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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 11/18/2002 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2002 7:00 P.M. Prairie Rooms A & B 8080 Mitchell Road Commission Members: Lori Peterson-Benike, Chairperson; Betsy Adams, Deborah Barkley,Jennie Brown, Elise Kist, Kati Simons Student Representatives: John Buteyn, Mackenzie Epping, Ross Viland Commission Staff: John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist; Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder I. ROLL CALL Peterson-Benike called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. All members were present II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Peterson-Benike added Item A. under Reports of Commission and Staff, Historical SocietyUpdate. Gertz added Item D. under New Business, Minneapolis Desiiznation of a Historical District. MOTION: Kist moved, seconded by Adams, to approve the agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —OCTOBER 21, 2002 MOTION: Adams moved, seconded by Simons, to approve the minutes of the meeting of the Heritage Preservation Commission held on October 21, 2002, as published. Motion carried 6-0. IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Historical Society Update Peterson-Benike gave a report on the October 23 meeting. Scott Neal, the City Manager, and Mayor Tyra-Lukens were present. They were given a tour of the museum and told about the need for more space. An old water tower was given to the City some time ago, and the Society has discussed putting it at the entrance to Miller Park, but instead it will be placed in the Hennepin Village property being developed by Dan Herbst. It will require extensive renovation. The Christmas Event at the Cummins House will be held on December 8, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Four volunteers are needed, in addition to those from the Historical Society. Gertz said the Society should remind him or Tria Mann that the house needs to be cleaned prior to December 8. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 18, 2002 Page 2 At the meeting, the Society discussed the necessity of communication between it, the HPC, and the City. Peterson-Benike asked Gertz if the HPC can send Marie Wittenberg a copy of its minutes each month. Gertz offered to make sure she gets a copy. Peterson-Benike will provide the HPC members with minutes from the Historical Society. B. HPC Student Representatives The Student Representatives were introduced. They are John Buteyn, a student at Eden Prairie High School, Mackenzie Epping, who attends Hopkins High School, and Ross Viland, who attends Eden Prairie High School. V. OLD BUSINESS A. Follow-Up Points • Dorenkemper Log House — Historical Society informed about reason for siding being used over the logs. • Update on CLG Grant application for Pleasant Hill Cemetery • Bids for work on Riley-Jacques barn • Opening of Dunn Bros. Coffee at the Smith-Douglas-More House B. Riley-Jacques Farm 1. Dorenkemper Loy House Gertz said the mason is expected to construct the foundation this week, and then the movers will place the house over the foundation. Cultured stone can be applied to the top two courses of block to give the look of a field-stone foundation. The commissioners saw samples of cultured stone and decided to use the one called Lake Tahoe. Gertz said the log restoration work is done and some logs that could not be restored were replaced with cedar logs. Log construction will be shown at one corner. It is expected that within the next two weeks the carpenter will be connecting the summer kitchen to the main house and then begin putting on siding. Work will continue through the winter, mostly on exterior work. A propane tank was brought in and electrical lines were installed last week. A second meter was added so that the farmhouse renter won't be billed for electricity to the log house. A 40,000 BTU furnace will be put in to keep the temperature just above freezing during the winter months. Gertz mentioned that Pemtom Land Company, which owns the log house, received a complaint about siding being placed over the logs. The person who complained said she was a member of the Historical Society, and was going to circulate a petition to prevent having the logs covered over. The Historical Society should be told the reason for doing that is because all the historical photographs of the Dorenkemper house show siding. It was HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 18, 2002 Page 3 agreed that the Historical Society needs to receive that information before a petition is circulated. Gertz said he would be happy to attend their next meeting to explain this to the members. It should also be mentioned in the newspaper. 2. Riley-Jacques Barn and Site Gertz referred to a memo from Bob Lambert on renovation of the Riley- Jacques barn. It will be programmed as a multi-purpose facility to accommodate small theater productions, summer playground programs, summer day camps, barn dances, special events, small band concerts, etc. The memo resulted from a meeting with Parks Department staff to discuss use of the barn. Gertz will be obtaining bids in December from architects for the design work and will get cost estimates to begin work on the first phase next spring. Because of the budget available for 2003, Gertz will tell the architect what the main priority is for the first phase. Gertz said he would be meeting with the Parks and Recreation Commission again to bring them up to date on plans for the barn. Peterson-Benike said there should also be an interpretation somewhere on the site of farming in the community. Gertz said the former paddock area could be used for parking or for farm interpretation. He will discuss parking areas with the architect, including what kind of surface should be used; asphalt or crushed limestone. Maintenance by the City needs to be considered in this decision Peterson-Benike showed a booklet from the National Trust covering information on barn preservation. She will obtain copies for the other commissioners. C. Smith-Douslas-More House/Dunn Brothers Coffee Gertz said December 4 is the deadline for the general contractor to finish construction. Then Dunn Brothers can finish their work, which will take approximately 10 days. They plan to open in mid-December. Gertz showed the commissioners a sample of the shingles and the paint color selected by Molly Gilbertson for the barn that is compatible with the historic color of the barn. Dunn Brothers submitted a different design for the outdoor sign than the design prepared by MacDonald & Mack. It is higher off the ground, which is better for landscaping and raises it above the snow line, and it has the Dunn Bros. Coffee logo. Guidelines from the National Park Service, covering signs for historic buildings, were available for the commissioners to review. Gertz said the HPC could be flexible on the changes, because the sign is compatible with adaptive reuse of the property. The architectural elements of the house are retained, and the decorative brackets from the porch will be used. The sign will be placed north of the entrance driveway, and set back six feet from the sidewalk. