Historic Preservation Division weekly update, Apr. 9-13, 2001

HPD WEEKLY UPDATE FOR APRIL 9 - 13, 2001
In this issue:
2001 GENERAL ASSEMBLY FINAL REPORT
2001 GEORGIA TRUST AWARDS
PRESERVATION CALENDAR
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2001 GENERAL ASSEMBLY FINAL REPORT
The 2001 Session of the Georgia General Assembly concluded on March 21. The 2001 Session is the first of a two-year cycle, so consideration of bills can continue uninterrupted at the beginning of the 2002 session. More detailed information is available at www.ganet.state.ga.us. The official status of all bills will be available from the General Assembly in late April.
Contact Georgians for Preservation Action (GAPA) for further details on legislative issues. To be added to GAPA's e-mail network, send a message to Greta Covington at gcovington@georgiatrust.org.
Preservationists can be very pleased with this year's results of legislative action and funding support. Thanks to all of Georgia's legislators for their interest in statewide and local preservation activities and to all the Georgia preservationists who voiced their support for historic preservation issues throughout the legislative session. A summary of the major preservation accomplishments follows:
HB 698: (State Archaeologist's Duties) Strengthens state laws for the protection of archaeological sites by clarifying law enforcement provisions and confirming private property owner's rights. Approved surface collection provisions on dry land are still in place. The bill passed both the House and Senate is awaiting the Governor's signature.
HB 190: (Governor's Commission on Georgia History and Historical Tourism) Creates a state commission to study a broad range of history, preservation and tourism issues, particularly Georgia history education, partnerships among public and private organizations, state museum, tourism and economic development, the on-line Georgia encyclopedia, state laws, and funding. Members of the Commission include the Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, State School Superintendent, appointees by the Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House. Also represented on the Commission will be public and private historyrelated agencies and organizations at local and state levels and at large

members. The Commission is charged with holding public meetings around the state and to make its report by December 15, 2002. HB 190 also creates a Commission for the Celebration of 250 Years of Representative Government in Georgia. The bill passed both the House and the Senate and awaits the Governor's signature.
HB 118 (State Income Tax Credit for Historic Rehabilitation) Creates a 30% income tax credit for residential properties and 25% credit for income-producing properties. The bill passed the House by a vote of 162 to 0, but was held in the Senate Finance and Public Utilities Committee due to concerns about fiscal impacts on state revenues. Work will continue during the summer to resolve these concerns so that the bill can be taken up in the Senate Committee during next year's session.
HB 409 (Redevelopment Authority/Tax Increment Financing) Expands eligibility for tax increment financing to all counties and cities. Rehabilitation of historic properties is encouraged. The bill passed both the House and Senate and is awaiting the Governor's signature.
HR 514 (Tourism Study Committee) Creates a House study committee to evaluate tourism in Georgia. The resolution was adopted by the House.
SFY 2001 Amended Budget For the amended (supplemental) budget for SFY 2001 that ends June 30, 2001, the Legislative approved the following preservation-related projects:
$750,000 Resaca Battlefield site development, Gordon County $2 million restoration of Hardman Farm, White County $200,000 Civil War demonstration trails for Cobb County and Middle Georgia $100,000 preservation of TRR Cobb House currently located at Stone Mountain $1.5 million Georgia Cities grants $5 million restoration of Old Governor's Mansion, Milledgeville
SFY 2002 Budget For the new budget for SFY 2002 that ends June 30, 2002, the Legislature approved the following preservation-related projects:
Level funding - HPD staff and operations $500,000 Georgia Heritage grants $238,000 RDC preservation planners $250,000 restoration of Rhodes Hall, Atlanta $50,000 study of graves of Georgia governors $50,000 space planning for HPD offices at Fernbank Museum $70,000 historical/archaeological study at Fort Morris, Liberty County

$110,339 Resaca Battlefield site manager and operations
Also, the Legislature approved funding for an impressive range of activities supporting tourism and heritage museums and for a number of local preservation projects through the Department of Community Affairs local assistance grants.
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2001 GEORGIA TRUST AWARDS
The Georgia Trust held their annual awards ceremony during last week's annual meeting in Americus. Information about two of the awards follows. Please check The Georgia Trust's Web site (www.georgiatrust.org) for more information.
W.W. Law Mary Gregory Jewett Award
The Georgia Trust honored Westley Wallace Law of Savannah, for his significant contributions to the preservation of Georgia's history, with its most prestigious recognition, the Mary Gregory Jewett Award. Mr. Law has been an extraordinary leader in the Savannah community his entire life. Throughout his life, he has married his love for historic preservation with a commitment to civil rights. While fighting for racial equality, Mr. Law has worked to preserve many of the important historic components of Savannah's black history. By the late 1970s, he focused his efforts on the preservation of buildings in the African American areas of Savannah. He worked to save the old Laurel Grove Colored cemetery and the King-Tisdell Cottage, which is now a museum. Mr. Law was also successful in saving the Beach Institute, which was founded in 1867 as the first school for African-American children. Currently, the Beach Institute serves as exhibit space for the Ulysses Davis collection and other exhibits of African American art and history, and the neighborhood surrounding the Institute is being revitalized. Mr. Law was also the force behind the Ralph M. Gilbert Civil Rights Museum, which opened in Savannah in 1996. Appropriately enough, it is located in the historically African American Wage Earners Savings and Loan building (circa1914) on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff Owner: The Congregation of the First African Baptist Church Nominator: Robert Dickensheets, Savannah College of Art and Design
The restoration of First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff began with a group of Sapelo Island residents who formed the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society (SICARS). SICARS first worked with the Historic

