Gov. Blunt Announces Grants Available for Historic Courthouses and Public Buildings

Gov. Blunt Announces Grants Available for Historic Courthouses and Public Buildings Governor Blunt's Office - Press Release             JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt announced today the availability of grants to help preserve Missouri's heritage and revitalize historic city centers. Gov. Blunt announced the grant program last fall.             The second round of grants awarded by the Missouri Heritage Properties Program will award $1 million in grants to help preserve historic publicly owned buildings, with an emphasis on historic courthouses.           "Missouri's county courthouses are important anchors in the heart of our communities and serve as the center of civic life," Gov. Blunt said.  "This program uses historic preservation funds to generate economic growth and investment in Missouri downtowns and historic buildings. It builds on the momentum and positive economic changes we have seen in downtowns across the state as a result of the DREAM Initiative that I created to ensure small towns have the same access to available resources as their larger neighbors."             The Missouri Department of Natural Resources' State Historic Preservation Office administers the Missouri Heritage Properties Program. The program provides incentives to help preserve important National Register of Historic Places listed or eligible properties.             Missouri is home to 103 courthouses that are 50 years old or older; 52 of those are more than 100 years old.  Roughly half of the Missouri courthouses built before 1958 are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Because of their complexity and their age, county courthouses pose genuine preservation challenges. The grant program assists the many counties struggling to maintain their historic courthouses.  In the first round of grants the program awarded 11 grants totaling nearly half a million dollars to the following county courthouses: Saline County Commission, Marshall, $90,000 for roof repairs to the Saline County Courthouse Livingston County Commission, Chillicothe, $40,517 for exterior tuckpointing to the Livingston County Courthouse Nodaway County Commission, Maryville, $90,000 for rehabilitation of the bell tower of the Nodaway County Courthouse Newton County Commission, Neosho, $19,500 for roof repairs to the Newton County Courthouse Pettis County Commission, Sedalia, $60,487 for tuckpointing and masonry repair to the Pettis County Courthouse Pemiscot County Commission, Caruthersville, $53,900 for electrical upgrades to the Pemiscot County Courthouse City of Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau, $70,000 for upgrades to the Common Pleas Courthouse Dunklin County Commission, Kennett, $34,564 for electrical upgrade to the Dunklin County Courthouse Adair County Commission, Kirksville, $20,000 for a feasibility study of the Adair County Courthouse Ralls County Commission, New London, $8,050 for a feasibility study of the Ralls County Jail and Sheriff's Office Bates County Commission, Butler, $7,350 for a structural analysis of the Bates County Courthouse             The program is designed to support properties that currently cannot benefit from other assistance programs. Buildings selected should still be used for their historic purpose. Museum properties or community facilities will not qualify for this round. Depending on the availability of funding, future rounds may, in addition to historic courthouses, target other publicly owned buildings such as historic city halls, municipal auditoriums and libraries.             The program is supported by the Missouri Historic Preservation Revolving Fund, which is funded by the state's Non-resident Athletes and Entertainers' Tax. The governor directed funds from the Athletes and Entertainers Tax be distributed to cultural partners, including the Historic Preservation Revolving Fund.  His action assured that for the first time in three years, the organizations received funding from the tax and that funds from the Athletes and Entertainers Tax are being spent on the purpose for which it was created.             Grant applications are now available and may be downloaded from the Department of Natural Resources' Web site at www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/index.html. Applications must be postmarked by Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. Applications from DREAM communities will receive extra consideration for the grant process. For more information about the grant program contact the department's State Historic Preservation Office at 573-751-7858.              Since taking office Gov. Blunt has approved nearly 900 projects and issued state tax credits amounting to more than $462 million to benefit historic preservation.           Gov. Blunt also created the DREAM (Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri) Initiative, which is helping to create new growth and economic development opportunities in the hearts of Missouri communities.              President Bush appointed Blunt to serve on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in March 2006. The federal agency promotes the preservation of historic sites and advises the president and Congress on historic preservation policies. -- http://www.bransonedge.com http://www.bransonmissouri.blogspot.com