At Monday’s Historic Zoning Commission Meeting, commissioners unanimously elected Jeff Treadway as the new Chairman, John Large Jr. as the Vice-Chairman and Jacey Augustus as the Secretary.
“He knows what we’re about, and I think he can translate that,” said current Chair Sara Baker, noting Treadway’s involvement with City Council, the Planning Commission and the Historic Zoning Commission.
Although Treadway was absent from the meeting, he has been with the commission for two years, and commissioners said they are confident in his knowledge and qualifications for the position.
Augustus will enter her second term as secretary, after eight years as Vice-Chair.
Augustus also serves as Director of the Cedar Grove Foundation, a local history preservation organization, where she has worked for 15 years researching and conducting interviews.
The Tennessee Historical Commission met on June 26 and approved the state historical marker for the Elizabethton Blue Greys. All of the funding has come through, and though the marker will arrive in December, commissioners intend to wait until warmer weather arrives to install it.
“That was really wonderful news to hear,” Augustus said. “It is being made as we speak, and I am very very excited about that.”
Large commented that this is one of the only markers on which the information on the front continues to the back, rather than having the same information on both sides. He said the signs often only contain very limited information, but this sign will allow people to be able to read more information commemorating the Blue Greys.
“This is remarkable,” he added. “It’s been needed for a long time.”
In other news, Baker said she would like the commission to revisit the possibility of a non-profit preservation society, which had been discussed at a previous meeting. She said it would assist homeowners who might not have the funding or the capability to maintain and preserve their historic homes.
Director of Planning and Development Jon Hartman said they will need to complete an application for tax-exempt status for the society.
Baker said she hopes the proposed organization can function much like Elizabethton Public Library’s Friends of the Library.