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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 05/17/2004 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, MAY 17, 2004 7:00 P.M. Prairie Rooms A & B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Betsy Adams, Chairperson; Bob Amell, Deborah Barkley,Jennie Brown, Molly Gilbertson. Elise Kist, Kati Simons COMMISSION STAFF John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist; Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: John Buteyn, Mackenzie Epping, Thomas Grant I. ROLL CALL Adams called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Commissioners Barkley and Kist had excused absences. Student Representatives Buteyn and Grant were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Brown moved, seconded by Simons, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —April 19, 2004 Adams made corrections to the report on the Anderson School on page 6. The fourth, fifth, and sixth sentences should read "Adams and Gertz met with Hennepin Technical College staff. The students will work on site, hopefully beginning in the fall semester. Students will provide the labor, and the funds raised by the Anderson School task force will pay for the materials." MOTION: Amell moved, seconded by Brown, to approve the minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting held on April 19, 2004 as published and amended. Motion carried 5-0. IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF V. OLD BUSINESS A. Riley-Jacques Farm HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES May 17, 2004 Page 2 Gertz said there are two items to update. One is that there is another problem with the footings in the barn. When the crew began to remove the soil they found that a portion of the north wall was put on top of the slab with no footing underneath it and the block wall was not being supported. They will correct this by placing forms every four feet and pouring concrete underneath the block wall, which will be tied into the slab as well. Gertz has contacted Scott Neal and Bob Lambert about this and will forward the same information to the City Council. The other item is that, in addition to bringing City sewer and water down to the barn, they also hope to connect the house to it. Gertz said he will find out how much that would cost. Then the septic system will be abandoned and capped off. The electrical contractor has finished most of the work in the upper loft of the barn. The electrician and carpenters are working in the lower level. They are on schedule. B. Dorenkemper House Gertz reported that Dan Herbst decided to temporarily suspend work on the house because he reached a point where the project is getting very costly. Herbst originally put a$50,000 cap on the project, then revised that to $100,000,but now has said he can't continue with the work. He still wants to make sure it gets completed, however, and would like to seek additional funding through the community. Gertz said Herbst estimates it would cost$40,000 to $45,000 to finish the project. Herbst has been very generous, and Gertz hopes a way can be found to finish the work so they can still have the grand opening in September. Gilbertson asked if labor is the primary expense. Gertz replied the majority is labor. Gilbertson wondered if they could ask for Citywide volunteer help. Gertz said they would need skilled a carpenter; otherwise, they could use volunteers. Gertz said that crews from the Lino Lakes Correctional Facility repainted the granary. The City uses them on a number of projects. They might be available to work on the Dorenkemper House. C. Cummins-Grill House Adams said she met with Kathie Case, and they reached an understanding that the Historical Society was not responsible for coming up with the solution for the future of the building. The Historical Society understood from Scott Neal that it was incorrect to believe the only way the building would be preserved was to have a money-making operation. It will be preserved regardless. Gertz said Molly Koivumaki met with Scott Neal and himself to go over the Historical Society's concerns and discuss where the HPC stood. The next step HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES May 17, 2004 Page 3 will involve getting an estimate from Miller-Dunwiddie for their services to do a concept plan for adaptive reuse of the property. This would not be for a commercial use, but would be a combined multi-use, by upgrading to a bathroom that would meet ADA requirements and possibly finding a way to fit in a small catering facility so the house could be used for small events. At the same time, these additional features would not affect the house itself,because there would be a linked addition to the building. There is probably a middle ground in how to use the house without damaging the building. Miller-Dunwiddie would be asked to submit a proposal for review. They were asked to do this because they are now working on the Riley-Jacques farm. If City staff agrees the proposal could be funded, it would be passed along to the City Council. The City is required to do an RFP, so at least one other architect would be asked to submit a proposal. If Miller-Dunwiddie prepares the plan, Gertz assumed the HPC might want to consider having the Historical Society's task force review it. Adams said she didn't know if the task force plans to continue, or if they consider their work to be done. However, she understood Scott Neal wanted a joint proposal, and part of that would be the Miller-Dunwiddie estimate. She said she would confirm this with the Historical Society. D. Anderson School Adams gave a report from the Historical