Kudos for Palestine's revitalization momentum

Preservation Matters column

By NEELY PLUMB

PALESTINE — A native of Palestine who has not lived here for over 20 years recently sent me an email with “Kudos” in the subject line. The sender began by saying, “Just wanted to drop a line and say kudos on the momentum that seems to be mounting around preservation and restoration of some of Palestine's historical buildings.” The E-mail is a beautiful and articulate expression of what many of us may be feeling, but have difficulty expressing.

The sender expressed that a strong sense of pride and connection to Palestine still stirs within and said, “While my grandparents and a few friends still live in Palestine, I don't get back to visit as often as I would like. When I have been able to get back over the years, I have always done so with a heavy heart, as I strongly lament the losses of not only some of Palestine's old businesses and structures, but also the more profound loss of place and community that seems to so often come with such destruction and neglect. While the brunt of Palestine's structural degradation seems to have taken place during my childhood there, I suffer the loss more now than I did growing up, due surely to my age and to the starkness of change and decline that comes with seeing a place only so often. Perhaps it is also due to the sense that there has never been — to my mind and eyes at least — enough of a value placed on what was still left, nor a will to do something to save it. So then, I would like to thank you for whatever part you have played — and continue to play — in recent efforts to change all this, what I can only gather from the Internet to be a sea change and a new day in the life of Palestine's historic structures. After hearing since my childhood of downtown revitalization and the like, I can only hope this change is real, substantial, widespread and long lasting. If there is a role in this movement for people, like myself, who no longer live in Palestine but still care a great deal about the city, please let me know. I am planning a visit sometime in the coming weeks or months and look forward to walking around town and seeing some of the progress that has been made.”

There are those of us who also lament the physical losses and as the sender stated so beautifully, “…have a heavy heart from the more profound loss of place and community.” But, it is that obvious and profound loss that has given us the will to do something to save what is left and a commitment to change our community for the better. We have joined together in a movement that values our sense of place and community and it will only strengthen as time goes by.

We are experiencing that stronger sense of place and community from the unified efforts of the people and the foresight and support of Palestine's elected officials and city management. Their decision to once again become a Main Street city rekindled the revitalization movement that started over 30 years ago, but languished in commitment and the expressed support of the masses. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for city government to support these efforts if the people were not unified and committed to it.

Change is inevitable and we have accepted the challenge of implementing positive change. It is a new day in the life of Palestine's historic structures and it is indeed real, substantial, widespread, and long lasting. As evidenced by the “Kudos” E-mail, the movement is spreading beyond our city limits as people see the positive results of the movement. We are not only rehabilitating our historic structures, we are rehabilitating our sense of place and community.

We extend Kudos to the sender of the E-mail and to those who are like minded. We acknowledge that you are an integral part of this team and we are encouraged by your words and enthusiasm.

Please remember to attend our free Historic Preservation Workshops. We invite everyone to attend the monthly lecture series, “Your Old House…or Building”. The lecture series will temporarily be held at the Carnegie Building located at 502 North Queen Street next to City Hall. The meeting time is 5:30 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month. The October session is entitled “What Are Historic Landmarks and Historic Districts?” We are very fortunate that many of our workshops are funded in part by grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. We hope to see you there.

We would like to clarify an apparent misconception regarding historic landmark designations. Someone recently stated that they did not like dilapidated structures “receiving historical markers.” No structure will be eligible for a marker until the structure has been rehabilitated per the Historic Preservation Ordinance. In order for a structure to be a Designated Palestine Landmark, it must meet the criteria outlined in Section 4.2 of the Historic Preservation Ordinance. In order to receive the city's Historic Preservation Tax Incentive, the property must be a Designated Palestine Landmark. The designation not only protects the structure, it provides an opportunity for the owner an incentive in the form of tax relief to offset rehabilitation costs.

We invite the public to be involved in our revitalization movement. Please join us at the Main Street Advisory Board meeting on the 1st Monday of every month at 4:30 p.m. and the Historic Landmarks Commission meeting on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 4 p.m., both either at City Hall or the Carnegie Building. These are public meetings and your participation is appreciated.

Be sure to ask us at the Customer Service Counter in City Hall for a copy of the Design Guidelines Handbook that will answer many of your questions. We will gladly help you with your questions about design issues. We will also gladly assist you with your application for a Palestine Landmark, the tax incentive program, Certificates of Appropriateness, or any other subject relating to historic preservation.

The Historic Preservation Office has the information and the resources that more often than not will help you save money on your project. Call us first to discuss your project so we can show you easier and more cost effective ways to repair your house or building and show you energy saving . We are here to assist you with your project and we welcome your questions and concerns. Please contact Main Street Manager and Historic Preservation Officer Neely Plumb at(903-724-3052, or via E-mail at nplumb@palestine-tx.org.

Neely Plumb is the City of Palestine's Main Street Manager and Historic Preservation Officer.