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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 01/21/2020APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2020 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL RD HPC COMMISSION MEMBERS: Steve Olson-Chair; Tara Kalar-Vice Chair; Pamela Spera; Valerie Ross; Paul Thorp; Shanti Shah; Cheryl Kessler COMMISSION STAFF: David Lindahl, Staff Liaison Kristin Harley, Recording Secretary STUDENT MEMBERS: Maia Chavez; Ellyse Ferlauto; Lilly Hyland; Aditya Nandhiyar I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Olson called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Absent was commission member Kessler and student representative Chavez. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Kalar moved, seconded by Shah to approve the agenda. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Thorp moved, seconded by Shah to approve the amended minutes of the December 16, 2019 with the changes to page one, Item IV paragraph A, New Business, to omit the unfinished sentence, “This item would be on the agenda for January and would be presented at the City Council’s January” and on page two, Item V paragraph B, to add the word, “be” to read, “Olson emphasized this would be a formal plan, and to change “Shot Update to “Short Update” in Item V, Old Business paragraph C. Motion carried 6-0 with one abstention (Spera). IV. NEW BUSINESS A. STATE PRESERVATION PLAN FEEDBACK – GROUP ACTIVITY (OLSON) Olson asked the commission members to review the Participant Worksheets and circle their choices. Olson went through the roster and took a straw poll for each worksheet. Discussion followed on choosing which top choices to present to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The commission members passed their marked worksheets to Olson. EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION January 21, 2020 Page 2 Shah stated the city Winona which held the SHPO conference had a very strong public-private partnership and this model seemed to work. The local government provided incentives; the mayor was also the head of the local historical society, and the commission could take inspiration from this. Lindahl suggested introducing preservation concepts and solutions at the high school level and earlier, as they were not on most people’s radar focus until at least college. Nandhiyar stated English and History classes could touch on these topics, for example, slavery and preservation, and filtered history (omitting slavery, et cetera) in the Carolinas was a challenge. Hyland stated students learned history and Minnesota history but this curriculum was not connected to sites and artifacts. Olson noted the commission had not done a lot of coordination with the schools, although commission member Kalar had approached the schools. Shah stated while Eden Prairie was traditionally a farming community, 25 percent of the residents were new immigrants, and she thought this represented an opportunity to do outreach, perhaps through oral history. Kalar agreed, saying there might be tendency in historical preservation to stay within comfortable limits, but being inclusive might tell a new and uncomfortable story that did not reflect past narratives. Shah said bringing in new participants was one way to broaden the commission’s scope. Olson suggested connecting more with the Mdewakanton Community in Eden Prairie. Kalar suggested continuing this discussion outside the meeting, as she had reached out to that community again. Shah stated the Smith Douglas House was a recognizable landmark in Eden Prairie which connected with the community. Thorp stated there were upcoming opportunities at the Cummins Phipps Grill House and Ross would announce this. Ross stated there was an unwritten rule at the Historical Society was to keep the doors open. A visitor who walked in had the opportunity to see the timeline and the photographs. Ross stated the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) came up with an effort to catalog and document artifacts called “Collective Access.” It would help local entities with their collections through hands-on instruction. Spera noted the state gave cities funding to recognize Human Rights Day, and the commission could celebrate a history-themed statewide event but on a smaller scale. Shah suggested including a more long term view of preservation, such as the issue of hand- embroidered saris possessed by ordinary citizens that nevertheless contain artifacts that are produced by only one family in India. A statewide repository and plan for these oral-history cultural artifacts of recent immigrants that might be threatened by modernization would preserve these. European museums were doing this, but not in the countries of origin. Olson noted there was a museum on the lower level of this building and perhaps there could be a plan to consider this locally. Shah agreed, but suggested a statewide plan would allow local EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION January 21, 2020 Page 3 communities to mimic it and use it as a springboard. Thorp stated it was the goal of the Cummins Phipps Grill House remodel to contain artifacts like that. V. OLD BUSINESS A. WATER RESERVOIR INTERPRETATIVE PANEL UPDATE (THORP) Thorp stated he attended a meeting several weeks ago and Shah wrote up a proposal. Some items were chosen for the interpretive panel. He displayed the chosen photographs. He had contacted Kate Qualley the graphic designer and would meet with her this week. She would make a proposal to the City. He invited other commission members to meet with her, possibly on Friday. Lindahl, Kalar, Spera and Thorp agreed to coordinate after this meeting. Lindahl stated he did speak to Rick Wahlen, Utility Operations Manager. The goal was to have content prepared by March, 2020. B. YORKVILLE PRESERVATION PLAN UPDATE Lindahl stated John Gertz, former preservation planner, agreed to write a preservation plan. He had not heard back from Bob Mack. VI. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. 2020 PEOPLEFEST UPDATE (SHAH) Shah stated the event would be held July 31 through August 16, 2020. Last year was a success. HPC would have a booth. A party would be held August 9. The Interfaith Community had been popular. IndiaFest would be held August 15. The organizers would partner with Southwest and Staring Park, and perhaps there would be funding to have vendors who can sell goods. Last year’s feedback from the participants indicated they wished to buy items. B. STREET SIGN FUNDED PROJECTS MTG. DEBRIEF (OLSON) Olson and Lindahl met with Getschow. The commission members would be fully involved in how the funds would be used. Defining the Red Horse project would help the commission in its decision. VII. REPORTS OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY Ross stated the Historical Society was approached by film company to use the Cummins Phipps Grill House twice. The first shooting date was set for February 7 to produce a short documentary, “Minnesota Thirteen” about whiskey make in Minnesota during Prohibition. This would use an upstairs bedroom and the film EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION January 21, 2020 Page 4 company would reimburse the Historical Society. The company learned about the site through one of the board members whose house had been used before for a film. The second film would be a horror film, “Preserved” probably shot in March, 2021. This company would use the upstairs and the basement. Spera suggested these films were great advertising for a historic property. The Historical Society’s Annual Meeting was set for April 30. The speaker would be Steve Kobbs, grand-nephew of Otto Kobbs who built the Flying Cloud Drive- In. Refreshments would be served. The Vintage Sale was set for May 8 and 9 but no times were set as of yet. Ross again described the cataloging project using “Collective Access.” The Historical Society’s newsletter would come out soon and feature Spera and Ross at the Heritage Celebration. The City would put a roof on the Cummins Phipps Grill House in 2021, so some upstairs work would be delayed to protect artifacts, wallpapering, et cetera. VIII. FYI ITEMS Ross asked staff how the oral history project was moving along. Lindahl replied he was able to carry over some 2019 budget to pay for transcription services. The remaining nine histories were transcribed and they were turned over to the City. He suggested a committee to work with the Communications Department on how this could be best presented. A page could be designed, some content uploaded, and then the page could be updated as more content was prepared. Lindahl suggested approaching families of interviewees for photographs. IX NEXT MEETING The next HPC meeting will be held on Monday, February 24, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in Prairie Rooms A & B. X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Kalar moved, seconded by Shah to adjourn. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:19 p.m.