The Clarkdale Town Council continued the ongoing discussion of the proposed reconstruction of the town bandstand and its status as a historic structure during its meeting on Tuesday, June 27.
Clarkdale Community Development Director Ruth Mayday discussed the active measures the town is taking to try to ensure that the structure maintains its designation as a contributing structure within the historic district.
The town has been in contact with the State Historic Preservation Office and has asked for a voluntary review of the project and the gazebo’s current status. The state office will alert the town of any action that could jeopardize the gazebo’s status and issue a written opinion upon completion of the final plans for the refurbishment.
The U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s standards for the treatment of historic properties addresses four types of treatments: Preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and reconstruction.
Restoration is defined as “the act or process of accurately depicting the form, features and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of features from other periods in its history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period. The limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and other code required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a restoration project.”
The State Historic Preservation Office suggested that the plans for the bandstand would likely meet the definition of a restoration according to these criteria. The advantages of treating the project as a restoration rather than a rehabilitation include allowing a far greater range of modifications to be done to the structure.
A new FAQ section on the town’s website states that the council’s goals for the gazebo “include ensuring the structure meets current building codes, is safe for public use, is long-lasting and remains as a contributing structure, if at all possible.”
Another inspection is planned by a historical architect, a structural engineer, a contractor and the town’s chief building official, who will then report to the state.
The original engineering report was found to be incomplete, as it did not address the issues with the bandstand’s joists and roof or bringing the structure up to code. The new assessment will provide direction and insight for both National Register eligibility and International Building Code compliance.
Mayday noted that the delisting of the structure would not happen automatically should it be deemed to no longer meet the necessary criteria. The town would need to formally ask the state office to delist the property — and no one wants to do that.
“So much work is being done,” Clarkdale Mayor Robyn Prud’homme Bauer said. She thanked the staff for giving updates and keeping everyone well-informed.
