The Oct. 6 meeting of the Wiscasset Historic Preservation Commission weighed the pros and cons of beginning the process of becoming a Certified Local Government, a federal program that serves as a partnership among local, state, and federal governments focused on promoting historic preservation at the grassroots level.

Town Planner Ben Averill said there are strong benefits to becoming a Certified Local Government, especially in Maine, where only a few towns have the designation. “There are a lot of state and federal grants that are only available to CLGs,” he said. “There are more of those grants than for non-CLG communities, and there are usually more dollars available, because so few communities in Maine are CLGs.” However, he said, towns must conduct a historical preservation survey, and that can be expensive. Commission member Gordon Kontrath said he had been involved with such a survey, involving 100 buildings, and even with volunteer photographers, the cost ran to about $24,000. In Wiscasset, there are about 400 buildings in the historic district.

Averill also said there is an educational requirement. Those costs would have to be borne by the town. However, grants may be available to offset some of the costs of a survey, with the next round of grant funding next spring of 2017.

Averill suggested that before the Commission decides, it may wish to speak to selectmen about the process and the costs. Commission Chairman John Reinhardt was in favor of making a presentation to selectmen immediately, but commission member Susan Blagden said that it was too early to approach the board, since the costs were unknown. “We need to have our ducks in a row before we ask the Board of Selectmen for money for this,” she said.

Commissioner Richard Thompson echoed that sentiment. “In an atmosphere where the Board of Selectmen has just increased taxes on the population, we need to know what we’re asking for.”

Averill acknowledged that it was unlikely that the Board would grant any money in the current fiscal year.

Among the reasons why the Commission was anxious to establish a CLG was the fact that certain historic buildings in Wiscasset, although within the town’s historic district, are designated “non-contributing” by the National Register Historic District. Unlike the local Historic District, the National Register simply identifies a historic area; it is up to the local Historic District to move to protect the properties within it. A contributing property, such as an 1805 farmhouse, helps make a historic district historic, while a non-contributing property, such as a modern gas station, does not. The commission does not agree with several of the federal designations. One of the properties in question is the Haggett’s Garage building on Water Street. The building is designated as non-contributing, which means that for the purposes of the Maine Department of Transportation’s plan for Wiscasset’s downtown, the building could be demolished and the land used to replace parking lost on Main Street.

The 1916 building was home to one of New England’s first Ford Motor Company car dealerships. It has been considered for the parking area chiefly because it was on the market. But MDOT has said that the site might not qualify for historic status in any case because it has been heavily remodeled and the exterior has been changed dramatically. It was used for office space by Coastal Enterprises Inc. before that agency moved to Brunswick.

Reinhardt asked Averill to schedule a meeting with Ernie Martin of MDOT at the next meeting on Nov. 3.

The commission also discussed its recent training. Much of it was aimed at possible legal challenges any commission might face, and pointed out how various commissions might craft local ordinances to make a successful legal challenge more remote. They also learned to run a meeting, with an emphasis on how to deal with the public at their meetings.

Several members of the public appeared to express dismay over the project proposed by MDOT which would attempt to move traffic more efficiently through the downtown region. Averill pointed out that the commission might not be the best place to make their statements, because it did not have any authority to change or modify the MDOT decision, based on the public vote.

Paul Mrozinski, a downtown business owner, asked if MDOT would have to comply with the commission’s requirement of a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition of Haggett’s Garage. Averill said that because Maine is a home-rule state, he was of the opinion that MDOT would have to comply with the town’s requirements.