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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 07/10/2000 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION Monday,July 10, 2000 7:00 p.m. City Center Prairie Rooms A and B Commission Members: Jan Mosman, Chairperson; Deborah Barkley,Jennie Brown, Lori Peterson- Benike, Kati Simons,Art Weeks, Mike Wroblewski Commission Staff: John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist; Peggy Rasmussen, Recording Secretary I. ROLL CALL Chair Mosman called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. Commissioner Barkley and Commissioner Weeks were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mosman added an item under New Business on the donation of trees from the Eden Apple Orchard and another item on the Eden Prairie Garden Club. MOTION: Peterson-Benike moved, seconded by Brown, to approve the agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —JUNE 19, 2000 MOTION: Brown moved, seconded by Simons, to approve the minutes of the June 19, 2000 Heritage Preservation Commission meeting as published. Motion carried 4-0, with Commissioner Wroblewski abstaining, due to his absence from the meeting. IV. REPORTS AND REQUESTS There was a discussion about having an HPC member attend meetings of the Eden Prairie Historical Society, as was done by a previous commissioner. Mosman said she would find out when the meetings are held. She said the Historical Society offered members of the HPC honorary membership in the Society. However, applications should be filled out and dues paid to bring the memberships up to date. It was decided that HPC members would rotate attendance at each meeting. On occasion, a member of the Historical Society has attended an HPC meeting, but there has never been a joint meeting. It was suggested that a short meeting of the HPC could be followed by a social event with the Historical Society, preferably at the Cummins- Grill House. Mosman said she is planning to write a memo to the City Council and will include a request to meet at the Cummins-Grill House. MINUTES OF HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION July 10, 2000 Page 2 V. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF VI. OLD BUSINESS A. Grant Project Update A grant of $750 was received to prepare a National Register nomination for the Minnesota Valley Wayside, as reported at the last meeting. In August or September Gertz will be preparing a Request For Proposals and hiring a consultant to prepare the nomination. Gertz said the work on the grant for interpretive signs is going well, but is a little behind schedule, and he may need to ask for an extension. Gertz had hoped to let the HPC members look at the signs as they appear in the computer, but they were not available to look at. Another grant is to re-roof buildings at the Glen Lake Children's Camp. This will have to wait for the end of the camping season in mid-August. Gertz has applied for and received an extension of that grant through December 31. This should allow enough time to finish that project. Peterson-Benike asked if the HPC would be allowed to use the dining hall for various purposes in the off-season. The camp is used from May through July. She would like to plan activities to bring people in to see the camp and the old buildings that are being preserved. It would be a good place for a fall retreat, perhaps by a church group. Gertz said he will find out from Friendship Ventures what their procedures are for using the facilities in the off-season. If space could be rented out, those proceeds would assist in the operation of the camp. Gertz said Friendship Ventures is in the process of drawing up a master plan. B. Review of HPC Adaptive Reuse Proposal The commissioners congratulated John Gertz on his preparation of the proposal. Copies have been mailed to the Community Program Board, which will be reviewing it at their July 11 meeting. Jan Mosman and John Gertz will be at the meeting of the Program Board to make a presentation and answer questions. The City Council will be voting on the report at its July 18 meeting. Gertz asked the commissioners if they saw anything in the proposal that might raise questions from the Program Board. It is assumed the Board would know very little about the properties. Bob Lambert is expected to be present to answer questions about the City's purchase of the properties. Possible uses for the Smith House were discussed. It could be leased for various purposes and it is expected there would be no problem in finding a tenant. A parking area could be developed behind the house that would handle a maximum of 20 cars. The house is on the Eden Prairie Register of Heritage Preservation Sites. There was discussion about once again applying to place the house on the National Register of Historic Places, as HPC believes it would be eligible. This MINUTES OF HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION July 10, 2000 Page 3 would require City Council approval. National Register status would allow the HPC to apply for grants and funding from various sources. Mosman said members of the Eden Prairie Historical Society have been asked to contact members of the City Council about the importance of retaining the historic houses and making use of them. Gertz said he is hoping the City will fund the cost of renovating the properties. He would like to get this work done within the next two years. The Parks and Recreation Department would program uses for the Riley property. A great deal of work has already been done on the Cummins House, and it could be used for educational and recreational programs. It is hoped a tenant would pay for the necessary restoration work on the Smith House. The HPC and the Community Program Board have the authority to review and approve plans for its rehabilitation. C. Review of BRW Archaeolou Report for Grace Church Project Members received copies of an interim letter-format report from BRW regarding results of the archaeological survey of the Grace Church project. It basically states that the archaeological investigation revealed nothing of significance. There had been concern about Indian burial sites being located on the property, but none were found. In the first archaeological study, it was determined that certain areas within the site were likely spots for archaeological artifacts. Scott Kipp and John Gertz responded to the letter and will send copies to the Planning Board. The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will review the final report and may ask that another phase of archaeological determination be done on the site. However, that is not expected. Gertz hopes to have a full report for the HPC in about a month. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. Support for the Eden Prairie Garden Club Mosman reported the Eden Prairie Garden Club is planning to go before the City Council on August 1 to request clarification of their responsibilities to the City and to ask whether they can use the Cummins House for their meetings. The Club planted and has been maintaining the peony garden at the Cummins House, and Mosman believed that both the HPC and Eden Prairie Historical Society would want to support the Garden Club in their efforts. Mosman explained the Garden Club is a private club, however, and not represented by City staff. The money given them from the City was used on City projects. The money the Club now has is their own. MOTION: Wroblewski moved, seconded by Peterson-Benike, that the HPC supports and endorses the Garden Club's activities, its meeting at the Cummins MINUTES OF HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION July 10, 2000 Page 4 House and the Staring Lake Outdoor Center, and the outdoor work they do at these places. Motion carried 5-0. C. Planting of Apple Trees at Cummins House Gertz said he was asked by City staff to look into the HPC decision last year to accept donated apple trees from Lorene Marshall, previous owner of the Eden Apple Orchard. The City Council raised this subject at their last meeting. Gertz found out that these are dwarf apple trees. He called and informed the SHPO that the HPC had made a decision to accept the donation. The SHPO said they would not approve planting dwarf apple trees because that is a modern hybrid and not appropriate for a National Preservation Site. They suggested that, if the City is going to introduce apple trees for interpretive purposes, Gertz should find out what kind of trees were planted by the Cummins family. The HPC goal was to preserve a piece of the old Eden Apple Orchard. Gertz recalled the HPC approved planting apple trees but not what type of tree. He said he would find out from Mr. Cummins's diaries what type of trees he planted. There are photographs showing where they were planted. Peterson-Benike wondered if there is someplace the dwarf apple trees could be relocated that Lorene Marshall so graciously offered the City. Peterson-Benike said she would contact Lee Johnson, of Orrin Thompson Homes, about the possibility of leaving some of the dwarf apple trees where they are to honor the history of the Eden Apple Orchard. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Peterson-Benike moved, seconded by Brown, to adjourn the meeting. Chair Mosman adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m.