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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 06/17/2002 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY,JUNE 17, 2002 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER Prairie Rooms A&B 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 I. ROLL CALL Peterson-Benike called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. All members were present. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Peterson-Benike added a report on the Historical Society under IV. Reports of Commission and Staff, and Commission Vacancies, under VI. New Business MOTION: Adams moved, seconded by Kist, to approve the agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 7-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —MAY 20, 2002 Simons corrected the spelling of Waseca, and Peterson-Benike corrected the spelling of the Dammon barn on page 1, under IV. The spelling of the Dorenkemper House was corrected on page 4, under item B. MOTION: Weeks moved, seconded by Adams, to approve the minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting held on May 20, 2002 as published and amended. Motion carried 6-0-1, with Brown abstaining due to her absence. IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Annual Meeting of Eden Prairie Historical Society Peterson-Benike reported that the Historical Society held its annual meeting on Sunday, June 9, at the Cummins-Grill House. Afterward they toured the Anderson Schoolhouse and the Dorenkemper House at Riley Lake. Work on the interior of the Anderson Schoolhouse is underway, with walls being torn down to make it into a one-room schoolhouse. Members of the Society work at the house every Saturday and would welcome volunteers. They received a grant from the Eden Prairie Foundation to buy a computer, with which they will enter all their records into a database designed specifically for historical societies. They are looking for volunteers to enter the data. The Society also needs more members to help with their work. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES June 17, 2002 Page 2 B. Farewell to Departing Commissioner Art Weeks Peterson-Benike thanked Weeks for the ten years he has served on the HPC. He will be missed. Weeks submitted his letter of resignation to the City Council because he has moved from Eden Prairie to Chaska. Gertz will keep him on the mailing list so he can keep current on the commission's activities. Weeks said the HPC has advanced the cause of heritage preservation in this community. C. Lookout Park Update Gertz said he was contacted by Judy Thompson, from the Minnesota State Parks, who said representatives from the State Parks would be touring the area and asked what is happening about restoration of Lookout Park. Gertz told her MAC had been approached by the City,but was not receptive to the idea of opening the park to public access because the site lies within the Runway Protection Zone (RPZ). Gertz believed it would be a good idea to have another group approach MAC after everything is resolved between the City and MAC over the issue of Flying Cloud Airport expansion. He agreed to schedule a meeting with Judy Thompson and Jim Warren, representing the Mdewakanton Dakota Native Americans, to see if they would be willing to meet with MAC at that time. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department is another group that might be willing to talk to MAC. Weeks asked if there had been any further vandalism of the site. Gertz said there have been no reports of vandalism since the City cleaned up the site last fall. U.S. Fish and Wildlife did a controlled burn that removed much of the brush, leaving the site very open to observation from the road. D. SLOC Interpretive Panel Final Draft Gertz showed the final draft of the Staring Lake Outdoor Center interpretive panel. Weeks suggested adding beaches and hotels that used to be on the south shore of the lake. Gertz said most of the focus of the panel is on education and outdoor activities. There is some historic text that relates to Clarence Busch who grew hybrid seed corn on land near the lake for many years. Gertz said the final draft will be sent to a computer graphics firm in Pennsylvania, then returned and reviewed once more before going back to the firm for production. When it is finished, a City crew will install it, along with the other interpretive signs, sometime this summer. V. OLD BUSINESS A. Smith-Douslas-More House HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES June 17, 2002 Page 3 Gertz attended a pre-bid meeting at the house that morning. Nine contractors came who were interested in the project. Bob Mack explained the project and the way bids will be divided into a City portion and a tenant portion. Afterward, Gertz and Mack talked about the City Council meeting on June 18, when Mack will make a presentation and there will be a public hearing. The Council is expected to approve the Conditional Use Permit and Heritage Preservation Site Alteration Permit, which will allow the project to proceed. Chris Eilers will be present to meet the Council and answer any questions. The bid opening is on June 27 at 10 a.m. in the City Center. Gertz said he would work with City staff to make recommendations on the bids to the City Council at its June 24 meeting. The City is obligated to take the lowest bid, unless a problem with the bid is found. Gertz reviewed the final plans with the commissioners. He pointed out that there is an addendum that will be mailed to the contractors. Peterson-Benike asked if the commissioners could have sets of plans that are reduced, and Gertz said they could have the same half-size sheets given to the City Council. The outdoor sign will be six feet high and 32 square feet in size. Bracketry from the porch will be affixed to the top of the sign. It will be lighted from below. The fireplace will be a Heatilator gas stove, which can be vented out the top. It will be free-standing, and would occupy about the same space and the same location as the original stove did, but will open on three sides. Molly Gilbertson can design the top of it to fit the environment. Gertz said the exterior lighting meets City Code, and should not intrude on the neighbors. The costs will be split, with the City paying for lights in the parking lot and Dunn Brothers paying for bollard lighting. It has not been determined who would pay for lighting the patio. Weeks asked if the style of brick pavers in the terrace area has been decided. Gertz said that question has not been settled. He has not seen any samples. Mr. Huber told the Planning Board he would like to see a walkway built between the funeral home parking lot and the Smith House parking lot. The funeral home parking lot would provide for overflow parking. HPC members said it would be a good idea for Dunn Brothers employees to park there. Regarding the rain garden, Gertz said there was a meeting to discuss this with City engineers. The engineers suggested creating a swale south of the parking lot, between that and the retaining wall, so that some of the water from the parking lot would go into the swale first. The engineers suggested eliminating the curb from the parking area and having an apron-like edge. That may require a wooden fence or other barrier to prevent cars from going off the edge of the parking area into the swale. The same would be true on the south side of the driveway. