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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 04/15/2002 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY,APRIL 15, 2002 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER Heritage Room IV 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Lori Peterson-Benike, Chairperson; Betsy Adams, Deborah Barkley,Jennie Brown, Elise Kist, Kati Simons,Art Weeks COMMISSION STAFF: John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Jane Field, Timothy Roth, Ross Viland I. ROLL CALL Peterson-Benike called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Commissioners Barkley and Weeks, and Student Representatives Jane Field and Ross Viland, were excused. Peterson-Benike welcomed members of the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission to discuss future use of the Dornkemper Log House and Riley-Jacques Farm. Attending were staff liaison Laurie Obiazor, and Commissioners Dick Brown, Jeff Gerst, David Larson, Trisha Swanson and Phil Wright. Absent were Commissioners Robb Barrett, Therese Benkowski, Kim Teaver and Munna Yasiri. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Adams moved, seconded by Brown, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 5-0. III. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Welcome New HPC Member Elist Kist Peterson-Benike welcomed new HPC member Elise Kist. She has been an Eden Prairie resident for five years. IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Dornkemper Loy House At its meeting on April 1, 2002, the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission approved the relocation of the Dornkemper Log House to Riley Lake Park to be used for City programs once it is restored. A joint meeting of the two commissions was recommended so that program and use ideas could be shared. Obiazor explained that City staff developed the list of suggested programs and uses last year. At that time, staff was directed not to look into any programming of the Riley-Jacques Farm until restoration of the barn was begun this year. The HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES April 15, 2002 Page 2 City doesn't want to duplicate activities at other locations, such as Staring Lake Center. The two commissions could look at relocating community events or come up with new program ideas, or a combination of recreation programs and historical programs. She expressed her interest in hearing ideas for programming the house. Even though the Dornkemper log house needs a lot of work before it would be ready to use, Obiazor said it is not too early to start talking about programming. City officials want input from the two commissions on how they would like to see the house utilized before too much time is spent on the property. They don't want it relocated to City property and then not be used. Peterson-Benike stated that input from the commissioners may determine how the rest of the property would be programmed. She asked if John Gertz had received any more information from Dan Herbst about restoring the house. Gertz said Herbst was waiting for development of some kind of program so the restoration can be based on that. He doesn't want to restore the house and then be told the building has to be modified for a different use. Obiazor said the Domkemper log house may be hard to program because it would not accommodate many people. Gertz said the outside dimensions of the house are 22 feet by 26 feet. It would be limited to a total of no more than 49 people. Obiazor said that is comparable to the size of the Staring Lake Center. Wright said perhaps use of the log house could reflect seasonal programs, and the Cummins-Grill House could be used for more historical purposes. Peterson-Benike said the Dornkemper house would be a good location for Sunbonnet Day. Gertz agreed it would be a better location than the Cummins- Grill House because there is more room for parking and for hay rides, as well as other activities. Simons suggested that the log house could be programmed like the Gibbs Farm or the Cahill School in Edina. Adams agreed that it should have an educational purpose. Children could try on old-fashioned clothes, use old tools, etc. It could be operated with volunteers, the same as the Cahill School. The barn could be used for recreational purposes. Peterson-Benike said this is an opportunity to show agriculture and farming the way it used to be done in Eden Prairie. HPC has had some discussions about that and she believed the house and barn could be used together, which would be unique. Dick Brown asked if the City would continue to have an occupant in the farmhouse to keep an eye on the property. Gertz replied he didn't know if renting the farmhouse would continue. They have discussed staff using the house for office space, particularly for summer programs. