Discussion at the Aug. 2 Wiscasset Historic Preservation Commission meeting focused on the news that the Haggett building was once again slated for demolition at some point to make way for a parking lot to replace on-street parking which will be lost in the Maine Department of Transportation highway project on Main Street.

Chair John Reinhardt said whatever else may be done, MDOT should have to follow town law. “We have laws for a reason,” he said, referring to the historic preservation ordinance. “We all have to follow the law, and MDOT should as well.”

Former member and current consultant to the commission Susan Blagden was more blunt. She apologized for her voice breaking, and said, with tears in her eyes, “My family has lived here for 250 years, and I never thought I’d say that I’m ashamed to be a citizen of Wiscasset.”

The state Historic Preservation Commission ruled the Haggett building did not meet the definition of a contributing structure to the historic district.

Local commission member Wendy Donovan said, “That ship has sailed. However, we should be trying to find ways to protect more of our historic structures.” A discussion about the process of placing a building on the National Register of Historic Places ensued. The National Register, unlike the town ordinance, also takes into account changes made to the interior of structures, and because of extensive changes to the interior, the Haggett building would not have qualified for the National Register, Donovan said. “We learned that during the Section 106 process two years ago. But we can try to protect the buildings that do meet the definition.”

It is a long and sometimes expensive process. Blagden, who is working to list her house on the National Register, said she “dropped the ball” over the summer because of other things going on in her life.

The older the structure, the more likely that significant changes have been made to it over hundreds of years, and to qualify for the Register, many of those changes may need to be undone.

Restoration to the period the structure, including finding period-specific materials, can be expensive. Trying to find documentation about older properties is also sometimes daunting, although the deeds office at the County Courthouse has recently completed scanning its records digitally, and those can be searched from any computer, which makes searching for historic deeds a little easier.

Reinhardt said many of the newer residents seem able and willing to do the work. He credited them with saving several older properties in the historic district. The commission discussed how to get the word out about the ordinance to new residents, perhaps through realtors, and how to make the certificate of appropriateness process less onerous, especially for those who discover issues during renovation.

With no certificate requests to take up, the commission briefly discussed several workshops some members wished to attend. Reinhardt said Town Manager Marian Anderson said she would pay the fees out of her fund account. The commission read into the record changes the state commission recommended for Wiscasset’s ordinance toward becoming a Certified Local Government, which would, among other things, provide the opportunity for grant funding for historic preservation.