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES June 17, 2002 Page 4 The engineers suggested using pavers for the sidewalk that leads from the street to the house rather than concrete, so that any water draining off the site would infiltrate through pavers rather than sheet-draining from concrete into the rain garden. This has been included in the addendum as a possible material change for the sidewalk. If it is determined that pavers will be used, the HPC would review paver samples to make sure its use is compatible. Gertz said this is probably not cost effective as it is more expensive than concrete. Gertz invited HPC members to attend the City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, June 18. He and Peterson-Benike planned to be there. They will go to the house on Wednesday to make sure everything they want to save is out of the house. All members were invited to join them there. B. Dorenkemper House The City has approved the Riley-Jacques Farm Heritage Preservation Site Alteration Permit, so Dan Herbst can proceed with work on the house. Gertz said he would be meeting with Ginny Dorenkemper later in the week. She has compiled all the family photos of the property and will lend some to Gertz. He will review them to determine styles and sizes of window and door openings so he can give Herbst that information. Simons said she talked to Ginny Dorenkemper, who has some ideas about how the house could be used. It was agreed she should be involved. C. NAPC San Antonio Forum 2002 Gertz reported SHPO approved the scholarships for Peterson-Benike, Kist, and Adams to attend the NAPC Forum. The City has made reservations for the hotel and airline. SHPO will reimburse the City for the total cost. In September the State has its annual Historic Preservation Conference in Owatonna, and the three commissioners will be part of a roundtable discussion. They will also submit a written report when they return. Gertz said SHPO has indicated it may provide scholarships next year, in which case other commissioners would have the opportunity to go. D. Riley Barn Measured Drawings Gertz received a call from the instructor at Northwest Technical Institute drafting school. He wants to bring students out into the field to do complete measured drawings of buildings, and is looking for old historic buildings for the students to work on. The City has no drawings of the Riley-Jacques farmstead or the Dorenkemper house. The instructor brought a letter of insurance in and talked to the City attorney, who said there wouldn't be a problem with the students doing this work. They will begin on July 10 and will make measured drawings and CAD files of the entire Riley-Jacques farmstead. The instructor will assign a team of three or four students to each area. The fieldwork will take about two HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES June 17, 2002 Page 5 weeks, after which they will enter the information into their computers and generate the drawings. Gertz said these drawings should help with planning uses for the barn. In addition, the City will have measured drawings to turn over to an architect, which will save money. The log home restorers will have drawings to work from also. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Pleasant Hill Cemetery Gertz said it was brought to his attention that there are questions about how many burials exist in the old part of the cemetery because the records are incomplete. The cemetery is owned and maintained by the City. Park maintenance staff is concerned that since the City is now selling burial plots it would be good to know where all the burial sites are. Gertz said finding out who is buried in these graves would require a preservation plan for the cemetery. He will look at possible grant sources for hiring a consultant to do a record search and determine which graves are in question. An archaeologist may be needed to do ground detection using radar. Gertz said he plans to contact people who specialize in this work. In addition, real damage is being done to the gravestones by lawn mowers, etc., so he would like to do an evaluation of the historic headstones and transcribe the writings while they can still be read. Gertz said C.L.G. funds are probably the only grant funds available through the State that the City could apply for, and the funds would not be available until 2003. By then, the cemetery would be designated a Heritage Preservation Site. Peterson-Benike suggested the Eden Prairie Foundation as a source of funding. She wondered if the City would be willing to pay for part of the cost, since it owns the cemetery. Gertz said he would get an estimate of what it will cost and approach the City Council with a request. A combination of funds would be best. B. Eden Prairie Farmers Market Peterson-Benike said she has been thinking that Eden Prairie should have a Farmers Market, and believed the best place would be in the park now under development by the City at the intersection of Technology Drive and Prairie Center Drive. A designated location in the park would have to be provided to the farmers on a regular basis. Local farmers would be given spaces up front; other farmers could be given spaces farther in. Gertz suggested talking first to the area farmers, such as George Marshall, Terry Picha and Sever Peterson, as their support would be needed. Peterson-Benike said she would be willing to do that. Once they indicate their support, the proposal would be made to the City Council. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES June 17, 2002 Page 6 C. River View Development Archaeolou Investigation Gertz said this development was formerly called Flint Ridge. The archaeology investigation for that project was not concluded, but was put back in place for the new project. The report, which commissioners received, is the result of that archeological work. No authenticated burial sites were found, but on adjacent property to the east a burial ground has been identified where four of the lots are located. This project is still going through the review process. There is a concern that development may occur before the developers agree that an archeologist must be notified so he can monitor the site as soil is stripped off and identify where the burial ground is. Gertz said once the excavation gets below the top layer of soil, the archaeologist looks carefully for anything that appears to be unusual. If he finds anything, he tests a core sample right there. State law requires the contractor to stop work until that is done. In an area that has high potential for burials, it is best to find out as much as possible beforehand. D. Commission Vacancies With the resignation of Art Weeks, there is a vacancy on the commission. Peterson-Benike said if the commissioners know of anyone interested in applying to fill that vacancy, he or she should come to the City Center and submit an application as soon as possible. Weeks was the co-chair of the HPC, so that position is now vacant. Peterson- Benike asked members to inform Gertz if they are interested in being co-chair. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Adams moved, seconded by Simons, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 7-0. Chair Peterson-Benike adjourned the meeting at 8:50 p.m.