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES April 15, 2002 Page 3 D. Brown said he could see the farm property being used for a youth day care, Scout troops, classes, etc., with the ability to ride bikes or horses, and to camp out one night in the log house. Most young people haven't the experience of doing without electricity or running water. Brown asked Tim Roth if he thought young people would be interested in that experience. Roth said they probably would. Obiazor said the City used to allow overnight camping, but no longer does because of safety and liability considerations. Gertz said he believed the site lends itself to all kinds of multi-uses after they get the buildings up to a standard where they can be used for a variety of activities, such as day camp. The barn could be used for a summer theater or barn dances, for example. He believed the HPC could work with the school district on developing a curriculum for students on local history. Peterson-Benike said she thought the school district would be willing to do that. The Historical Society has talked to the school district about the possibility of using the Anderson School for a Cahill School-type experience, after it is restored, and they are very interested. Gertz said the log house could be set up to accommodate school groups Adams said if they want the log house to be used throughout the school year for those activities, they need to inform Dan Herbst because the house would need to be heated. She believed the programming for the house and barn should be something all ages of the community could participate in and take advantage of. Gertz suggested a good solution to programming is to find an appropriate program and then contract it out and schedule it. Obiazor asked everyone to express an opinion on programming the log house. Simons said she could see the house being an educational history environment, and perhaps rent it out to scout troops working on badges. J. Brown said it could be used in a theatrical way to reenact history. The house would be the setting to bring to life what it might have been like for a family to live in a log cabin. Perhaps a local theater group could write a play and perform it. She has seen that done at national parks. Adams liked the idea of using it for a day camp. She also wants to see it used 12 months of the year, having permanent exhibits that children could use interactively for educational, hands-on experiences. Kist suggested having a working farm with livestock, such as chickens and a couple of horses, but she wondered where the City would get the personnel to look after them. She thought that Boy Scouts looking for Eagle projects would be willing to help with the work. She was told the odor generated by livestock would not be acceptable to people living near the park. Obiazor said the City could contract for a company to bring in animals for a day. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES April 15, 2002 Page 4 Roth said he liked the idea of a day camp where kids come out and enjoy the farm and have educational experiences. Peterson-Benike said she would like the house to be used to show living history. This is a very unique house and she would prefer that it stay quite rustic, however it is used. That may limit using the house in some seasons and for certain purposes, but it would be of more value to the community. She would like to incorporate the programming for the farm and log cabin. She wants to involve the Historical Society in some way. Swanson said she liked the idea of using the house for interactive living history with school groups. D. Brown inquired how much work needs to be done to fix up the house. Gertz replied it will be extensive,but given its age it is in reasonably good condition. A log restorer has looked at the house several times. The roof, rafters and floor are in good condition. D. Brown said the programming should encompass all the buildings and tie them together. It is an ideal place for families to come out and bike or walk around the property. There are not many places like that. Gertz said he liked the idea of a day camp and having a youth focus. That would guarantee the whole facility is used more often. Larson said he liked the idea of it being a dual area where one building is set up for a possible museum and the house remodeled with wooden floors, so that the overall history can be shown. He recommended planting an apple orchard and vegetables, and selling the produce to generate some revenue. He said the cost of maintaining the buildings should be looked into. Implementing all these programs could be expensive. Wright said he would like to see the original New York Times article about the naming of Eden Prairie placed on the wall of the house. He believed other people would also be interested in seeing that. Gertz said that with all these different ideas perhaps what they need to do is consider developing an overall master plan for future use of the historic property, which has designated boundaries. There has been discussion about removing the paddock, etc., so there is need for a larger plan for the whole property. The HPC is concerned about keeping the integrity of the site. The Dornkemper house does not really belong on the property because it wasn't originally there. However, the HPC resolved that question because it decided to have the property used for a multi-use, recreational purpose. Obiazor said that might be an issue, because the Board of Adjustments and Appeals will be asked to approve the moving permit to move the log house from its present location to a permanent site on the property. Sometime this June Dan Herbst would want to start the actual restoration work. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES April 15, 2002 Page 5 Adams agreed it made sense to look at the entire site. The log house may be a significant part of the whole, and looking at the whole site might help decide what the programming should be. Gertz said the City Council approved the proposal sent by the HPC in 2000 for the Riley-Jacques Farm, so they can stick with that proposal. However, they should continue to talk about programming because someone might decide to add a feature in a corner of the property, so they should decide what multi-use means. He would be concerned about at least getting all these ideas down on paper. Obiazor said they should get direction from staff on how to proceed. She wondered if another joint meeting of the two commissions to discuss restoration would be needed. Gertz said he didn't believe Herbst would need to wait for any particular action. If they have him restore the exterior of the house and leave the interior open for different uses, they can come up with a plan on how to program that space. Obiazor said the two commissions should keep communicating with each other. Gertz said he could go to another meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission, and they will receive copies of the minutes of this meeting. B. Smith-Douglas-More House Bob Mack was present to go through the details on the plans. Afterward, Molly Gilbertson showed the commissioners the interior design work. Mack said Dunn Brothers have asked his firm to merge the tenant's proposed work with the work on the warm-lit shell. That would mean sending out one bid package and having one contractor. It should save a lot of coordination between the parties and will probably result in some cost savings to each side, because the cost of a site manager can be split between both parties. Mack reviewed the revised plans. • There will be a new parking lot with 30 parking spaces. • A new driveway will give a more direct access from the road than the current driveway. • Curbs will be kept as low and inconspicuous as possible, but are necessary for safety reasons. • The wood arbor will be removed and a new one put in. Gertz said a rainwater garden would be desirable. A rainwater garden would collect run-off from the parking lot area and then grow plants in that environment. Anything that didn't flow into it would flow into the catch basin. Mack said a civil engineer would need to be involved to construct the rainwater garden. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES April 15, 2002 Page 6 • Tall area lights would be used in the parking lots and smaller lights would be placed along the edge of the sidewalk. There is also a light fixture along the driveway. • The sign in front would be lighted. • The existing kitchen addition and storage room will be removed, as well as a bedroom on the first floor that was added later, the bathtub on the second floor, a half-bath downstairs, and a storage area in the basement. • The basement floor bricks will be salvaged, but their condition is not knows. It may be appropriate to use them to replace the tops to the chimneys. If there are enough of them, they could be incorporated into the terrace area. • The two porches will have extensive rebuilding; one will be totally rebuilt and anything that has deteriorated on the other one would be replaced. • All the windows will undergo rehabilitation by removing the paint, taking the glass out, using a preservative around the edge of the frames, and replacing the sash. They will use the existing glass unless it is broken. • The shutters will be repaired or replaced as necessary. There are a few areas where shutter hardware has been removed, which will be replaced with appropriate hardware. Some shutters are missing. Gertz said he believed the missing shutters may be in the garage. He will have the Parks Department bring them out and Bob can see if they are the right ones. • A small area connects the new addition to the old house. It is the same size as the present connecting area in the north/south dimension, and the pitch of the roof is the same. • Water from the roof will be diverted away from the building with gutters and down spouts. Gertz said he preferred to have the gutters made of standard galvanized steel rather than lead-coated copper, as Mack had suggested. • The stairway from the first floor to the basement has to be reconstructed because it is too steep. Formerly there was also a stairway from the outside; however, there is no way to rebuild it to meet code so it will be closed and filled in. • On the brick portions of the house there will potentially be some rebuilding of the masonry on the chimneys to bring them back to their historic appearance. • The walls need sufficient insulation and ventilation, so that will be added. • Asphalt shingles are shown on the plan and will be the base bid, with wood shingles as the alternative. • The addition will be built with a warm crawl space underneath to facilitate mechanical and electrical repairs or changes. • HPC would prefer that the ceiling over the main service area not be open to the highest point of the roof,but should be similar to the existing ceiling in the kitchen to keep the addition sympathetic to the appearance of an old farmhouse Dunn Brothers would like the ceiling to be open all the way to the rafters, which would expose the pipes for heating and cooling. The distance to the rafters is 18 feet. The rafters could not be exposed because of the City's code. Mack said he would let Gilbertson and Eilers discuss this matter further. