Wednesday, March 02, 2005

The Day After(math) Part II

More information on last night’s meeting.

Courtesy of James Amos and the Pueblo Chieftain, there’s a follow-up article, in today’s Chieftain.

James caught and reports some great information in his observations of last nights meeting. I highly recommend following the link (above in bold) to read him.

Mo Betta Coverage

Getting the newsletta out betta.

We have some gaps in our canvasing of the neighborhood with the quarterly newsletter, OHNOtes.

If you live on West or in the area between 13th and 17th and would like an excuse to walk around and possibly meet new people who live near you, have we got a deal for you!

Help us distribute the newsletter in your area. A side benefit, besides exercise on a great day, is the odd chance of a quick home tour of some darling older home. One of our couriers got to see a gorgeous green marble fireplace when the owner, who saw them delivering the newsletter opened the door and struck up a conversation. Then invited them in to show off their home.

This town is so much more friendly than what I was used to in Denver.

If you’d like to help us and yourself, please contact me by e-mail. Just click on my name, below this item on the blog.

The Day After(math)

Great Party! A fine time was had by all.

The smoked salmon was a hit. Not to mention the Somerset (cheese) and chocolate fondues.

Sorry not to have posted much over the last few days but we were rather busy getting the place ready for last night.

Contrary to initial concerns when a Chieftain article indicated the meeting was open to the public, it was not 400 people trying to cram themselves into the house. It was only verging on SRO. But some of them made use of the big pillows to rest themselves at the feet of their significant other, who had a sofa or chair seat.

The clean-up is going well. Everyone was extremely neat. The only thing we’ve had to do was put away leftovers and wash a few serving dishes and utensils. Thanks to everyone who attended.

I finally got to meet Adam, who will be managing the whole business and likely doing a lot of the grunt work for the historical survey. At first impression, a personable and intelligent gentleman. Very familiar with his chosen field and living what he practices; he’s restoring an early 1900 hotel in Pennsylvania he and his wife purchased. Interesting stories there.

His presentation was excellent. It provided a good representation of what, if it were a military mission brief, would pass for the Rules of Engagement. He told us what he could and would do, under any of a number of circumstances. All of which were based on what the owner of a property or the law would allow. For example, pictures can be taken from an public walk or street, but he will not enter the yard or take precise measurements on the property without the owners expressed permission.

[Note: It was interesting to see the guage he uses to measure the angle on side shingles. I had no idea that the angle on the shingle could be a clue as to the style and/or year of construction.]

We’ve invited him to be a co-author on the blog, to help keep everyone involved apprised of what it going on. Hopefully, in this manner, he can alert us when he is planning on working a particular area and we might expect a visit and make ourselves more readily available. Or inform him that we’ll be out of town so he can reschedule.

Lots of good discussion followed his presentation. Good questions asked. Some of the more touchy ones not directly related to the historical survey itself, e.g., the possibility of enhancing property values of a building or the neighborhood and the repurcussions if the city decides to raise our rate, of taxation, accordingly. But that’s another and very convoluted story.

My thanks to James Amos who did the original Chieftain article. It really ‘stirred the pot’. The monday after the article our phone was ringing off the hook with people telling us they were coming, they weren’t able to make it but wanted to read about it on the blog, that their property was older than the Rosemount and ALREADY on the national register, but wasn’t listed in the article.

This is the sort of thing we’re looking for, interest in the project that generates motivation. Also finding out about properties that may have been missed. This place is great.