Tanana Yukon Historical Society

Your Fairbanks Historical Society Since 1959

October 1998 Newsletter
Vol. 3, No. 10

Index

• Creamer's Dairy National Historic Site Gets Money!
• TEA-21 becomes law.
• Transportation and Community System Pilot Program Underway
• President's Corner
• Historic Homeowner Tax Credit
• Editor's Corner
• TYHS Board of Directors
• The BookShelf
• Developer Knows Best

The National Trust for Historic Preservation Makes the Difference

Creamer's Dairy National Historic Site Gets Money!

Creamer's Dairy National Historic Site has been awarded $498,000 in ISTEA funds to stabilize the historic barns. Friends of Creamer's Field, The National Trust of Historic Preservation, the Tanana-Yukon Historical Society and others have labored hard over the last few years to get the ISTEA funds restored to Creamer's National Historic Site. It took a Preservation Services Grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to make it happen. With the grant, Friends of Creamer's were able to acquire the services of Dave Ciolek, a barn restoration specialist from Michigan. The final report brought the cost of stabilization into focus, enabling the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to provide the needed funding.

While the monies will cover the cost of initial stabilization of the barns, more money is needed to make the barns accessible to the public. In the interim, planning can go forward on the multi-purpose use of the facility, and the surrounding area can be cleaned up to make it more user friendly, and a plan for a future storage facility can be done by the ADF&G so the barn will be available for its higher purpose as an interpretive facility for our community's history.

TEA-21 becomes law. Enhancements make transportation corridors more attractive to the affected community. With the passage of ISTEA and reconfirmed with the passage of TEA-21 it is now possible, for example, to create scenic or historic corridors that preserve and enhance scenic, historical and community values, using a mix of historic preservation, scenic easements, pedestrian walkways, scenic parks, and other enhancements as an integral part of projects to create new or rehabilitated road or transportation systems.

Transportation and Community System Pilot Program Underway The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) establishes the Transportation and Community System Preservation Pilot Program (TCSP) which provides funding for planning grants, implementation grants, and research to investigate and address the relationship between transportation and land use planning. Eligibility Requirements and Activities: States, local governments, and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are eligible for discretionary grants for the following purposes: to plan and implement strategies which improve the efficiency of the transportation system. to reduce environmental impacts of transportation. to reduce the cost for costly future public impact infrastructure investments to ensure efficient access to jobs, services, and centers of trade, and examining development patterns and identifying strategies to encourage pri vate sector development patterns which achieve these goals. The Federal Highway Administration will be publishing guidance on this new program in the near future, and historic preservationists who are working on the connection between transportation investments and sprawl may want additional information on this promising pilot program. For further information on the TCSP Program, please call Dan Costello at 202-588-6167.

President's Corner--

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is busily preparing to implement the new TEA-21, the successor to ISTEA, and this is a perfect time for the Fairbanks Historical Commission, the Fairbanks City Council and the assembly of the Fairbanks North Star Borough to discuss the enhancement program in general and historic preservation in particular.

A program that takes into account the unique qualities of our historic structures along transportation corridors and the effect such corridors can have on the fragile environments of our neighborhoods ideally would be a major concern for our DOT/PF officials. Our elected officials, whether on the local or state level, must be reminded that historic preservation enhancements are crucial considerations for the quality of community.

In our state, historic preservation's role in transportation issues is not easily comprehended. Agencies, if not outright indifferent to historic enhancement proposals, have other priorities (such as trails) which consume the bulk of state enhancement allocations. While more trails are certainly a welcome enhancement, they seldom require the urgent attention that is often inherent to historic preservation projectsó nor do they yield the immediate, almost instantaneous benefits to community which a historic preservation project can impart.

In Alaska, preservation projects funded with ISTEA monies have had a rocky history. The point system used by Transportation officials to prioritize projects was developed with new construction in mind and when applied to preservation projects comes with a natural discrimination. Their staff training does not include rehabilitation projects as a rule. Agencies accustomed to building roads have a reluctance to focus on the need of historic preservation as an important feature along our transportation corridors. There is also a pervasive unwillingness to tap into available expertise either on the local or state level which is unfortunate. A change in the way committee members are selected may therefore make a world of difference. The historic preservation community needs to have a presence on selection committees.

There is also a lot of confusion in the process used to determine qualification of projects. It would be most helpful to both the community and the Dept. of Transportation if ADOT were to develop a format to educate potential sponsors about the TEA-21 program and to assist in developing high quality programs. This would help to avoid conflicts that result from hastily prepared proposals and also would encourage state officials to become acquainted with certain community needs. Efforts made by DOT to educate the local community on potential historic and cultural resource enhancement projects and to assist in developing better proposals would go a long way toward making TEA-21 a success.

Historic buildings are often unique landmarks and establish the essential character of place. ADOT/PF needs to consider the preservation of the built environment and its potential role in stimulating economic development while maintaining community character.

The role of preservation within the state's preservation program will depend on the decisions ADOT/PF is making now. If we are to take full advantage of the financial resources provided by TEA-21 the historic preservation community has to become involved now in the selection process.

