Westminster's Historic District Commission met Thursday night to discuss the success of the recent Historic Westminster Holiday House Tour and to make plans for the coming year.

"We hope that our efforts for 2011 will encourage people's enthusiasm about Westminster's historical resources and heritage," said Westminster Architect Dean Robert Camlin who has served on the Commission since its inception. "The Preservation Fair that we are planning for April should be especially interesting and beneficial to those with homes in the National Registry, and there will be useful information for all homeowners from the event's exhibitors and workshops."

Current plans for this first Fair include having experts in various areas of preservation and renovation available to exhibit their services and products and to talk one-on-one with attendees. Workshops will be offered on various subjects such as tax credits and the heritage tree program. The Commission hopes that the Fair will encourage and help residents in their spring cleaning and sprucing up efforts.

In addition to the Preservation Fair, which will be held April 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Westminster Fire Department on John Street, the Commission plans to celebrate Preservation Month in May with a scavenger hunt poster to involve Westminster residents with some of the City's architectural features.

Other plans for the year include considering a way to provide mini-grants to historic district homeowners and revisiting the tax credit regulations.

"We need to extend the tax credit time limits so that they provide enough time to claim all eligible expenses," said Commission Chairman Kristen McMasters.

High on the priority list is finding a way to provide information to the Belle Grove and Willis Street neighborhoods on the importance of being part of the Commission's programs.

"We need to find a way to point out all the benefits of being part of this program and convey that to the residents of these neighborhoods," said Commissioner Arlette Mitchell.

Although the next Holiday House Tour will not be held until 2012, this is the year that the planning begins. The Commission plans to finalize the chosen neighborhood and homes by July. They are hoping that 2012 will be another banner year for the House Tour, which set attendance and revenue records in 2010.

"We sold a record number of tickets this year (900 versus 651 in 2008) and had revenues of $9,774, which gave us approximately $5,800 net," said Comprehensive Planner Melissa Hynes. "We donated $1,000 to the Belle Grove Neighborhood Association to support their plans for neighborhood improvements."

The Commission is considering other ways to use the House Tour revenues such as providing plaques for homes in the National Register District, providing mini-grants, and making Community Character and Design Awards.

There are currently six volunteer members serving on the Commission of the seven that are approved. If you would like to serve as the seventh member, call Melissa Hynes at 410-848-7967.

The Commission's Web site (www.westgov.com/citygov/citygov_hdc.html) states "You don't have to be an expert, just interested and motivated". Members must reside in the City and are appointed by the Mayor for three-year term.

The Commission meets on the first Thursday of every month at 7 PM in City Hall and the meeting is open to the public.