Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 05/21/2001 (5) APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, MAY 21, 2001 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER Prairie Rooms A and B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Lori Peterson-Benike, Chairperson; Betsy Adams, Deborah Barkley,Jennie Brown, Kati Simons,Art Weeks, Mike Wroblewski STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Kathleen Luther, Christopher Pesheck, Elise Johnson COMMISSION STAFF: John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder I. ROLL CALL Peterson-Benike called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. John Gertz, Kathleen Luther and Elise Johnson were absent. Kathie Case, representing the Historical Society, was present for the first part of the meeting. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Peterson-Benike added a Historic Moments presentation by Kathie Case about the Smith House, under IV. Reports and Requests, and remove the item on Lookout Park, under V. Reports of Commission and Staff. Weeks added a report from Miller-Dunwiddie, under VIL New Business. As John Gertz is not present, the CIP Budget item was removed from the agenda. MOTION: Wroblewski moved, seconded by Adams, to approve the agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 7-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —April 16, 2001 MOTION: Simons moved, seconded by Adams, to approve the minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting of April 16, 2001, as published. Motion carried 7-0. IV. REPORTS AND REQUESTS Kathie Case gave the history of the Smith-Douglas-More House. It was built in 1877 by Sheldon Smith, and several of the bedrooms were rented for overnight lodging or to permanent boarders. Their daughter, Arnie, married David Frank Douglas in 1892, who left her a widow with a son, Sheldon. She never remarried, and continued to run the farm and the boarding house. Sheldon lived in the house until the early 1950s, when it was purchased by Helen and Earl More. They did an excellent job of maintaining the house, and Earl added central heating and electrical wiring. The City purchased the farmstead in 1981. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES May 21, 2001 Page 2 Kathie said the Historical Society purchased a couch and love seat that belonged to the Douglas family. She showed letters written by Amy Douglas and newspaper clippings about the house, which are kept in the museum. Wroblewski asked what she would think if only the outside of the house can be preserved. She said the Historical Society would like to see the house used somehow by the City, with the City retaining ownership. They would like to see it used as a tea house, for example. The kitchen could be altered for that purpose, because it is not a part of the original house. A section of the house could be a museum that changes displays frequently. However, if it were leased for a 5 - or 10-year period, the City would get it back if they don't want to continue to lease it. Kathie said that of the three historic houses the City owns, the Historical Society deems the Smith-Douglas-More House the most historically significant because of where it is and what it represents. It is all that is left of the downtown of Eden Prairie. It is important to have them all designated as National Historic Sites. There are about 12 sites in the City that are pending designation, some of which need only a little work to complete. There are grants available to do this. Kathie Case was thanked for her presentation. She reminded the commissioners they are automatically members of the Historical Society. Their next meeting is on June 10 at the Cummins-Grill House. Wroblewski and Adams said they would like to see the interior of the Smith House. Peterson-Benike said a tour of the house could be arranged. She will ask John Gertz for some possible dates. V. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Statewide Historic Preservation Conference, Glenwood, Minnesota, September 20-21, 2001 The information provided was reviewed. Peterson-Benike said she would check into whether or not the City pays for the registration for commissioners. This will be discussed at the next HPC meeting. B. Social Event with Historical Society Peterson-Benike said that in the past the HPC and the Historical Society met every year for a social event. She suggested doing something at the Cummins- Grill House. The two groups are a good resource for each other and what their priorities are. She would like to form a committee of two or three members to organize the event. It would be separate from the HPC's regular meeting time. Wroblewski referenced Kathie Case's comment that the same questions about the historic properties have been asked for years. He wondered if there is some process the commissioners could institute that would settle some of these issues. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES May 21, 2001 Page 3 Peterson-Benike replied there are some encumbrances to the process, but some things have moved forward. Many times it is a financial issue. Adams suggested having a time line of what has occurred and then the commissioners can decide if they want to bring a subject up again for any reason. Wroblewski asked, if the City is going to keep the three houses why not maintain them, and if not, why keep them? Adams said the HPC has to get the community behind the effort. It doesn't appear the residents know the value to the community of these historic homes, judging from the community survey. The stories about the houses have to be shared outside of the HPC and Historical Society. Peterson-Benike suggested getting a feature in the newspaper discussing the three properties and some of the plans for them. Peterson-Benike said until this year, the Cummins-Grill House has not been fully utilized. It was only used for Sun Bonnet Days. Now it is being programmed all year. The More House was occupied until last fall, so it couldn't be used by the City,but it did get some publicity when the City Council talked about selling it. VI. OLD BUSINESS CIP Budget Weeks said the Council has delayed its budget allocation meetings because it is taking longer than they initially thought to gather the budget information. They will be discussing the budget at the Council Workshop on June 5. VII. NEW BUSINESS Weeks reported that the City hired Miller-Dunwiddie to do a comprehensive evaluation of the three historic properties. They have completed a draft report for review this evening. Weeks distributed copies to the commissioners. He said John Gertz had not seen the report yet. Miller-Dunwiddie charged approximately $10,000. Although the HPC voted to proceed with a cost evaluation, the commissioners didn't know how much it was going to cost. Miller-Dunwiddie developed a priority list of tasks that they believe need to be done for the Cummins-Grill House, ranking them from the highest priority to the lowest, and have stretched those costs over six years. They have put a higher priority on keeping the exterior of the buildings intact. The high-priority items should be done in the first two years of the six-year CIP. Brown asked if the purpose of the report is to enable the HPC to present a more comprehensive program of recommendations to the City Council. Weeks replied the concern, that was expressed at the March HPC meeting, was that if the HPC was depending on a four-year-old estimate, would the amount be sufficient to accomplish the work now. The way to verify the amounts was to require a second opinion. Miller- Dunwiddie, which prepared a feasibility study on the Cummins-Grill House, appeared to HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES May 21, 2001 Page 4 be a suitable selection since they have experience in architectural restoration, recently the Burwell House in Minnetonka. Peterson-Benike asked the commissioners to read the report before the next meeting. Gertz and Weeks would lead the discussion. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Barkley moved, seconded by Brown, to adjourn the meeting. Chairperson Peterson-Benike adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m.