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES April 15, 2002 Page 7 • The front door will have the screen removed and the door will be moved to the other side of the doorjamb in order to swing out, which is required by the building code because it would be the secondary egress. • The City's building code official gave permission to leave crash bars off the doors. The maple wood door with the raised panels will be used on the storage room in the service area. The doors for the restrooms would be paneled wood doors similar to those in the house. • The windows in the house are just single-glazed. They will be upgraded with weather stripping and other thermal properties. What is being proposed are magnetically installed storm windows with a steel track that goes around the window jamb, held in place by magnetic attraction. They can be removed and put away for the summer. Regarding the use of screens, temporary screen inserts could be used in the lower part of the window. The decision on that would be left up to the tenant. • Gilbertson has proposed using small mosaic ceramic the on the restroom floors. On the walls she is considering brick up to four feet, topped with a wood chair rail that would be in keeping with the time period of the house. The mirror would have an oval shape with wood frame. • The north/south beam under the main floor is not centered and needs additional supporting joists. The second floor joists span the full distance from the east to west walls and don't come close to meeting requirements of the building code. The first floor ceilings will have to be removed to put in supplemental joists. The building inspector said this would be satisfactory. • Five separate small furnaces are recommended: three to serve the existing house and two to serve the addition. There will be five separate zones for heating and cooling, with separate controls. • Gilbertson said she has found a place where she can order a replicated fireplace that comes complete in a kit. It would be built out 15-3/4 inches from the wall and set into a frame. There is an existing flu and the wall will accommodate the 5-1/2 inch vent. Mack pointed out that there is wood wainscoting on the wall near where the fireplace would go. They would have to determine how to handle that, preferably not by removing the wainscoting. • Sconces for exterior lights on either side of the front door were not on the drawings, but Mack said he would add them. The wiring is there, however. Mack said the original schedule was to advertise for bids on April 18, but that changed once his firm and Dunn Brothers decided to merge the two projects. None of the tenant improvements are on the plans. After incorporating Dunn Brothers information, he hoped to have everything ready to bid in two weeks. By combining both projects, Mack said he believed they could make up a month in the construction phase. The earliest date the City Council could award the contract would be June 18. Construction would then likely begin the fourth week in June. Mack said he has found that contractors seem to be looking for work of this scale. Bids on other projects have been good and contractors can start almost immediately. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES April 15, 2002 Page 8 Gilbertson discussed her plans for decorating and furnishing the house. She asked HPC members about eliminating the north window in the room that connects the existing house and the addition, as she wished to place an armoire in front of it. The consensus was not to eliminate this window, as it is the only window in that area. Gilbertson decided not to use an armoire, but will find another type of furniture that would be appropriate for that space. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —MARCH 18, 2002 MOTION: Adams moved, seconded by Simons, to approve the minutes of the Heritage and Preservation Commission meeting held on March 18, 2002 as published. Motion carried 5-0. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Riley Barn Reuse Planning Gertz said that at the next meeting the commission will be discussing how to use the barn on the Riley-Jacques farm. This year $66,240 has been budgeted for exterior rehabilitation. Next year $177,108 has been budgeted for restoring the interior to make the building usable, depending on what it would be used for. The HPC's input is needed for making that decision. Peterson-Benike plans to attend the Minnesota Barn Preservation Workshop on Saturday, April 20. Gertz suggested combining the information she gets at the workshop with ideas brought out earlier in the joint meeting. Perhaps the two commissions could hold a special meeting to discuss ways to use the barn. B. Eden Prairie Historical Society and City Agreement Gertz explained that this agreement creates a relationship between the City and the Historical Society, clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each. Marie Wittenberg, President of the Historical Society, has signed the agreement. The City attorney is reviewing it and, if he finds no problems, it will go to the City Council for the Mayor to sign. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Brown moved, seconded by Kist, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Peterson-Benike adjourned the meeting at 10:15 p.m.