sent C. Chipman a letter about the invoice for the Palentown signs; the funds for the signs were to come out of the 2016 HPC budget as well as N. Larson’s invoice for $2500 for Phase I of his study. A. Cross mentioned a note from Walter Levy about speaking to Zali Win about $250 grant.
Historic District Designation Project
The Historic District Designation Project is divided into three phases.
Phase I – develop a statement and documentation to solicit opinion from the State.
W. Mintz asked what the significance of the opinion is. N. Larson – New York’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) determines eligibility for designation as a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The next step is to submit the document prepared by N. Larson to SHPO for a formal response.
Phase II – Expand on the properties in the district, conduct research and draft rough outline of the historic resources.
Phase III – Develop National Register Application.
N. Larson distributed a map of the proposed Historic District and discussed his decision not to take it across Rte. 209; Accord is the core of the Historic District. Discussion of boundaries ensued. N. Larson noted that we
2
are dealing with 20th Century properties and that 50 year-old buildings could be contributing properties.
Tourism and agriculture are factors. The Rondout Valley stands out for its agricultural history; there are reasons
why farms in the Rondout Valley are intact into the 20th Century and this is exemplified in the Town of
Rochester. Discussion of canal, bridge, and creameries ensued. W. Mintz volunteered to edit the document
before it is sent to SHPO.
Historic Preservation Tax Credits discussed. The state residential tax credit is affected by median income and
TOR has a high median. There is an economic ceiling placed on tax credits.
Discussion returned to properties to be included in Historic District. Board suggested some additional
properties. N. Larson noted that including the cemetery could complicate the process. It was agreed that A.
Cross would gather comments and send them to N. Larson and N. Larson would send the final report to Albany.
Comments are to be sent to A. Cross by the end of the week. (N. Larson left the meeting).
Hamlet of Accord Revitalization Project (HARP) –
L. Archer reported that after a couple of false starts, the project is now on track with its goals. The last meeting
she chaired helped the group to focus on what needs to be done to pull the project together. Tasks include conducting
an inventory of Brownfield properties to be used in a meeting between L. Archer, E. Laflamme and
Floyd Lattin and the county to discuss options, including transferring the properties to a public sector company.
The group will be exploring ways for the county to foreclose on these vacant and abandoned properties. L.
Archer noted that HARP is at a critical juncture. The next step is to get three or four bids from planners to conduct
a feasibility study. Also, the zoning laws must be enforced if Main Street is to be revitalized. Legislation
is in place but courts are not enforcing citations. Steve Farnell is conducting a survey of those courts that are
not enforcing the zoning citations. It was also noted that the grant for sewer service to the Hamlet was denied.
Misc.
The Board expressed an interest in revisiting a CLG law.
Next Meeting – Monday, March 20, 2017 at 1:00 p.m., Town Hall (meeting was
subsequently cancelled).
Adjournment – motion made by Ward Mintz, seconded by Alice Schoonmaker and passed by all.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine Laflamme, Recording Secretary