The students provided free labor for several gardening, painting and mulching projects in Frank Fetch Park and Schiller Park. They helped Actors’ Theatre get the cottage and stage cleaned up for summer.  A group of students went to Livingston United Methodist Food Pantry for some deep cleaning. Another group deliver posted to GVBC businesses. More students were at the Meeting Haus, moving and marking items for sale at Village Valuables.

Thanks, Wellington!

Wellington Community Service

The award ceremony, hosted by the German Village Commission and the Historic Preservation Committee, provided us with examples how the challenges of renovation and preserving existing architecture can culminate in spaces that are the envy of all.

The Preservation Award for 180 Reinhard Avenue showcased the “re-addition” of a porch removed years ago and painstakingly restored through found photos.  Visitors to this year’s Haus und Garten Tour will get the chance to see up close the efforts of Tim Moore and Ken Hunger.

This year’s Commissioner’s Award for 684 City Park represents the challenges the German Village Commission faces when dilapidated structures fight with historic preservation values.   After much deliberation and some heated discussions the end result is a home that wows (you can check it out in this month’s Capital Style magazine).

The property at 145 E. Sycamore, which is the recipient of the Chairman’s Award, shows that big things can happen in small spaces.  This home, thought to be one of the oldest in German Village, was another location that suffered years of neglect before its  owner and his father brought it back to life and splendor.

GVS Board President Bill Case had the pleasure of presenting this year’s President’s award to Alan McKnight, director of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, along with his very dedicated staff.  They have been great partners for many years and make our German Village parks places that we all want to visit every day (and some of us do).

Lastly, with heavy hearts we bid a fond farewell to our longtime friends and neighbors, Brett and Andrea Cambern.   We will miss the dedication, support and most importantly the energy this dynamic couple has brought to our community.   We hope that they will always remember their times in German Village and life on Beck Street with the Ambassador Award presented depicting artistic images of the four restored and constructed properties they so lovingly brought to fruition.

This evening was a wonderful collaboration and celebration of our German Village Commission and German Village Historic Preservation committee efforts and a big thank you to the members of both organizations for their hard work and I look forward to seeing what the 2013 awards will bring.

The 2012 Caretakers of a Legacy Awards ceremony was May 15.

The German Village Commission honored three projects that contribute to the preservation and enhancement of the historic fabric of German Village. Following the Commission’s awards, the German Village Society presented the President’s Award to City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department.

Andrea and Brett Cambern joined us to receive a special recognition for years of dedication and service to the German Village Society.

Awards were followed by a reception and a chance to socialize with like-minded leaders in preservation and Columbus advocacy. Before the evening even began, our Open House showed off our newly remodeled office space and named the team of donors responsible for our very polished new home! If you couldn’t join us to see the self-led walking tour of the offices in person, here are the notes from the plaques. In addition to the remodeling donors, we also recognized Sarah Benson as our matching-funds donor for Team Historic German Village in the Cap City Half-Marathon.

May 15, 2012

You can preview their presentation here.PARKING ISSUES ON THE NEAR SOUTHSIDE OF COLUMBUS

Permit Parking Restrictions 5 3 12

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF RESIDENTIAL PERMIT PARKING rosetti

As everyone knows, it takes a lot of hard work and diligence to keep our wonderful village homes in shape.   And we all know that it takes a village to keep our beloved GVS Meeting Haus the pride of the community.   It is our civic theater, our society meeting place, the tourist’s stop, our social stomping ground, the symbol ofGermanVillage   It is indeed our home away from home and we are so proud of it.

But this wonderful haus comes with a price.   We inherited a mortgage free legacy, but no endowment to cover the operation and maintenance costs.   Therefore, your membership dues and other revenues must cover these annual costs such as cleaning, painting, insurance, heating, etc. Every year, the budget must include estimates for these expenses. It is the Meeting Haus Maintenance committee that has the responsibility, along with the staff, to ensure these tasks are completed.

In addition, there are the major maintenance costs such as new carpeting, furnaces, etc.  Just a few years ago, the outside of the building was in neglect.   Over $40,000 was spent to “catch up” by painting the outside trim, caulking, new flat roof (yes, portions of the roof are flat and covered with special fabric), etc.   TheVisitorCenterwas also freshened (some of you may remember that the flat roof leaked into the center ceiling).   It is a never-ending job and it is the responsibility of the Meeting Haus Maintenance committee to oversee and schedule this work.

A few years ago, the Board had the foresight to create two funds for our Meeting Haus.   There is a Meeting Haus Replacement Fund, based upon a lifetime replacement schedule of major assets (four furnaces, air conditioners, roofs, elevator, etc.).   The source of this fund was the sale of the Third Street rental a few years ago.    In addition, there is a Warner Maintenance Fund initiated with a bequest from Brent Warner.   This fund is used to pay for major “non-annual” maintenance items (our new alarm system, new phones, and others too numerous to mention).   This legacy of giving to the upkeep of our Meeting Haus continues today with a very generous gift in memory of Gene Owen in his will.

There are others who give funds for very specific needs.   Who hasn’t been aware of the sad condition of the office and kitchen area over the past few years?   Thanks to another generous set of donors, led by one major donation, who funded a major upgrade to the areas, the staff has a wonderful environment to work.  Be sure to take advantage of the building tour at the May 15 Open House before the Caretakers of a Legacy Awards ceremony to see what has been remodeled.   It is like night and day! The Open House begins next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. with the award to begin at 6. We will reveal the donors’ names at that event!

The Maintenance Committee has been extremely active for the past couple of years.   By going from room to room, an inventory list was created for everything that needed fixed, upgraded, replaced or cleaned.   This list has safety issues (furnace clearance, emergency lighting, grab bars, etc.).  Upgrades will keep our insurance costs low and the building efficient.   Cleaning involves steaming years of grime off the tile and grout.   Did you ever notice the musty smell in the elevator during the summer?  Well it is a problem with a badly designed sump pump system.   Who knew?  But it will soon be fixed, thanks to the diligence of the Maintenance Committee.

The list of work goes on and on and it is a never-ending labor of love by the staff and committee to take care of our Meeting Haus, our collective legacy.   So the next time you run into Mary Ross, David Schooler, Ned Merkle, and Jeff Ruff – the committee members – as well as Russ and Shiloh, be sure to thank them!   And of course, if there is anyone who would like to join this band of legacy caretakers, just give Shiloh a call.   Preservation is not cheap nor easy and the committee can always use more help.