Society. Marie Wittenberg sent a letter to the Board of Directors stating that the annual election would be on June 12. Three positions on the Board will be open. She has been a member for approximately 20 years and president for the past 15 years, and is not willing to continue as president. However, she would like to be curator of the museum. At the monthly meeting nominations will be made to fill the president's and secretary's positions, as well as other Board positions. The Historical Society is involved with the Cummins-Grill house, the Anderson school, and the Dorenkemper house. They are actively looking for new members. There will be new leadership and many decisions to make. Help from the members of the HPC with some of these decisions would be welcome. Those interested should call Kathie Case, the vice-president. Brown asked how the project of cataloging museum artifacts into the computer is coming along. Adams said photographs are being scanned and cataloged into a museum software program. They would like to scan artifacts in as well. Regarding the Anderson School task force, Adams reported that it continues to make progress. The next step is fundraising, and they will meet to brainstorm ideas. The task force has found a volunteer architect and a mechanical engineer HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES May 17, 2004 Page 4 who will donate their time. The task force is still waiting for a cost estimate from Bill Otting on removing the roof. On May 20, the task force and Gertz will meet with representatives of the School District. A contract will be signed with the School District to approve moving the Anderson School to Prairie View School property, if funds are raised and plans approved. The District is interested in taking over programming the school after it is moved. Adams said it is the intention of the Historical Society and the task force to donate the building to the School District. E. Cemetery Registration Gertz reported that he and Robert Vogel will meet next week with Les Dunsmore of the Parks department and Mike Rogers, president of the Eden Prairie Cemetery Board Association, to go over what Vogel has put together for his work on the cemeteries. Rogers hopes to re-establish all the plots and boundaries, and to record all the burial sites, so the work Vogel is doing meshes with what he wants to have done. Gertz told Rogers about designating the two cemeteries as historic sites. Rogers said he is willing to open up the records that are available so the information can be included in Vogel's documentation. Rogers told Gertz about the discovery of a Civil War veteran's grave recently. A group that preserves and re-enacts Civil War history inquired if James Fergason was buried there, and if he had a headstone. Rogers discovered that his grave wasn't listed in the records or marked with a stone. His headstone had been stolen in the 1960s. Ground penetrating radar(GPR) was used to locate his grave. On June 5 the re-enactment group will dedicate the new headstone they have provided for Fergason's grave, and they are coming that day to perform. Vogel will be asking the Commission to review more information he has put together before he puts it into a final report. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Smith-Douglas-More House Fencing Gertz reported that Dunn Bros. is in the process of completing two fences, one around the patio and one around the parking lot. They will be topped off with copper. Gertz said he would check on the work next week. B. Cummins-Grill House Projects for FY 2004 Gertz said he is in the process of compiling a short list of projects for 2004. These are things that would be noticable,but also needed. They include work on the west porch and interior parts of the kitchen. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES May 17, 2004 Page 5 Adams said the Historical Society would like a report from Gertz at the annual meeting on June 12 that would answer their questions about maintaining the house. Gertz replied he would have a report for them. Gertz said that all the peony plants came back up and are doing well. There are five different varieties of peonies growing there. Arts and Antiques in the Garden will be held June 12 on the grounds of the Cummins-Grill House. C. Items for Future Consideration Adams said she would like updates on the designation process and to have the process move forward. Gilbertson said it didn't appear that the scope of Robert Vogel's work included recording data on the tombstones. At one time there was a discussion about the Eagle Scouts working on it. Gertz replied that, once they know who is buried where, they will need to take digital photographs of the tombstones,record the date the photo was taken, transcribe the information that is on the stone, and then put it on a computer data base. Mike Rogers has recently purchased software for that purpose, and Gertz talked to Dunsmore about purchasing similar software. Brown asked what the status is of putting more information about historical sites on the City's Web site. There is one page with general information. Gertz replied he didn't know who does the work on the Web site. He believed it would be good to have a link to other information about the historical sites, and the capability is there to do that. VII. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Simons was thanked for her work on the HPC, and appreciation was expressed to Student Representative Epping, who is graduating from high school in June. MOTION: Amell moved, seconded by Gilbertson, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. Chair Adams adjourned the meeting at 8:15 p.m.