Small Grants Combined Eligibility and Application Form_ParsonsCollectionsStorage2022.pdfCOMMUNITY PRESERVATION
COMBINED SMALL GRANT
ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION FORM
SMALL GRANTS COMBINED ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
1. Please familiarize yourself with the relevant portions of the CPC Plan 2012-
2014 (at a minimum: eligibility (Appendix A, Allowable Use Table), general
evaluation Criteria (Overview - Page 6), and applicable program criteria
(Historic Preservation – Page 14, Community Housing, Page 22, Open
Space, Page 24, Recreation, Page 31)
2. Please consult with the CPC staff prior to submitting any application
materials. Coordinating early will help ensure that your proposal is eligible
for CPA funds, and increase the chances of a favorable decision. CPC staff
can be reached at 413-587-1263.
3. Complete the Combined Eligibility and Application Form.
4. We would prefer that you keep to the space provided. But if you need
additional space, please continue on separate pieces of paper; number all
the pages submitted. Ten copies are required.
5. Attach any letters of support, funding commitments or landowner
permission
6. Attach any of the following if relevant:
a.photographs, renderings or design plans of the site, building, structure or other
subject for which the application is made
b.USGS topographical map, assessors map, or other map as appropriate, showing
location of the project
c.Information regarding Natural resource limitations (wetlands, flood plain) or
zoning (district, dimensional and use regulations as applies to the land)
d.Mass. Historic Commission Historic inventory sheet
e.Historic structure report or existing condition reports
f.Names and addresses of project contractors, and consultants
g. Evidence that appropriate professional standards will be followed if construction,
restoration or rehabilitation is proposed.
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Project Title: Parsons House Second Floor Collections Storage and Inventory Project
Project location, including address and parcel number: Historic Northampton,
Damon House, 46 Bridge St, Northampton, MA 01060, Parcel 32A-175
Project Sponsor/Organization: Historic Northampton
Contact Name: Kelsy Sinelnikov
Property Owner, if applicable: Historic Northampton
Mailing Address: 46 Bridge St Northampton, MA 01060
Daytime phone #:413-584-6011 Fax #:
E-mail address: ksinelnikov@historicnorthampton.org
For the following, please refer to the Small Grant Eligibility Chart:
http://northamptonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4185
CPA Program Area (check those that apply):
Open Space x Historic Preservation
Community Housing Recreation
Project Purpose (check those that apply) :
x Preservation
Rehabilitation/Restoration
Applicant’s Signature:____________________________
8/29/2022
Date Submitted: ____________________________
For CPC Use Eligible: _____ Not Eligible: _____ Date:__________ Reviewer: ____________________
Appropriate for Small Grant Process_____
Referred to Traditional Funding Round______
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Total Project Budget (not to exceed $6,000.00): $4,995
CPA Funding Request (not to exceed $3,000.00): $3,000
Funding from other sources:$1,995 match from funds contributed by HN members
(most of whom are Northampton residents).
List any in-kind donations of labor or materials:Volunteers,interns,and staff will
move,rehouse,inventory,and organize the collections.Time is estimated at more than
100 hours.
CPA Request as % of Total Budget: 60%
Budget Summary: Please specify how CPA funds will be spent. Itemize all
projected expenditures. If budget is based on a quote, please attach it. List
any additional funding sources or donations of in-kind service. These funds
must be secured at the time of application, as evidenced by a signed
commitment letter referencing the content of the application, and including
any restriction on the use of funds.
Collections Shelving
Steel Shelving (36” x 12” x 75”) 2 units @$240 per unit = $480, Uline
Steel Shelving (36” x 18” x 75”) 4 units @$255 per unit = $1,020, Uline
Steel Shelving (36” x 24” x 75”) 9 units @$290 per unit = $2,610, Uline
Shipping = $400
Shelving Total = $4,510
Rehousing Supplies
Ethafoam (24” w x 85” L) = $140, Gaylord Archival Supplies
Archival Cartons = $245, University Products
Unbuffered Acid Free Tissue (40” x 250’) = $100, University Products
Supply Total = $485
Project Total = $4,995
1) Please provide a brief description of the project.
Historic Northampton seeks to purchase: 1) new metal shelving to install in two
(of 6) rooms on the second floor of the Parsons House; and 2) acid-free supplies
for rehousing artifacts and archives that will go on the shelves.
The second floor of Parsons House is devoted to collection storage because that
upstairs floor cannot be made accessible to the public. We are planning to open
the first floor to the public.
The new shelving in the second floor rooms will be used in a project to inventory,
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rehouse and store the collections objects and archival records in these rooms.
This project is essential for the long term preservation of the collections and for
their increased availability and accessibility to the public.
