Bradford’s Historic District and the ordinances governing it
were a topic of discussion again at Bradford City Council Tuesday
evening.

Brian McNamara, a newly appointed member of the Historic
Architectural Review Board, had some questions for council about a
certificate of appropriateness issued by HARB last Thursday for
replacement windows on a building in the district.

“Certain things came up with the application, mainly with
replacing windows,” McNamara said. He explained that under the
city’s ordinance for Historic Preservation, there is a section
regarding windows which reads, “existing historic windows and
window openings shall be retained and rehabilitated wherever
possible.”

In last Thursday’s appearance before HARB, Tom Riel argued for
replacing windows in a building at 44 E. Corydon St. with white
vinyl windows, McNamara said.

“There are 28 buildings in the Historic District with
replacement windows,” Riel, who is also a councilman, said at
Tuesday’s meeting.

McNamara said council needed to consider whether they should
make a change to the ordinance to allow replacement windows, or
whether they should break with past precedent and begin strict
adherence to the ordinance as it stands.

“If the ordinance isn’t serving the people, it might need looked
at,” he said.

He added that the current ordinance does address replacing
windows, but that vinyl windows are not addressed.

“If that was looked at, it might be able to include replacing
windows in a more favorable way,” McNamara said.

“The only problem with the old windows is, no matter how nice
you make it look, they don’t work,” said Councilman Tom Shay. He
and Riel spoke of economic reasons for vinyl windows, as well as
improved energy efficiency.

“It doesn’t meet the guidelines of the ordinance,” McNamara
said. “I personally think they should be restored.”

Riel pointed out Old City Hall, saying that multi-million-dollar
restoration project included replacement windows.

“Those windows could not go in there if you follow (the
ordinance) to a ‘T,'” he said.

Main Street Manager Diane DeWalt spoke up, saying council should
carefully consider what the Historic District means before changing
any ordinances.

“We only have 125 buildings left in our Historic District,” she
said. “It’s not a lot of properties. We should take it under
careful consideration before we make any major changes. We should
look at why it was done in the first place. We should look at all
the positives that can come out of a fully restored historic
district.”

Shay said another consideration has to be the financial
responsibility of maintaining a building. “People need to be able
to keep the building after they restore it.”

Mayor Michele Corignani said council will look at the ordinance
and consider how best to proceed.

In other business, council heard from South Kendall Avenue
resident Lisa Himes about the unsafe situation with the old Sixth
Ward School. She said the property is in disrepair and teenagers
have been breaking into the building, creating safety concerns.

Bill McCormack, fire chief and head of code enforcement, said he
would see that the property is secured.

Council approved on second reading a Tax Incremental Financing
plan for the Sixth Ward area, which deems the area a blight and
will allow for the eventual demolition of the old school.

A Bishop Street resident was at the meeting asking council if
she could recommend a building in her neighborhood for the city’s
demolition list. She explained that she calls Code Enforcement
Officer Merle Silvis about every six weeks during the summer about
it because the lawn isn’t mowed or because there is another obvious
violation.

And the property just keeps getting worse, she said.

“The list is larger than our funds,” Corignani said, “but we do
have some folks who can go look at it.”

She explained the process of a property owner being cited, and
added that she knew there were citations filed in this matter.

She asked Jeff Andrews of the Office of Economic and Community
Development if he would inspect the condition of the residence to
see if it merits further consideration.

Prior to the council meeting, Sara Andrews of the OECD conducted
a public hearing regarding the year’s Community Development Block
Grant funds. She explained that she still does not know how much
the city will be getting, but is expecting another 10 percent
reduction to about $360,000.

The projects proposed for funding with the grant include code
enforcement, engineering and construction for the streetscape
program, the city’s sidewalk replacement program, Elm Street
infrastructure improvements and an Onofrio Street homebuyer
assistance program.

A second hearing on the proposals will be held prior to the Feb.
14 council meeting.