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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 07/17/2006 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY,JULY 17, 2006 7:00 P.M. Prairie Rooms A & B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS Betsy Adams, Chairperson; Nina Mackay, Vice Chairperson; Richard Akerlund, Bob Amell,Ann Higgins, Ed Muehlberg, Jane Plaza COMMISSION STAFF John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist; Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder I. ROLL CALL Adams called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The first part of the meeting was a tour of the three sites being considered for local designation. Commissioners Amell and Muehlberg were excused. Robert Vogel was present for both the tour and the subsequent meeting. Adams called the second part of the meeting to order in Prairie Rooms A and B of the Eden Prairie City Center at 8:45 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Akerlund moved, seconded by Higgins, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —JUNE 19, 2006 Adams made corrections to the first paragraph on page 2. The fourth sentence should read "Higgins recalled she might . . .", and the fifth sentence should read "She committed to forward this information . . ." MOTION: Mackay moved, seconded by Akerlund, to approve the minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting held on June 19, 2006 as corrected. Motion carried 5-0. IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Statewide Historic Preservation Conference Gertz recently sent the Commissioners information about the Statewide Historic Preservation Conference being held September 27-29 in Red Wing. Adams said she has application forms for those planning to attend the conference. A total of$5,000 in scholarships is available statewide, which are granted on a first-come, first-served basis. The maximum scholarship available is $25 per person per city for two days' attendance. The scholarship can only be used for 50 percent of expenses incurred, with the rest being paid by either the participant or the city. Eden Prairie generally pays for some portion of the cost. Gertz offered HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES July 17, 2006 Page 2 to find out from Janet Jeremiah, community development director, if funds would be available this year, depending on how many Commissioners plan to attend. Gertz said they would at least be reimbursed for mileage. Adams noted that all Certified Local Government cities, such as Eden Prairie, are required to send at least one Commissioner to the state conference. Adams said she plans to attend the conference Wednesday evening through Friday. Plaza said she would try to attend on Thursday; Higgins plans to attend Thursday afternoon and Friday. Gertz said he would need to know as soon as possible if the others are going. B. Windows for Glen Lake Children's Camp Adams asked Gertz to answer a question brought up at the last HPC meeting and recorded in the minutes. "Does `close to the original' mean in appearance or in structure/function?" Gertz replied the architect hired by Friendship Ventures indicated that their first course of action would be to examine reuse of existing windows. If that is not possible, the new ones would have to be fabricated to fit and the window's historic profile would have to be matched. Gertz said that was also his recommendation, which would include using in-kind material (wood). Commissioner Mackay left the meeting at 9:05 p.m. V. OLD BUSINESS A. FY 2005 CLG Grant Project Vogel distributed copies of his draft reports supporting nominations of the Consolidated School Building and the Clarence C. Bush Log Cabin (commonly known as the Staring Lake Outdoor Center) for designation as Heritage Preservation Sites. A third report, for the Glen Lake Children's Camp, was not available that evening,but the Commission will review that report along with the others at its August meeting. Each report explains how the site meets the Heritage Preservation Site eligibility criteria, makes the case for its historic significance and integrity, and recommends a plan of treatment to guide site preservation and rehabilitation efforts. Vogel said he tried to make it clear what is being preserved, without a great deal of minutiae. The HPC's job in nominating sites for local designation is to find the places that are important to Eden Prairie. These buildings being nominated are one of a kind and have a particular place in the City's history. They were built to be specific things in a specific place. Vogel said the Consolidated School is no longer being used as an active school; however, the School District has found a use for it as office space. The City has found a perfect reuse for the log cabin at Staring Lake as an outdoor center. The Glen Lake Children's Camp is a unique part of Eden Prairie history. It is being leased by Friendship Ventures for use as a camp for children with disabilities. