It was only logical to open the first State Historical Fund field office in Durango, says the organization’s employee who got the keys to the door.
“The fund makes more grants in La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan counties than in the rest of the Western Slope combined,” Heather Bailey said Monday in the middle of unpacking in her office in The Commons building, 701 Camino del Rio.
Crow Canyon and Canyons of the Ancients in Montezuma County are regular recipients of grants, Bailey said. They have excellent grant proposals.
Bailey was the focal point at a reception Thursday at Animas Museum.
“It’s been a priority for five years to open a field office here,” Bailey told the crowd. “A lot of people in Denver (the historical fund’s home office) are happy to see this become a reality.”
Gay Kiene, a member of the La Plata County Historical Society, said the presence of the Durango field office attests to the area’s historical importance.
“There’s a lot of history here,” Kiene said. “As a community, we had the good sense not to tear down this building (a 1904-05) schoolhouse, but instead turn it into a museum.”
The State Historical Fund receives $8 million to $12 million a year for grants, Bailey said. The fund was created in 1990 by a constitutional amendment that permitted limited-stakes gambling in Black Hawk and Central City in Gilpin County and Cripple Creek in Teller County in exchange for a portion of the gaming-tax revenue.
Bailey said she’ll spend more time out and about meeting grant applicants and assessing proposals than sitting behind a desk.
“We work in urban areas and way out in rural areas,” she said.
Bailey met the public Thursday at a reception at Animas Museum.
The fund makes grants to public entities and nonprofit organizations. Projects may address restoration or preservation of buildings, archaeological sites and objects, including cemeteries, train cars and agricultural resources. Educational projects, which may include curriculum development, and heritage tourism also qualify for grants.
The State Historical Fund offers competitive and noncompetitive grants, Bailey said. The former are for projects and can provide up to $200,000 each. The latter are planning grants – studying what should be done and how to phase the work.
A project must carry a “historic” designation by a federal, state or local agency to be eligible for a grant, she said.
No designation carries more weight than another in grant competition, she said.
The important thing is that it benefit the community.
daler@durangoherald.com