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 18, 2002 Page 4 D. J.R. Cummins House Gertz said the projects are being rolled into the bid process that will go out to the architects. The projects will be done in 2003, and programming at the house might not be possible during that time. Peterson-Benike inquired if the City responded to the request to clean up the site. Gertz replied that will be done next year. E. Fredrick-Miller Springy Gertz reported that a letter was sent to Barr Engineering to ask them to provide a schedule for the redevelopment of the site, but they have not responded. Gertz said he would continue to phone them. Peterson-Benike said Councilmember Ron Case asked about the water quality at the spring. It is tested once a month and has never been shut down. Agricultural runoff may affect the quality in the future, but the City is still in support of keeping that site even though it may have to be shut down occasionally. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Pleasant Hill Cemetery Gertz contacted the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to inquire about receiving funds for researching old records to determine who is buried where in the cemetery, which is owned by the City. He was told Certified Local Government (CLG) funds would probably be available for planning and researching records. The information could then be put in a computer database. The funds could also be used to develop a plan on how to restore certain features, such as grave stones, and record their condition by photographing each one. Based on that, a maintenance plan can be developed to provide the City's maintenance crews with instructions on how to mow without hitting the stones. Gertz suggested having a cast-iron gate for the entrance to the cemetery, with the name inscribed on it. Peterson-Benike said this cemetery is still being used, and people may be interested in dedicating memorial money to improvements. Having some grant money would begin this process. Gertz said the grant application has to be approved by the City Council. The SHPO reviews and awards grant applications for CLG funds in January and February, so it has to be submitted sometime in December. When the grant is received, a consultant would then be hired to do the work. MOTION: Adams moved, seconded by Barkley, that the City apply for a CLG grant for Pleasant Hill Cemetery planning and maintenance guideline development. Motion carried 6-0. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 18, 2002 Page 5 Peterson-Benike said many old churches are closing that have cemeteries connected with them, so the matter of maintaining them will become more of an issue. Gertz said he would like this to be discussed at a state conference. B. Staring Lake Outdoor Center Gertz said he took photographs of the interpretive panels put up recently at Staring Lake, and noticed the logs on the outdoor center are beginning to deteriorate. He notified Bob Lambert and Stu Fox. Lambert agreed that the logs need to be cleaned and refinished. They should be stabilized with liquid epoxy. Gertz will get an estimate on the cost from Peter Edmond, a log restoration specialist, and hoped the Parks Department will approve a budget for repair. Gertz said the outdoor center needs to be designated by the City as a historic property as soon as possible. When the work is done on the building in 2003, the HPC can review the changes. Peterson-Benike said the outdoor center would be a good place to hold a joint meeting with the Historical Society. C. Local Designations The properties selected by the HPC for local designation status are Staring Lake Outdoor Center, the Eden Prairie Consolidated School, the Harry Picha Farm, and the River Narrows. Gertz said that this winter he plans to work on the Findings of Significance and physical description for each site. Background research needs to be done on each one and the information written into the report. Adams and Peterson-Benike offered to assist with this work. Gertz said he would welcome their assistance. He will meet with them and go over what is needed. D. Minneapolis Desisnation of a Historical District Gertz referenced an e-mail from Ric Rosow regarding designation by the City of Minneapolis of a historical district, which was contested in court. When the case was reviewed by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, they determined the city's action was "arbitrary and capricious." The Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission did some things wrong and Eden Prairie's HPC can learn some lessons from those actions, Gertz said. One is to stick to the process and not deviate from it. Before designating a property, backup information is needed. Minneapolis acted impulsively and overlooked an earlier plan to designate the district. They made up their own third version during a meeting, adding several buildings not included originally in the historic district. That didn't allow time for the public to review what the city was planning to do. The judge said the court looked for arbitrary and capricious actions. It also looked at whether there was a good record of the meeting in terms of comments made by members, and found they didn't say why they included two other buildings in the district, or how decisions were made related to the city's criteria. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 18, 2002 Page 6 Gertz said it is important to include in the record that the criteria was evaluated fairly and voted on in a fair manner. The Commission's recommendation was moved on to the City Council. Gertz reviewed the process for the HPC to follow to obtain local historic designations. First the Findings of Significance would be sent to the Council showing that the HPC has reviewed the property for historic significance. The SHPO is notified and responds. Then information is presented to the Planning Commission to show how designation may impact surrounding property, and the commission's comments are communicated to the HPC. The HPC holds a public hearing after the City notifies neighbors living within 500 feet of the property, and then passes a motion making a recommendation to the City Council. Gertz said there is nothing in the City code that requires approval of the designation by the owner of the property being considered. Once designated, the property owner's recourse for making alterations to the property is to come to the HPC for permission. Sometimes the property owner claims hardship because of the designation and might threaten to take the matter to court. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Kist moved, seconded by Brown, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. Peterson-Benike adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m.