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES July 17, 2006 Page 3 The camp's buildings were not intended for the amount of use they have had over the years, and are always going to be at risk because they are fragile and hard to preserve. The Department of the Interior's standard for preservation provides the basis for protecting all three sites, and Best Management Practices can minimize the impact of routine activities that degrade historical significance and integrity in Heritage Preservation Sites. Regarding the changes being made to the Glen Lake Children's Camp property, Vogel said it should be treated as a rehabilitation project, which allows for mitigation. He said before the City designates it locally, the HPC has to decide what it expects the buildings to look like after the project is completed. For example, does the HPC expect to have all the windows and doors operable? Adams said the HPC has some idea of what it wants the buildings to look like. Friendship Ventures will have to come back to the HPC for review of the next phases of the project. Because it was not a locally designated site, the HPC did not have much say in what they proposed. Vogel said Friendship Ventures should give the City a 50-year plan for the property. Gertz said that Friendship Ventures has received funding through SHPO. He has talked to SHPO about windows, doors, etc., and they have been in agreement with the HPC's decisions so far. Vogel said he is not sure the windows can be preserved as a feature. He would suggest going with a market casement window that would operate in a safe manner but that would not change the size of the window openings. The shape of the buildings is what is important, and the fact that it is used in a camp setting. Vogel said the buildings are unique but cannot be preserved in the long run. There will be continuing problems. Because the City owns them, the HPC is both the steward and watchdog at the same time. If the two old buildings are going to be used year-around, the interior integrity will be sacrificed. Before the City designates the property, Vogel recommended writing into the plan that if the buildings deteriorate to a certain point, they should be built over again in the same style and then could continue to be used for the current purposes. The HPC should theoretically plan for the day when they deteriorate to that point. With regard to the camp property, Gertz said he has never seen Friendship Ventures' landscape plan. Vogel noted that they changed the drainage of the site. Vogel pointed out that the City's ordinance regarding Heritage Preservation Sites states the HPC will review all changes to the properties, even the paint color, which makes the ordinance hard to carry out. It should be changed to make it simpler to enforce. To standardize with other cities, he recommended that Eden Prairie put the ordinance within the zoning code. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES July 17, 2006 Page 4 Adams said the HPC would review these reports at the next Commission meeting. Vogel said they have until September 15 to make any changes,but could even make changes after they are sent to SHPO. B. Historic Property Work Projects Updates Gertz reported that work on the icebox has not gone forward. Mark Wickstrom is volunteering to do the work, so does it when he has time. However,he is still committed to having it done by the fall. Gertz said the Dorenkemper house is close to being finished. The Plexiglas wall remains to be fitted and framed, and there is some work to do in the kitchen installing a counter and sink. Gertz said he would talk to the Historical Society about wallpapering, painting, etc., which he hopes would begin in August. Tuck-pointing is completed on both the Cummins-Grill and Riley-Jacques houses. There is still work to do on metal bulkheads; that is the end of the items on the punch list. Final inspection will complete those projects. C. Parking Plan for Cummins-Grill Site— Concepts B & C Gertz said he would mail these concept plans out to the Commissioners and would ask for comments back. They are the most recent versions of the parking plan. He had requested better delineation of parking for the Cummins house and the athletic field. A motion will be needed at the next meeting of the Commission to approve one of the concept plans. With regard to the June 28 meeting on the property to discuss the Pioneer Trail expansion with representatives from the County, SHPO, and the City, Gertz said the County people gave the impression they were going to listen to objections because they want to accommodate the City. The discussion centered around what to do with the remaining land,how to best delineate that and make it look as attractive as possible. As part of the mitigation provided by the County, they were asked to monitor the house for foundation cracks and wall cracks in the masonry because there will be big equipment moving rather close to the house. In addition, the County will be asked to prepare a long-term site guide plan for the property so subsequent owners of the property would have it to guide the overall future of the property and its best use. VI. NEW BUSINESS VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Plaza moved, seconded by Higgins, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. Adams adjourned the meeting at 10:15 p.m.