LEWISBURG — The region’s historic preservationists will be afforded a rare training opportunity this spring, as a team of experts offers instruction and advice during an event dubbed a “CAMP.”

The Commission Assistance and Mentoring Program is the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions’ signature training program, providing intensive, on-site training for local preservation commission members and staff.

In early May, CAMP will bring expert speakers to Lewisburg for a full-day session covering fundamental topics and issues related to commission operations. According to Carol R. Olson, chair of the Lewisburg Historic Landmarks Commission (HLC), plans for the CAMP are now being finalized, with the Greenbrier County Library the probable site for the training on such topics as legal issues, standards and guidelines, and procedures for running meetings.

Lewisburg is one of three West Virginia jurisdictions chosen to host a CAMP this spring; the other two will be conducted in Elkins and near Morgantown.

Olson told the Lewisburg City Council Tuesday evening that the state Division of Culture and History awarded the city’s HLC a $10,000 grant to pay costs associated with the CAMP, meaning that any preservation commission member or staffer who would like to take part in the training can do so at no charge.

Attendance is not limited to members of the Lewisburg HLC, Olson emphasized, saying she hopes the CAMP attracts participants from around the region.

“We are very proud to have been selected to host a CAMP,” Olson said.

Further details on the event will be released as they become available.

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Olson also issued the Lewisburg HLC’s annual report to Council Tuesday.

“We’ve had another successful year,” she said. “We’ve saved some important pieces of history.”

The HLC has jurisdiction over exterior alterations to the properties located in Lewisburg’s historic district, which encompasses the central portion of the city.

In 2011, the commission reviewed fewer than 60 applications, a decline of around 40 percent from the previous year’s figures. Olson told Council she wasn’t sure if the lower numbers meant fewer people were opting to alter their properties or that more were making those alterations without benefit of the certificates of appropriateness issued by the HLC.

The commission denied only three applications in 2011, compared to 11 denials in 2010.

In her report, Olson wrote, “The HLC is always reluctant to deny applications and actively engages with applicants to accept revisions rather than face a denial.”

Around 20 percent of 2011’s applications were approved with conditions attached.

In response to a question from Council member Joshua Baldwin, Olson said the bulk of the guidelines the HLC follows come from the National Park Service, which oversees the nation’s preservation efforts. Additionally, the HLC reviewed guidelines already in place in various other municipalities that have established commissions, she said.

Mayor John Manchester praised the work done by the HLC in enforcing those guidelines.

“(The HLC) maintains the value of everyone’s property” in the historic district, the mayor said.

He told Olson he would like to see the HLC resurrect the practice of giving an annual award for a “striking example of restoration” in the city.

Olson said she would take that request to the commission’s membership and added she would like for the city to help promote the use of tax credits for historic preservation.

Residential restorations can qualify for a 20 percent credit on West Virginia income tax, and business restorations can get a 25 percent credit on federal income tax, plus a state credit, Olson said.

In order to qualify, certain stipulations must be met, including pre-approval by the appropriate agency.

— E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com