The Marion Historical Commission has been selected to receive a Survey and Planning Grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission in its statewide 2020 grant cycle.
The matching grant of $15,000 will be matched by local funds offered by the Sippican Historical Society. The funds will be used by the local commission to hire a historic preservation consultant to continue the ongoing process of inventorying all of Marion’s historic and cultural resources. This is the first step in the Commission’s efforts to update and expand the current inventory to current State standards for a comprehensive, digitized, easily-accessible database for local preservation planning and education.
The Marion Historical Commission, with the Town’s adoption of MA General Laws Part I Title VII Chapter 40 Section 8D, was established in the 1990s for the primary purpose of identifying and protecting the Town’s historic resources. This includes buildings, structures, objects and sites of national, state, or local significance based on an understanding of their historic, architectural, and/or archeological importance.
The primary responsibility of the Marion Historical Commission is to coordinate all community-wide historic preservation planning on behalf of the Town. This includes educating the public about the identification of historic resources and the importance of preserving and protecting such resources. The Commission also serves as a public advocate to advise the Select Board and other local agencies regarding matters of preservation, protection, and redevelopment of historic buildings, structures, and sites which may be under consideration by said boards.
The Marion Historical Commission has also sought 2020 funding through the Community Preservation Act for subsequent phases of the inventory process, a process which generally takes 3-5 years. The Community Preservation Commission has supported this application for $25,000, which now requires Town Meeting approval. Members of the Commission would be most appreciative of a community-wide vote for approval of the CPA funds at the August session of Town Meeting.