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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 08/17/2020APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 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; Rod Fisher COMMISSION STAFF: Beth Novak-Krebs, Staff Liaison Kristin Harley, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES Sarthak Agrawal Aarav Subbaiah I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Olson called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Fisher requested to add an item under old business because he had a question about a family name in Eden Prairie MOTION: Fisher moved, seconded by Ross to approve an amended agenda. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Ross moved, seconded by Kalar to approve the minutes of the July 27, 2020 meeting. Motion carried 6-0. IV. NEW BUSINESS A. PRESERVE MINNESOTA 2020 CONFERENCE (NOVAK-KREBS) Novak-Krebs announced there would a series of six different webinar sessions on these dates: September 15, 17, 22 ,24, and 29, and October 1. They would be held 10:00-11:00 a.m. Registration was free and for the series, although all did not have to be completed. More information could be found at: https://mn.gov/admin/shpo/conference/schedule/ V. OLD BUSINESS EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 17, 2020 Page 2 A. HERITAGE SITES MAP UPDATE (NOVAK-KREBS) Novak-Krebs stated Amanda Pellowski sent out information that the map was live. She encouraged the commission members to take a look. Thorp agreed the map was impressive, as did Spera. Fisher stated that he tried to open it on his iPhone and it crashed. Discussion followed on the look of the map. B. EDEN PRAIRIE DEPOT INTERPRETIVE SIGN UPDATE (THORP) Thorp stated the copy for the depot interpretive sign is complete. C. CUMMINGS GRILL ROOF (NOVAK-KREBS) Novak-Krebs stated that the deadline for a Large Grant through the State Historical Society is July 23, 2021 with a start date in 2022. She had a call into Rick Clark about timing on replacement of the roof. The City will apply for the grant if the replacement can wait. Thorp stated that the roof is in fairly good shape and replacement can probably wait until 2022. D. JOINT MEETING WITH PR&NR COMMISSION (NOVAK-KREBS) Novak-Krebs spoke with Jay Lotthammer regarding a joint meeting. Lotthammer had concerns about meeting in person, so Novak-Krebs asked for suggestions for an agenda. One idea was to get a list of people to ask for quotes on the Flying Red Horse. Fisher asked what needed to be done on this project. Thorp explained the major issues was where it was to be displayed if outside, and the structural engineering issues need to safeguard it. If the Flying Red Horse was displayed indoors it could be left as is with some electrical upgrades for the neon. The plan was to put it over by the light rail where the strip mall used to be near Lake Idlewild at the corner of Eden Road and Flying Cloud Drive. This is near its original location. The major decision to be made was how far to go with the restoration. Kalar asked if McDonald and Mack could find more experts to give a quote. Thorp replied Sign Source in Chanhassen might be willing to assess the sign. This was a big job to even propose, and the commission had to narrow the scope. Kalar noted this was the “Catch-.22.” Thorp added if the sign went to the Lake Idlewild location that indeed narrowed the scope, and he was willing to talk to Sign Source. Spera asked for clarification the sign would be displayed outside at that location. Thorp replied if it was, wind shear would be a major factor. Olson stated he had seen the RFP Lotthammer sent out and asked Novak-Krebs to send it to the entire commission. Kalar asked if Lotthammer could tell the commission where the sign would be displayed. Thorp replied a corner at the LRT station site EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 17, 2020 Page 3 was being used as staging area, and he guessed it was there. There was a retention pond but it was a best practice to have the sign located as far away from Flying Cloud Drive as possible. Novak-Krebs offered to get that information and to forward the RFP. Discussion followed on the cost of the RFP. Kalar suggested a joint meeting as a WebEx online meeting. Novak-Krebs replied she would propose a WebEx meeting to Lotthammer. Fisher asked if there would be interpretation for the Flying Red Horse, and Thorp replied that would involve some interpretive panels near Holiday station, but he did not yet know the context. Kalar stated a pedestrian area was ideal. Discussion followed on location of the possible site of the Flying Red Horse. E. PHOTO DISPLAY AT FAT PANTS (NOVAK-KREBS) Fisher detailed the photo display idea for Novak-Krebs. Thorp suggested a theme of all the places to have a beer in Eden Prairie. Discussion followed on alcohol venders in Eden Prairie. Olson suggested all members who have photographs scan them for inspection next month, and he would also check the Minnesota Historical Society visual resource database. Novak-Krebs agreed. Fisher stated the owner and his daughter, who worked with him, had no particular focus, so he suggested visiting them first and getting a commitment from them for space on the wall. Perhaps the commission could also ask for money. Kalar suggested finding photos, sending those photos in PDF form to the owner, getting a commitment, then determining costs, and then bring back the proposal for a vote to use HPC funds. If the project didn’t work at Fat Pants, the commission could work with another vendor and location. Ross and Novak-Krebs agreed. Spera agreed giving a proposal with photographs was a more tangible proposal. Ross noted there were good photos in the museum file, and Thorp offered to go through them next Monday. F. QUESTION Fisher stated Edie and Ray Stodela had significance to Eden Prairie and suggested an exhibition on them. Discussion followed on how their property would make an access to Duck Lake. Fisher stated the house was not significant. VI. