Fort Scott receives $6,000 historic preservation grant

Saturday, March 8, 2008

The Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review awarded the city of Fort Scott $6,000 to help hire a preservation consultant to help them further their quest to create a national registered historic district downtown.

The city is currently proposing a grant project to compile information, photographs and surveys of downtown buildings for historical significance in the hope of creating the historic district, which has been talked about for years in Fort Scott.

The March 11, 2005, downtown fire, which wiped out as many as 10 buildings, forced the city to enter into an agreement with the state historic preservation office regarding the demolition of downtown buildings following the fire.

Some of the structures damaged were historic buildings. As a result, the preservation office workers outlined the highest concentration of intact downtown buildings.

The city intends to hire a preservation consultant who will complete the survey process of designating a downtown historical district with building by building surveys, database of contributing and non-contributing primary and ancillary buildings, photos and owner support. The consultant will also finalize boundaries of the district, gather data, photograph buildings and create GPS maps.

The proposed historic district is directly adjacent to the National Historic Site of Fort Scott.

Fort Scott Economic Development Director Dale Bunn has sent out requests for proposals to identify a consultant, who needs to be in place by June so the project can proceed.

During the selection process, only those consultants who are knowledgeable and demonstrate experience in historic preservation survey work and analysis will be considered.

The professional hired to do so will use information through local records as to identification of owners of the downtown buildings with support of volunteers and the Mayor's Phoenix Commit-tee.

The task will be accomplished through building-by-building surveys and personal invitations to attend public meetings that will be scheduled.

City officials at Tuesday's commission meeting an-nounced the award.