Joplin to receive federal historic preservation grant

JEFFERSON CITY, --The Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced today that the city of Joplin, a Certified Local Government, will receive a $6,500 grant through the federal Historic Preservation Fund.

The city will use the grant to complete a National Register of Historic Places nomination for a small commercial district in the 800 and 900 blocks of South Main Street in Joplin.

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 authorizes a program of federal matching grants, known as the Historic Preservation Fund, to assist the various states in carrying out historic preservation activities.

The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and in Missouri, is administered through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' State Historic Preservation Office.

Under changes made to the act in 1980, each state is required to earmark a minimum of 10 percent of their Historic Preservation Fund monies for exclusive use by Certified Local Governments. The CLGs are communities that have established, under their local government, a historic preservation program that meets certain standards set by the state and the NPS. Local governments that maintain CLG status are considered to be partners with the SHPO and the NPS in the nation's historic preservation program. Missouri currently has 49 local governments that have attained CLG status.

The grants were awarded based on a competitive scoring process and the direct relation of the projects to the identification, evaluation, or protection of historical, architectural or archaeological resources.

Grant-funded projects must pertain to the accomplishment of the State Historic Preservation Officer's responsibilities as outlined in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, must be carried out in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's "Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation" and must meet requirements of the National Register Programs Guideline (NPS-49).

For more information about the CLG program, visit the department's SHPO Web site at dnr.mo.gov/shpo/certifie.htm or contact Jo Ann Radetic at (573) 522-2473 or e-mail jo.ann.radetic@dnr.mo.gov.