The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation yesterday announced the County of Kaua‘i has been designated a Preserve America Community, according to a county press release. Through this prestigious designation, the county becomes eligible for grants and other assistance to its
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation yesterday announced the County of Kaua‘i has been designated a Preserve America Community, according to a county press release. Through this prestigious designation, the county becomes eligible for grants and other assistance to its historic preservation and heritage tourism efforts.
The County of Kaua‘i is the third Hawai‘i community, after Honolulu’s Chinatown Historic District and Maui County to receive this special designation.
“We’re proud to receive this designation,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho said in the written statement. “I’d like to thank the previous County Council and former Mayor Kaipo Asing for supporting our application to this program. We’ll be looking for opportunities to utilize these grants for historic and cultural preservation projects.”
ACHP Chairman John L. Nau, III officially welcomed the County of Kaua‘i as a Preserve America Community.
“There are significant economic, educational, and cultural benefits that historic preservation, through efforts such as heritage tourism, provides a community,” Nau said in the release. “Sustainable preservation is not a cost for maintaining the past; it is an investment in the future. Preserve America Communities are to be commended for their dedication to historic preservation and their visions for civic improvement. Congratulations to the County of Kaua‘i on their designation.”
The Preserve America initiative is a White House effort to encourage and support community efforts for the preservation and enjoyment of America’s priceless cultural and natural heritage.
The goals of the initiative, which is administered by the ACHP in partnership with other federal agencies include: a greater shared knowledge about the nation’s past; strengthened regional identities and local pride; increased local participation in preserving the country’s cultural and natural heritage assets; and support for the economic vitality of communities.
Preserve America began as a White House initiative in 2003. First Lady Laura Bush is honorary chair of Preserve America.
More than 600 cities, counties, tribes, and neighborhoods in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have been designated Preserve America Communities.
Preserve America Communities become eligible for technical and financial support for educational and marketing opportunities.
Preserve America grants compliment the bricks and mortar funding of the Save America’s Treasures grant program by helping local communities develop sustainable resource and marketing management strategies, sound business practices for the continued preservation and use of heritage assets, and educational and interpretive efforts.
“The County of Kaua‘i has a long standing historical and culturally significant past that merits such a designation as a Preserve America Community,” Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, who supported the designation process, said in the statement. “The designation will offer a mechanism to recognize important federal heritage sites on Kaua‘i, thereby promoting an opportunity for interaction between the federal government and the public at the community level.”