Currently, the objects and archives in these two rooms are either on the floor,
where they are particularly vulnerable to being damaged when trying to access
other nearby objects, or on poor-quality, rickety plastic shelving. The existing
shelves do not have the depth, width or strength to properly support many larger
objects and boxes, causing strain to the objects extending beyond the shelves.
The proposed metal shelves are deeper, taller, wider units that will support
collection objects and archival boxes, make more efficient use of the space, and
meet professional museum standards.
In addition to better preserving the collections, the shelving will improve
collection accessibility by allowing staff to more easily pull objects for public
research requests, programs, and exhibitions. The new shelving will provide
adequate space for Historic Northampton to properly inventory the items for both
our own recordkeeping and for sharing with the public through our digital
collections catalog.
The photos at the end of this application highlight the current conditions of the rooms
where shelving is needed, as well as an image of one of the upstairs rooms in Parsons
House where new shelving and rehousing has already taken place.
2) What Community Preservation criteria – both general and
program-area specific – does this project meet? Please refer to the
Overview CPA Plan Section, Page 6), and applicable program criteria.
(Historic Preservation – Page 14, Community Housing, Page 22, Open
Space, Page 24, Recreation, Page 31)
Historic Preservation – Preservation of records and materials documenting
Northampton’s history, specifically archives and objects.
3) What community need(s) does this project serve? If the project serves
multiple needs and populations, please describe them. If the project serves
a population that is currently underserved, please describe.
The project will provide better access and preservation for objects and archival records
documenting the history of Northampton. The collections that will be rehoused include
the Hortense Clapp Pollard Archival Collection that documents several generations of a
family living and working in Northampton, along with information related to their
property built in 1895 (70 Old South Street). It also will preserve objects that document
(1) several historic Northampton-based businesses, such as Sabin Coal and Nonotuck
Silk Co., (2) were used in the daily lives of its citizens, or (3) were featured in or on
buildings throughout the city. Many members of the community are represented in
these collections, including some who are normally overlooked or unrecorded. As an
institution, Historic Northampton strives to continue to diversify its holdings to represent
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all of Northampton.
4) What specific guarantees will assure the long-term preservation of the
project?
The project will allow for the collections to be stored securely and in a way that
minimizes the risk of damage to the materials, which in turn will help to preserve them
for future generations. Their housing, access and use will be overseen by the
collections manager with assistance from other staff at Historic Northampton. The
ambient humidity and temperature are monitored weekly to ensure levels are
appropriate for long-term preservation.
This project accomplishes work recommended by two professional assessments of
Historic Northampton’s collections conducted in 2020: one through the Massachusetts
State Historic Records Board (SHRAB) Roving Archivist Program and the other through
the Collection Assessment for Preservation (CAP) Program. The CAP assessment
focused on the buildings and overall collections storage, while the SHRAB assessment
focused on our archival collections and their housing. Both assessments cited
overcrowded conditions and a lack of shelving as detrimental to the collections
long-term preservation, and specifically recommended adding additional archival grade
boxes and metal shelving units.
5) What community support does the project have? Explain the nature and
level of the support.
Historic Northampton has strong community support. We have an active group of
community volunteers and board members that assist specifically with collections.
They are excited to move ahead with this project because it will increase the ability of
Historic Northampton’s staff to respond to research requests and expand the number
of materials available to researchers and lay historians.
6) How will the success of this project be measured?
The collections will be housed in an organized manner according to professional
museum standards. There will be enough space to prevent overcrowding of
materials and to allow for easy retrieval.
7) Is ongoing maintenance and upkeep required? If yes, please explain how
this will be accomplished.
Required ongoing maintenance will be similar to that of the other museum collections
and will be done by staff, trained volunteers and interns. The staff will ensure that
additions to the collections are properly housed. Staff will also continue to monitor and
regulate the temperature and humidity levels of the rooms to keep them at proper
levels.
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8) Explain the various steps of the project and when they will be completed
We will begin by moving the contents of each room to temporary housing in one of
the other rooms in Parsons House. This will allow us to make any necessary repairs to
the room prior to installing the new shelving.
Once the shelving is installed, objects will be retrieved and organized by size and type.
During this process each object will also be inventoried, which will include a written
description, measurements, and photograph; the object’s location will also be recorded
with a photo. The physical rehousing will also allow for safer in-person access through
the better organization and use of space that the shelves will allow.
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9) Provide any additional information you think would be useful
in considering your project.
Current conditions on small crowded shelving
Example of collections after reorganization in another
room on the second floor of the Parsons House with
the proposed shelving. The objects in this room were
rehoused from the Shepherd Barn.
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