ADOT should make a concerted effort to educate the local community about proposals for the TEA-21 cultural enhancement projects and invite informed participation. This would go a long way toward making TEA-21 a success.

Historic Homeowner Tax Credit !!!

This pending legislation deserves all our support. If passed, the legislation would provide similar tax credits to owners of historic homes as is now enjoyed by owners of historic properties used for business purposes. This legislation would be a boon for downtown property owners in Fairbanks and throughout Alaska. Your support is needed.

EDITOR'S CORNER

Last month your Editor (and his devoted staff) journeyed to Dawson, Yukon Territory. It is far afield but seems appropriate to discuss here since our history is closely tied to the Dawson area. Your Editor remembers when the capital was moved to Whitehorse and it is inspiring to see how the Canadians have stopped the dete- rioration of their town and are restoring many structures to their former elegance. The Commissioner's Residence, which has been restored to its 1914 grandeur is period-correct and has nearly 85% of its original furnishings. Equally impressive are new structures that are sympathetic to the neighborhood. One that comes to mind is the visitor's center, which is a reproduction of the Alaska Commercial Company building. It includes the axe marks of the hand-hewn, pre-power tool era one likes to see, and yet it is recent construction (1985). Parks Canada/Parcs Canada really deserves commendation for their commitment to preserving the past. Dawson is an excellent example of the compatibility of economic development and historic preservation. Fairbanks could learn a great deal from Dawson.

There is a lot to do in the Dawson area, and it is a comfortable one-day drive from Fairbanks. Next time we hope to take the round trip by boat from Dawson to Eagle.

TYHS BOARD 455-TYHS Renee Blahuta President 457-6165 Ron Inouye Vice President 474-2812 Mary Mangusso Treasurer 479-4195 Candy Waugaman Secretary 479-2812 Oliver Backlund Editor 479-2632 Susan Grigg 479-3359 Ruth Knapman 457-6380 Donna Krier 457-5889 Roger McPherson 458-0567 Evolyn Melville 488-2679 Patricia Peirsol 479-8668 Adele Virgin 474-0509

Preservation Chips From Around the Nation Tennessee Enacts Growth Boundaries Legislation Georgia Enacts Comprehensive Historic Preservation Legislation Connecticut Legislation Takes Aim at Road Design Standards Washington Tax Incentives Spur Rehab of Housing in Downtown Areas The Bookshelf Better Models for Superstores: Alternatives to Big Box Sprawl! A "must" reading for Fairbanks City Boosters. How can we persuade national retailers to invest in downtown? A 57-point guide describes what steps can be taken in the right direction by superstores such as Walmart. For example, superstores can work cooperatively with a City/Borough Design Review Committee to design attractive new buildings that fit nicely into older downtown areas or be persuaded to locate into an empty downtown department store. Better Models summarizes the results of an economic study on the effect of outlying superstores on downtown. Better Models urges communities to write plan and zoning ordinances that support downtown revitalization goals. Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation This is the book every realtor has been waiting for. A new study, Preservation and Property Values in Indiana, was recently released by the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana. The study concludes that there are no adverse effects on property values that are located in historic districts; and furthermore, that historic districts do not deny private owners the right to fully enjoy the appreciation of a property in the private market.

Developer Knows Best--City Council Says

On October 12, the Fairbanks City Council approved the sale of Block 13, between First and Second Avenues, to Town Square Properties of Anchorage. Leonard Hyde, one of the partners in the development company, expressed his desire to include a list of community concerns in his project, but to date, there is no formal binding agreement on just which concerns shall be addressed.

The lack of guidance for Block 13 development by the City of Fairbanks and the Fairbanks NorthStar Borough is regrettable. Several individuals brought up as "worst scenario" the example of the Key Bank building when expressing their fear in granting the developer carte blanc. Many persons spoke to this issue during public testimony including Renee Blahuta and Kelley Hegarty Lammars, chairperson of the Chena Riverfront Commission. Most of the concerns expresssed could be grouped into the following categories:

1. That the structure reflect the cultural heritage of our town; that it be a handsome building with retail space and traditional access from both First and Second Avenue; that there be a height restriction.
2. That exterior spaces including sidewalks and parking lots be well and attractively illuminated. Blahuta commented on the need for setbacks to allow widening of sidewalks.
3. That building and parking areas have well-designed entrance and exit routes; or, in the event that the owner plans to build an underground garage, that the appearance and functionality of entrance and egress into the street be a top design priority.
4. That the building contain retail space.
5. That the parking lot be paved and attractively landscaped and illuminated.

Look for more on Block 13 in the November newsletter.

The Tanana-Yukon Historical Society is published monthly September - May and occasionally during the summer. Subscriptions are $10.00 (includes annual membership). Mail to TYHS, P. O. Box 71336, Fairbanks, Alaska 99707-1336. Submissions for possible publication to Backlund, PO Box 82349, Fairbanks, AK 99708-2349 or e-mail to kestrels@alaska.net