FLY CREEK - Efforts to form a historic district in the hamlet of Fly Creek are rapidly moving forward, officials reported this week.

Jim Wolff, chairman of the Fly Creek Area Historical Society board, said a hearing is set for May 24 on the proposed district and the proposal is on the agenda of the New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation for June 23.

Kathleen LaFrank, the regional review person with the NYS Historic Preservation Office, confirmed that the public hearing would take place and that the Fly Creek proposal was on the agenda for the state office's quarterly meeting in June.

"It's a win-win kind of thing," Wolff said about the historic district's creation. He said the primary reason for creating an historic district is to give communities with historic structures another level of protection against encroachment from highway expansions.

"If the state were to follow through on a proposed, tentative plan to increase usage of Route 28 (which passes through Fly Creek), they would have to provide a lot of good reasons why the road would have to be widened in the historic district," Wolff said.

Wolff said there's no truth to the concern that homeowners living in the district will be unfairly impacted by the designation.

"They want to paint their building a different color or they want to build a porch, they can," he said. "There's absolutely no effect (to homeowners) of being on the registry."

He said the only time it results in an extra level of governmental review is when building owners apply for a state or national permit.

Wolff said the exact boundaries are still being determined, but the district would include the historic mill and manufacturing areas that are in the hamlet of Fly Creek. Most of the homes and structures in the area were constructed in the early 19th century.

He said the Oaksville, Cattown and Toddsville areas would be considered in a separate project.

According to Jessie Ravage, the local preservation consultant who has been filling out the applications and doing the survey work required for the project, the historic district would encompass about 120 properties.

"I've thought this was an area that should be listed and I'm happy to be the person doing it," she said.

Ravage said property owners within the district will receive notification in the mail about the proposal and will have the chance to respond in writing as well as at the meeting May 24.

"Public support is really important," she said. "Projects that don't have good public support have trouble getting through the review process."

She said most people affected by the district seemed to be aware of the project and that support seemed to be good.

Wolff said the Historical Society would consider placing signs in the area denoting the historic district and specific historic landmarks if the proposal is approved. He said individuals in the community would also be able to purchase plaques to put on their properties.

He said no celebration would be planned until after the meeting in June, but if they were approved, something would be held.

If accepted by the state, it is forwarded to the National Park Service for inclusion in the federal register, which is almost always a shoe-in, Wolff said.

"Ninety-nine times out of 100 it gets accepted immediately," he said.

Wolff said the application fees and consultant fees were paid for through a number of grants and funds from the society's treasury. He said they received a $2,000 grant from Otsego 2000 and a $2,000 grant from the New York Preservation League, and spent approximately $2,700 taken from treasury funds and acquired through fundraising.

The Fly Creek area currently has three buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Fly Creek United Methodist Church; the Fly Creek Grange, which serves as headquarters for the Historical Society, and The Cornfields.