Historic Preservation Commission (HPC)
Boston, Georgia
Meeting Minutes
January 14, 2014 - Approved
The meeting was convened and called to order at 6:08 pm by Chairman Sandi Shaw. Present: Sandi Shaw, Brandon Godwin, Nancy
Hoffman, Laura Hooks, Ann Faulkner, Danny Groover, and Charles Olsen. A quorum was established.
Order of Business:
A motion was made by Ann Faulkner to approve the minutes of the November meeting; seconded by Nancy Hoffman. The motion
was approved. No petitions or correspondence have been received.
Reports
Boston Historical Materials: Nancy Hoffman reported that she had purchased the book from the Thomasville Times Enterprise and
indicated that it included Boston historic pictures.
Oral History of Boston: Laura Hooks and Sandi Shaw met with Ron Collins on December 17 and recorded his memories. Laura
Hooks shared information regarding a meeting she had with members of the Whaley family whose uncle built her home on East
Jefferson Street. During their visit Chuck Flinch and his sister provided a video of his mother's memories of the Boston area and Zeke
Whaley's family. Chuck Finch has photos of the Whaley family members who lived in the Boston home and will forward them to us
for our historical materials. A date for the next interview has not been set.
Survey of historic homes: No report.
Planning and Zoning report: There has been no zoning meeting since the last meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission.
Old Business
Preservation of the Old Town Hall. Charles Olsen reported he has received only one bid on the roof. Charles passed out his cards to
HPC members and encouraged them to have other roofers contact him so that we have at least two bids for each contract. He also
stated that the brick is the major issue with the building as it is the old lime base and the mortar has turned to powder. A saw needs to
cut into the mortar vertically and horizontally, do the brick repair, and put in more mortar. The whole building needs to be done and a
sealant needs to be put on the brick. He has received several bids for this process which should make the building good for another
100 years. The HPC authorized Charles Olson to contact Ed Dice and accept his bid of $25,000 for the brick work. Mayor Danny
Groover said he will contact the Thomas County Building inspector before the next meeting to discuss the plans for the interior. He
also said he will put in a request for skilled prison laborers to help with the interior of the Old Town Hall to be scheduled after the
exterior preservation is completed.
Moving Historic Home on Main and Washington Streets. Sandi Shaw followed up with Mark Voiner after he looked at the house on
Main and Jackson streets to determine the cost for moving to another site within Boston. The home was scheduled for demolition
several months ago. His quote for moving the house was $12,000 to 15,000 which may or may not include the foundation. Sandi
pointed out that this house is the last historic home on Main Street that is in imminent danger of being removed. Charles indicated this
was a good example of why Boston needs a demolition clause in our ordinance. He offered to help us get a copy of the Thomasville
ordinance to consider.
New Business
Expansion of Boston Historic District . Sandi has had two people on the City Council suggest that we should expand the historic
district. In summary, we would need to submit a larger map and ordinance for the historic district. We currently have all commercial
buildings in the historic district. The next step is to determine the feasibility of including some houses so that we have more control
over the demolition of historic structures. We would like to encourage property owners to improve the property and their resale
values. A proposed expansion might be to go east to Green Street, south to Washington and west to Cemetery Road. When we agree
on the expanded area, we can then get assistance in writing the ordinance so that it is properly constructed.
Sandi will invite the new director of Landmarks, Lee Webb, to our next HPC meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m.
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