July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
New home for Santa
Portland Historic Preservation Commission
This holiday season, Santa will have a new home in Portland.
The Jay County Chamber of Commerce plans to have a Santa house built for Santa to greet area children. The house will be used during WinterFest and on weekends until Christmas, and located along East Main Street.
The project was announced during Wednesday’s meeting of the Portland Historic Preservation Commission. The temporary structure will be located in the Downtown Portland Historic Preservation District on a tiny lot between the former Albertson Floor Coverings Inc., 119 E. Main St., and Portland Insurance Agency, 115 E. Main St. The building will be on skids on the stone lot, Emily Roberts told the commission.
The green and white structure will be 8 feet by 12 feet and 10 feet tall. It will be built by the building trades class at Jay County High School. The class also will build a picket fence to place outside of the building, Vicki Tague, Jay County Chamber of Commerce executive director, said this morning.
She said the Santa house will first be used following the WinterFest parade on Nov. 20. Those wanting to see Santa will have to wait outside. In previous years, children could visit with Santa inside the Jay County Courthouse.
After the holiday season, all of the decorations for the Santa house — including the picket fence — will be stored inside the building.
Roberts told the commission that the Goodrich Foundation is providing the funding for the project. Her father, John Goodrich, owns the property.
Joe Jarzen, who serves as advisor to the commission, said he didn’t feel the commission had any authority over the matter since it is only a temporary structure. However, the commission members voted to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness for the structure.
Tague said this morning that she did not know where the structure might be moved to during the year, if it is moved.
Commission member Pati McLaughlin, who works for Jay/Portland Building and Planning, said that under the city’s building code, the structure would be considered a storage shed or non-permanent structure.
Because of its size, a building permit would not be required. Buildings 100-square feet or more require a building permit. This structure would be 96-square feet.
In other business, commission members were updated on the progress of the reconstruction of the balcony at the Eagles Lodge, 320 N. Meridian St.
The work on the balcony is partly being funded through the city’s façade grant program.
Ron Ross of Martin Riley Architects said the original balcony was not as long as the existing structure. Because the project is so costly, the balcony will only be restored to its original size. The original balcony — created when the Merchants Hotel was built — was teal, but the new one will be painted white. All of the existing paint will have to be replaced because it contains lead, he said.
The Eagles project — which also includes painting the building — is expected to cost about $35,000. The organization will have to pay half of this cost.
Also Wednesday, commission members:
•Learned that the city has issued 30 Certificates of Appropriateness this year.
Jarzen updated the commission on COA’s recently approved but not reviewed by the commission. He is authorized by the commission to approve COA’s for projects that do not violate the district guidelines.
Certificates of Appropriateness were issued for a new sign for Max Ludy Jr.’s law office at 123 N. Meridian St.; MainSource Bank, 112 N. Meridian St., replacement of second-floor windows; Metalhide, 115 E. High St., roof replacement; and Christa’s Bakery and Café, 101 N. Meridian St., new vinyl sign.
Jarzen asked commission members if they would like to begin reviewing all applications for Certificates of Appropriateness.
“I just think if they want to appeal (your decision) then they can come before the board,” said commission member Milo Miller Jr. “But I don’t have a problem with you” reviewing the applications. Other commission members agreed.
•Briefly discussed the radio ads that began airing this week on local radio station WPGW.
The commission is running the ads to inform the public about the commission and some of its guidelines for changes to the facades of downtown properties.[[In-content Ad]]
The Jay County Chamber of Commerce plans to have a Santa house built for Santa to greet area children. The house will be used during WinterFest and on weekends until Christmas, and located along East Main Street.
The project was announced during Wednesday’s meeting of the Portland Historic Preservation Commission. The temporary structure will be located in the Downtown Portland Historic Preservation District on a tiny lot between the former Albertson Floor Coverings Inc., 119 E. Main St., and Portland Insurance Agency, 115 E. Main St. The building will be on skids on the stone lot, Emily Roberts told the commission.
The green and white structure will be 8 feet by 12 feet and 10 feet tall. It will be built by the building trades class at Jay County High School. The class also will build a picket fence to place outside of the building, Vicki Tague, Jay County Chamber of Commerce executive director, said this morning.
She said the Santa house will first be used following the WinterFest parade on Nov. 20. Those wanting to see Santa will have to wait outside. In previous years, children could visit with Santa inside the Jay County Courthouse.
After the holiday season, all of the decorations for the Santa house — including the picket fence — will be stored inside the building.
Roberts told the commission that the Goodrich Foundation is providing the funding for the project. Her father, John Goodrich, owns the property.
Joe Jarzen, who serves as advisor to the commission, said he didn’t feel the commission had any authority over the matter since it is only a temporary structure. However, the commission members voted to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness for the structure.
Tague said this morning that she did not know where the structure might be moved to during the year, if it is moved.
Commission member Pati McLaughlin, who works for Jay/Portland Building and Planning, said that under the city’s building code, the structure would be considered a storage shed or non-permanent structure.
Because of its size, a building permit would not be required. Buildings 100-square feet or more require a building permit. This structure would be 96-square feet.
In other business, commission members were updated on the progress of the reconstruction of the balcony at the Eagles Lodge, 320 N. Meridian St.
The work on the balcony is partly being funded through the city’s façade grant program.
Ron Ross of Martin Riley Architects said the original balcony was not as long as the existing structure. Because the project is so costly, the balcony will only be restored to its original size. The original balcony — created when the Merchants Hotel was built — was teal, but the new one will be painted white. All of the existing paint will have to be replaced because it contains lead, he said.
The Eagles project — which also includes painting the building — is expected to cost about $35,000. The organization will have to pay half of this cost.
Also Wednesday, commission members:
•Learned that the city has issued 30 Certificates of Appropriateness this year.
Jarzen updated the commission on COA’s recently approved but not reviewed by the commission. He is authorized by the commission to approve COA’s for projects that do not violate the district guidelines.
Certificates of Appropriateness were issued for a new sign for Max Ludy Jr.’s law office at 123 N. Meridian St.; MainSource Bank, 112 N. Meridian St., replacement of second-floor windows; Metalhide, 115 E. High St., roof replacement; and Christa’s Bakery and Café, 101 N. Meridian St., new vinyl sign.
Jarzen asked commission members if they would like to begin reviewing all applications for Certificates of Appropriateness.
“I just think if they want to appeal (your decision) then they can come before the board,” said commission member Milo Miller Jr. “But I don’t have a problem with you” reviewing the applications. Other commission members agreed.
•Briefly discussed the radio ads that began airing this week on local radio station WPGW.
The commission is running the ads to inform the public about the commission and some of its guidelines for changes to the facades of downtown properties.[[In-content Ad]]
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