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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 05/20/2024APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024 7:00 P.M. Meeting Heritage Rooms, City Hall HPC COMMISSION MEMBERS: Steve Schumacher (Chair); Paul Thorp (Vice-Chair); Rod Fisher; George Maxwell; Robert Bowes; Andy Ludowese; Catherine Lau STUDENT MEMBERS: Abha Gupta, Abhinov Koutharapu, Amuktha Pothamsetti, Berit Berggren, Nikhill Andrew, Owen Caruth, Sasha Allen COMMISSION STAFF: Beth Novak-Krebs, Staff Liaison Kristin Harley, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Schumacher called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Absent were student representatives Allen, Andrew, Koutharapu, Gupta and Berggren. II. READING OF LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STATEMENT Bowes read the land acknowledgement statement. Fisher stated he saw the best display about the Traverse de Sioux Treaty he had ever seen on the third floor of the State Capitol. The original 1890 paintings of the signing of the treaty that had been in the Governor’s Officer were coupled with comments—pro and con—about them. The Civil War paintings were left in the Governor’s Office. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Bowes moved, seconded by Fisher to approve the agenda. Motion carried 7- 0. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Maxwell moved, seconded by Bowes to approve the minutes of the April 15, 2024 meeting. Motion carried 7-0. V. NEW BUSINESS A. SUMMER POP UP EVENTS AT THE DORENKEMPER HOUSE EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION May 20, 2024 Page 2 Novak-Krebs announced two “pop-up” events would be held at the Dorenkemper House this summer: on Wednesday July 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and on Wednesday August 14 from 630 to 8:30 p.m. She did not yet know what the events would be, but Kathie Case would have the house open for tours. The City wanted the Dorenkemper House to have more public exposure. The Parks and Recreation Department was involved and would perhaps offer food trucks. Novak-Krebs stated she would find out more information on the exact activities. B. DISCUSS TOURING MARCIA KOLB AND JOHNNY SEVERSON HOME Schumacher stated there was an invitation to tour the house of these Heritage Preservation Award winners. Marcia Kolb and Johnny Severson often opened their house (the Moran House) to tours and had invited the commission. Discussion followed on an appropriate date. Fisher suggested a night of the HPC meeting. Novak-Krebs offered to contact Marcia and suggest one of the HPC meeting dates: June 17 July 15 August 19 VI. OLD BUSINESS A. UPDATE ON STUDENT LED VIDEOS OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES (ALLEN) Caruth discussed setting up a Google Drive to aggregate the student’s work on the video project. Schumacher agreed and offered the commission’s help in any way it could. He requested the students keep in contact with the commission members. Novak-Krebs agreed to talk to Allen about the videos. Bowes suggested allowing the students to work on the videos during HPC meetings, so the museum was accessible. B. DISCUSS STUDY OF THE INDIGENOUS HISTORY OF EDEN PRAIRIE Schumacher stated Fisher had done incredible work on this. Funding needed to be found, but it was important to assess what information the commission already had, and what the deliverable should be. Then how it could be promoted and distributed needed to be discussed. Fisher stated what he found was separate from Thorp’s knowledge and also from the City’s existing history. Thorp stated this was a question of putting it in a format that made sense, and he had binders of information. Fisher stated he EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION May 20, 2024 Page 3 preferred Case’s idea of making this more readable to the general public than DeCarlo’s report. Maxwell stated it would be preferable to have a book that addressed pre-settler history. Discussion followed on possible resources to create a book. Caruth suggested the commission had to decide what the book would look like and to whom it would be marketed. He reminded the commission of his social studies teacher who made justice a part of the curriculum, so this could be a high school- age book. Discussion followed on needed information: maps, research, photographs, oral history (such as regarding the Red Rock). Fisher suggested Paul Maravelas or DeCarlo as authors. Maxwell suggested producing a book first before anything else, but Fisher stated he would rather first go digital with all the information. He suggested a report was the first step. Bowes suggested uploading information to the website and also having a book for sale. Lau suggested both a scholarly report and an accessible book. Caruth urged the commission not to limit itself to one deliverable. Fisher suggested the commission find a professional historian to work with Thorp to organize the material and digitize it. Schumacher agreed, saying this could expose the gaps in the information. Lau suggested everything Thorp had could be put online, but Thorp objected that his information was not organized. Maxwell stated he used a timeline with references when writing his book to help organize his voluminous material. Discussion followed on hiring a historian to tell the story. Maxwell stated no Historical Society member had stepped up to this project other than Thorp; it was a huge job and required a paid professional. Discussion followed on the research experience. Schumacher suggested a PeopleFest display as another deliverable. Caruth stated one deliverable could be a presentation at the high school, which would not have to be the full picture, but could focus more on the many little stories within history. Fisher gave as an example The History of Big Island, Lake Minnetonka by Paul Maravelas and suggested hiring him. Schumacher outlined the next steps: Thorp would bring in his files, and the subcommittee could help with sorting toward writing an RFP. Novak-Krebs stated the City worked on the annual budget in autumn, and it was normally set in December, and the commission could also apply for grants, some of which had deadlines throughout the year. C. UPDATE ON HERITAGE PLAQUE PROGRAM (NOVAK-KREBS) VII. REPORTS OF SUBCOMMITTEES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION May 20, 2024 Page 4 A. NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY OUTREACH B. NEW HERITAGE PRESERVATION SITE DESIGNATIONS C. RENOVATION/MAINTENANCE DEVELOPMENT Thorp stated the commission had permission from Hennepin County to cut brush at the Depot site. The City of Eden Prairie would pick up the brush, so he only needed volunteers to do the work. Discussion followed on possibly involving the Boy Scouts. D. DOCUMENTATION/HISTORICAL RECORDINGS/OUTREACH VIII. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF IX.. REPORTS OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY Bowes announced the Prop Sale earned almost $3,000.00 . He stated the City Prom and Family Fun Night was a success, with a display of artifacts and history of the school in the gym. X. FYI ITEMS XI NEXT MEETING The next HPC meeting will be held on Monday, June 17, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. in the Heritage Room. XII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Fisher moved, seconded by Bowes to adjourn. Motion carried 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:58 p.m.