Agenda

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City Council Regular Meeting

Meeting Date:

04/11/2023

BACKGROUND

The Schertz Historical Preservation Committee (SHPC) was established in 2006 to: create a city museum to contain pictures, artifacts, and other historical items related to the City's past, obtain grant money from the State of Texas, the federal government and other charitable sources for the purposes of historical preservation, and designate and preserve qualified houses, commercial buildings, and other structures in the City as "historic". The focus of the SHPC has shifted over time, particularly after the bond election to fund a museum failed to get sufficient voter support. The SHPC has recently begun putting on a historic car show and for many years published a quarterly newsletter.
The City does of Schertz does not impose regulations that limit what can be done to historic structures as is the case in some communities. When a City does have these types of regulations, their historic preservation committee or historic design review board is often involved in the review and approval of proposed changes to structures. It is common where communities that do not impose these regulations, that the historical society is not a city board or commission, rather it is a non-profit or informal organization, an example of this is the San Antonio Conservation Society.
There has been significant turnover of SHPC members for the past few years. There are 14 positions on the SHPC and at present only 6 have been filled. Staff is of the opinion that the formal structure and requirements imposed by being a City board serve as more of an obstacle than a benefit to this groups work. Not being a City board would allow the group greater flexibility to focus on their mission and meet as they see fit. It also allows them to select members aligned with the vision of the group. Finally, they can more easily shift and adjust the focus of their work to areas outside of Schertz and create partnerships with other organizations. Staff did discuss this with the 4 members who attended the March 23, SHPC meeting. They were not in favor of this for a number of reasons, one being that without the City support and structure, the group might not continue ot meet. Members had diferent views as to the turnover on the board in the past.
Staff is recommending the City Council dissolve the SHPC as a formal City board and direct staff to provide transitional support for the group.