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PRESERVATION COMMISSIONS (FISHER) Fisher summarized his attendance at the weeklong, online conference. He learned about SHPO and grants, preparing for disasters and protecting historic assets. Fisher asked what a major floods, including climate change events, would do to present historic sites in Eden Prairie, if there were plans to sandbag or otherwise EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 17, 2020 Page 4 prevent significant damage. Thorp replied there were no structures in danger along the Minnesota river. Kalar asked what would happen to the Outdoor Center if Staring Lake rose two more feet. She noted each property had its own manual. Olson stated John Gertz was working on Pioneer Trail; the commission could review the Gertz report to see if it mentions what to do in case of a flood. Fisher stated another topic he learned about was diversity and equity, for example settlers’ history versus indigenous history. Olson replied the HPC had not been as intentional or inclusive as it wished to be; the commission needed a champion. Kalar disagreed, noting there were a lot of projects on Native lands with indigenous history, but the focus had been on pioneer history rather than indigenous history. Also, there was a large Somali population in Eden Prairie. The commission members needed to identify projects and be more intentional on how it focused its efforts, for example at Sunbonnet Days. Spera reminded the commission of the videotape oral history project. Kalar replied that project meant to piggyback on Minnesota Historical Society oral histories and did not translate well as an inclusive project; the commission needed to include different populations to run the spectrum. Spera agreed the project’s scope was narrow but could serve as a launching pad. Olson stated the difficultly was finding the dividing line between the mandates of the Human Rights and Diversity Commission and HPC Commission; the HPC’s mandate was to tell the stories that are 40- or 50- years old. Recent communities fell under the HRDC Commission’s mission. Kalar replied Native American history was intertwined with settler history, and conflict was missing. Discussion followed on long-term histories versus recent immigration. Kalar noted cemeteries and houses were included as eligible properties and histories but not mosques, grocery stores or cultural centers. Fisher stated the preservation professional giving the session at the conference stated the history of the dominant culture was easy to write, whereas the difficulty for cities and municipalities was finding the smaller and/or repressed history to interpret. Minority histories by definition did not dominate the narrative, but the mission was to capture that history. Ross stated the commission did have discussion with tribal leaders, which was the beginning of a fruitful conversation in which the commission members heard about the limitations of stories and interpretation, and what tribal members didn’t want to have talked about. She suggested the commission could reach out again to forge an alliance that created trust. Olson recommended speaking to tribal elders first to avoid looking in the wrong spot for some of this information. Fisher stated his last major learning piece at the conference was how historical preservationists deal with the Confederate statue issue. He found this a fascinating session. He also asked how the commission practiced archeology. Olson replied if human remains were encountered, they had to be evaluated by the State EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 17, 2020 Page 5 Archeologist. Minnesota Historical Society archeologist David Mather would also be involved. Fisher added citizen archeology was a growing trend. VII. REPORTS OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY Ross stated the Covid-19 coronavirus shut down many activities. Thorp announced the Society had completed the painting upstairs, and now clean-up efforts and moving furniture were underway in anticipation of settings for the historic bedrooms. Ross added the Society was continuing to catalog the collection. There were no upcoming events and the Society was still not meeting in person. She had no information with Santa this year. Since his appearance were by appointment, she was waiting to hear from the actor. The Sharing Tree would probably be held this year. The next Board meeting was this Thursday. Thorp stated he was working with the Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department on a series of interpretive panels at Staring Lake. VIII. FYI ITEMS Olson announced Michael Koop was giving an update on Statewide Preservation Plan tomorrow (Tuesday) emphasizing engaging young people. Kalar asked if he would also give an update of SHPO’s budget now that it is part of the administration budget, and Olson offered to ask Mr. Koop. Fisher noted the R.T. Anderson historical signage was gone. Thorp replied there were two panels there now and the third had been ordered. IX NEXT MEETING The next HPC meeting will be held on Monday, September 21, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. online. X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Spera moved, seconded by Thorp to adjourn. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:22 p.m.