Historic district forges ahead

After much back and forth, downtown Creston has taken another step toward becoming registered as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. Though the exact parameters was not defined, the commission said there are around 45 buildings that contribute toward the historic aspect.

Being labeled a historic district can be helpful to receiving grants from the both private and government organizations in rehabbing buildings. However, a building owner is not required to follow historic guidelines when working on their building.

Two Iowa companies submitted proposals to prepare the nomination application toward the register. The Creston Historic Preservation Commission, made up of Jane Briley and Clint Brown, recommended the proposal put together by NHPA Consultant LLC from Fort Dodge. NHPA is a small, two-person team and the commission said they liked that the proposal felt more catered to Creston.

The second proposal was from Des Moines-based RDG Planning and Design, the same group used to create Creston’s uptown revitalization plan. The commission was against using RDG as they felt the proposal was too generic and specifically referenced a building not present in the specific Creston district.

Though Briley explained the commission recommended the use of NHPA, councilmember Kiki Scarberry had some concerns.

“There’s not a lot of information on this company and they didn’t put an email and they didn’t put a website on here,” Scarberry said.

She also referenced inconsistencies between what the proposal said of the company and what was found online. “In here she says she has 20 years of experience, and on LinkedIn she says 15. Online she talks about cultural resource management but we’re talking about architectural history,” Scarberry said. “I don’t have any proof, I just have a concern that this company is representing itself as larger than what it really is and I’m worried about their experience.”

Additionally, while both Jane and the company stated a previous historic district was done by NHPA, Scarberry said there was information online that pointed toward the work being done by a previous employer of NHPA’s owner.

“We were discussing that she was working for Wapsi Valley Archeology, so I would assume if she was working full time for another company that she wasn’t the sole person that worked on those,” Scarberry said. “And actually, I saw in July of 2021 where they had submitted it to another company under Wapsi Valley Archeology. So, did she do those on her own or did she do those for Wapsi Valley?”

Briley suggested the council go with the smaller NHPA despite Scarberry’s concerns. “Are we going to put these guys, these little guys out on the side and say we will never hire a small company. We want to hire a 700-people company all the time. Give them a chance.”

Scarberry stated she wasn’t against using a small company, but was against a small company misrepresenting itself. She motioned to accept RDG’s proposal, seconded by councilmember Rich Madison.

However, councilmember Joceyln Blazek asked to play devil’s advocate before a vote was made, disagreeing with Scarberry’s assessment of NHPA.

“I don’t see where NHPA is trying to represent themselves as larger than they are,” Blazek said. “I think there’s also the argument to be made for, maybe some of the lack of past projects is because of large companies that have pushed them out.”

Blazek also said she liked how NHPA explained the details of their fee, rather than the lump sum given by RDG. Blazek then motioned to amend the original motion, which all agreed to. She subsequently then motioned to accept NHPA’s proposal. Councilmembers Scarberry and Martin Graham voted against the motion, which passed 5-2.

The council continued with commission work, next approving a letter to request an extension for the whole project, pushing the deadline from March 2024 to November 2025. They also approved the appointment of Kate Branch to the commission, with her term expiring March 3, 2027. The commission previously had only two of the five positions filled.

In other council news...

The council approved the appointment of three new people to the Creston Parks and Recreation Board with no discussion. Margo Fuller, Todd Kinkade and Christie Bristow were appointed, with terms expiring Dec. 31, 2026, Dec. 31, 2027 and Dec. 31, 2027, respectively.

The second amendment of the Creston Urban Revitalization Plan was adopted following a brief public hearing in which no one came forward.