Preservation Division of the Department of Natural Resources (HPD) to get the church listed on the National Register. It also received grants from the Georgia Heritage 2000 program and Governor's Discretionary Fund. Soon, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) became aware of the project and provided much needed technical and financial assistance. SCAD also brought in members of the community to help with the work. The church restoration was completed in December 2000 and the dedication ceremony took place in January of 2001. The restoration of the First African Baptist Church is a testimony to the power of partnership in preservation.
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PRESERVATION CALENDAR
APRIL
April 13-14 - Georgia Association of Historians Annual Meeting Augusta (tel. 770/423-6714)
April 16 - Southern Garden History Society meeting and Charles A. Birnbaum lecture "Pioneers of American Landscape Design" Atlanta (tel. 404/814-4046)
April 18 International Day for Monuments and Sites (e-mail secretariat@icomos.org)
April 18-21 - Society of Architectural Historians Annual Meeting Toronto www.sah.org
April 20-21 Vernacular GeorgiA meeting Athens (tel. 706/542-0061)
April 20-21 - Georgia Historic Preservation Commission Training Tybee Island (tel. 706/542-0156)
April 24-25 - Board of Natural Resources meeting Savannah
April 25-29 - Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation 2001 Annual Meeting Ellison Bay, Wis. (tel. 410/775-0056)
April 25-29 - Vernacular Architecture Forum (VAF) Annual Meeting and Conference - Newport, R.I. - www.VAF2001.org
April 29-May 2 - National Association of Recreation Resource Planners' (NARRP) Annual Conference Baltimore - www.narrp.org
MAY IS HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH AND ARCHAEOLOGY MONTH IN GEORGIA.

PLEASE VISIT THE SGA WEB SITE FOR SCHEDULED ARCHAEOLOGY MONTH EVENTS www.georgia-archaeology.org/SGA/archaeology%20month%20events.html
May 5 Georgia Civil War Commission quarterly meeting Cartersville (tel. 404/657-7294)
May 6-10 - American Association of Museums 96th Annual Meeting & Museum Expo St. Louis - http://www.aam-us.org/index.htm
May 9-12 - Places of Cultural Memory: African Reflections on the American Landscape Conference Atlanta - www.cr.nps.gov/current/aamerica01.htm
May 10 - Generation Green Art Auction to benefit the Georgia Conservancy Atlanta - www.georgiaconservancy.org
May 10-11 - The National Corridors Initiative Conference Washington D.C. www.nationalcorridors.org
May 11 - Building Arts Employment Fair SCAD Savannah (tel. 912/525-4800)
May 12 - Georgia Historic House and Garden Pilgrimage Columbus
May 18 - Georgia National Register Review Board meeting Atlanta
May 1819 - Society for Georgia Archaeology Spring Conference, Coastal Georgia Heritage Center Savannah www.georgia-archaeology.org/sga/spring%20meeting.html
May 19-20 - 6th Annual Downtown Tour of Lofts and Lifestyles Atlanta (tel. 404/577-7477)
May 22-23 - Board of Natural Resources meeting Atlanta
May 31 June 1 - National Conference for Attraction Professionals Nashville WWW.TIA.ORG/COUNCILS/NCA_EDUCATION_CONFERENCE.ASP
JUNE
June 9-10 - The Georgia Trust, Ramble Eatonton (tel. 404/881-9980) www.georgiatrust.org/rambtour.html
June 23-26 - GMA Annual Convention, "Cities of the 21st Century" Savannah www.gmanet.com

June 25-27- Civil Rights Bus Tour - Atlanta History Center (tel. 404/814-4110) www.atlhist.org/
June 26-27 - Board of Natural Resources meeting Atlanta
JULY
July 27- 28 Balancing the Protection and Promotion of Historic Roads conference Cumberland, Maryland (tel. 765/478-3172)
AUGUST August 17 21 7th Conference on National Scenic and Historic Trails Casper, Wyoming (e-mail nattrails@aol.com)
August 21-22 - Board of Natural Resources meeting Atlanta
August 26 29 National Scenic Byways Conference Portland, Oregon www.americasbywaysconference.org/
SEPTEMBER
September 25-26 - Board of Natural Resources meeting Atlanta September 26-29 -TrailLink 2001 3rd International Trails & Greenways conference St. Louis - www.railtrails.org
OCTOBER
October 16-21 - National Preservation Conference, National Trust - Providence, R.I. - www.nthp.org
DECEMBER
December 4-5 - Board of Natural Resources meeting Atlanta
Also check:
Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites - www.dnr.state.ga.us/dnr/parks/
Georgia Historical Society - www.georgiahistory.com/whatsnew.htm