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For Immediate Release
Governor Names Laidlaw State Historic Preservation Officer
(COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 9, 2008) -Gov. Ted Strickland recently appointed William K. Laidlaw, Jr., as the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). Laidlaw, executive director and CEO of the Ohio Historical Society since 2003, assumes the duties immediately.
“I look forward to taking on the role of the state’s historic preservation officer,” Laidlaw said. “Historic preservation is important – not only for preserving our state’s past, but for building its future through economic development. Last year, Ohio led the nation with 168 completed rehabilitation projects resulting in almost $155 million invested in historic buildings and the creation of about 8,000 new jobs.”
The SHPO is responsible for administering Ohio’s historic preservation program. Through the activities of the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, the Ohio Historical Society has carried out the state’s day-to-day historic preservation operations on behalf of the state of Ohio since the program was authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966. There is no salary associated with the position.
Laidlaw assumes the SHPO duties from the Society’s deputy director and chief operating officer, Rachel Tooker, who was appointed to the position in 2002. Tooker encouraged Laidlaw’s appointment to help elevate the position and noted that Ohio’s structure will now resemble that of many other states where the highest administrative officer of the state’s history organization also serves as SHPO.
“The Ohio Historic Preservation Office, which is among the best in the country, works hard with very limited resources to carry out the state’s historic preservation program,” Laidlaw said. “In my new role I’ll aggressively promote that every Ohio community can use historic preservation principles to stabilize neighborhoods, provide affordable housing, stimulate private investment, bring people and businesses back downtown, attract tourists and strengthen community pride. With the newly enacted state historic tax credit we have another tool to achieve these goals.”
The Ohio Historic Preservation Office works to preserve Ohio’s historic resources by identifying historic properties and nominating them to the National Register of Historic Places, certifying federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credit projects, providing technical assistance on historic preservation issues, qualifying communities for the Certified Local Governments program and administering a related competitive grants program for participating communities, and reviewing more than 6,000 federally-assisted projects a year to ensure that alternatives are considered in any action that may affect properties listed on, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places.
Each year Ohio ranks at or near the top nationally in the number of federally-assisted projects reviewed. Ohio is regularly among the top states in number of buildings rehabilitated and amount of private dollars invested through a program administered in Ohio by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office that rewards those who invest in rehabilitating income-producing properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places with a federal income tax credit. Ohio has the third highest number of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, following New York and Massachusetts.
The Ohio Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that serves as the state’s partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, archaeology and natural history. For more information about the Ohio Historical Society and its programs, call 614.297.2300/800.686.6124 or visit www.ohiohistory.org.
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Media contact: Kim Schuette: 614.297.2314 or kschuette@ohiohistory.org
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