LEWISBURG W.Va. (WVDN) – The Lewisburg Historic Landmarks Commission met on Monday, Sept. 11, at the City Hall meeting room of Paul R. Cooley Council Chambers. Among several applicants for approval for construction on historic area buildings were Bella’s Corner Gourmet store property owner John Wilson and his contractor Sam Argabright of Bright Construction.
An enlightened redesign of the corner recently battered by several tractor-trailer trucks had been suggested by Tag Galyean, and the Historic Landmark Commission agreed. An angled corner, of the same angle exhibited in the store’s entryway, will be incorporated to prevent future collisions.
Argabright said, “This is a hot mess.” He also stated that it was going to sacrifice some of the original square footage. However, windows would be produced to match the original multipaned installation.
Sadly, for Wilson, the insurance will not cover any alteration expenses to the building, it only replaces what is lost. Historic Landmark Commission consultant Michael Mills said, “I think this is a really appropriate addition,” and the Commission approved the application for construction.
In other business, two properties were represented by Josh Adamo. He stated that he would soon be retiring from contracting and taking instead a position of education. He offered the Commission his services as a local liaison between the rules and guidelines that the Historic Landmarks dictate and the property owners and contractors.
Adamo said there is a shortage of contractors available at this time for the need in the Lewisburg Historic District. As new contractors enter the market here, they may benefit from “building a bridge” as a volunteer counselor to the contractors.
Commission member Adrienne French stated that the owners of the properties are primarily responsible for ensuring their contractors are informed and adhere to the policies of the Landmarks Commission.
Michael Mills of Mills Group in Morgantown, consultant for the Landmarks Commission, stated via a Zoom connection that he is often in contact with either the property owners or contractors so that information about the rules and design regulations are clearly understood.
Commissioner Clifford Gillilan said, “I see these public hearings as a form of public education.”
Also attending the meeting were Mayor Beverley White and City Manager Misty Hill. Mayor White said, “We want consistency, we have rules, it is not about money. We have an administration which is following the rules and ordinances of this city.”
The underlying issues of communication and responsibility were clear in all the applications discussed during the evening. The Lewisburg Historic Landmarks Commission is tasked with designing rules dictated at the state level, they can interpret the rules on a local level but the negotiating must be done with the state organization.
As a certified local government (CLG), the city of Lewisburg has an opportunity to receive grants through West Virginia code 8-26A and by the National Historic Preservation Amendments Act of 1980. The designs acceptable for the structures in the Lewisburg Historic District are dictated by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).
The rules do not apply to repairs that replace “grandfathered structural elements,” which can only be repaired with the grandfathered materials.
An example of that was shown in the application for roof repairs at Aggie’s, where the Commission denied the application for a metal roofing material and stated the previous shingled material was acceptable because it was the same as the previously installed product and thus “grandfathered.”
