Thurston County Historic Commission ranking and recommendations for the 2025 Heritage Grant Program applicants were revealed at a Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) work session on Monday, November 18.
Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) Director Ashley Arai and Interim Community Planning Manager Andy Deffobis presented the program background and ranking list to the commissioners.
The Heritage Grant Program (HGP) funds projects that assist in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of Thurston County’s historic assets, the agenda packet stated.
Historic Preservation funds are acquired through a document recording fee of $1 per recorded document and are used to fund county projects and programs that protect and preserve historic assets.
“The purpose of this fund is to provide money to assist in projects that promote Thurston County heritage and history. There's state laws on the books that require the county to collect a dollar from recording fees from the Auditor’s office and those monies are put into a historic preservation fund,” said Deffobis.
The Historic Preservation Fund was first enacted in 2009, and the Historic Commission developed a historic preservation grant program to utilize this funding.
The county commissioners annually decide the direction in which heritage projects are funded and the level of funding of each, guided by the Historic Commission’s recommendations.
Around $511,000 in Historic Preservation Funds have been awarded to 42 non-profits and cities to complete 108 historic preservation projects since 2010.
The HGP for 2025 opened applications in August this year. Nine official applications were received, totaling $173,250 in grant funds.
Deffobis said that applicants are nonprofit organizations and one city. The Historic Commission reviewed and ranked each.
The Historic Commission looks at whether an organization’s project aligns with the county's goals of historic preservation, its influence on the public's experience with local history, economic benefits, project completion using best practice standards, and whether it has measurable outcomes and immediate need.
There are seven eligible projects for the HGP funds this 2025. Besides these, the Provide Emergency Shelter for the Gate Community Area project was deemed ineligible by the Historic Commission, and the commission plans to ask the county commissioners to find alternative funding for the $96,000 Heritage Hall Restoration Project.
For 2025, the project ranking list is topped by the Ticknor Schoolhouse Re-roof Project sponsored by the City of Tenino which the ranking committee scored 96.75. The project costs $12,430 and Tenino requested $10,000 from the HGP.
With a rating of 95.25, the second project on the list is the Abigail Stuart House Repair by The Woman's Club of Olympia, set to cost $30,000. The Woman's Club requested $10,000 from the HGP.
The third project is repairs to the YWCA Olympia organization building. This project received a score of 91.00. The project’s total cost is $15,470; the YWCA requested $10,000 from the HGP.
The fourth project is the Archeological Survey of Bigelow House Museum property with a rating of 88.00. The project sponsored by the Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum is to cost $18,903 in total and asks $10,000 from the funds.
With a rating of 87.50, the fifth project on the list is the Olympia Tumwater Foundation’s Enhancing Educational Experiences at Schmidt House, costing $15,000 of which the foundation requested $10,000 from the HGP.
The sixth project is Community Roots, sponsored by Window Seat Media, with a score of 85.90. The project’s total cost is $61,908, of which Window Seat requested $10,000 from the HGP.
The seventh project is The Faces of Olympia by the Olympia Arts & Heritage Alliance, with a score of 85.00. The project cost will be $19,800; the nonprofit requested $7,000 from the HGP.
The Historic Commission reviewed the applications and provided two recommendations:
1) Fund some or all eligible projects, with the following options:
2) The Historic Commission requested that the Board of County Commissioners explore options outside of the Heritage Grant Program to fully fund the Heritage Hall restoration project (estimated at $96,000), with the recognition that this county-owned asset is an integral piece of the Thurston County Fairgrounds and is a structure with significant historic and community value.
The commissioners are set to discuss the two recommendations again at another meeting soon.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here