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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 11/19/2007 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2007 7:00 P.M. Prairie Rooms A & B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS Betsy Adams, Chairperson; Ann Higgins, Vice Chairperson; Richard Akerlund, Nina Mackay, Mark McPherson,Ed Muehlberg, Jane Plaza STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Megan Clark,Alexandra Shea COMMISSION STAFF John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder I. ROLL CALL Adams called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Commissioner Muehlberg was excused. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Higgins added Council's Actions Regarding Smith-Douglas-More House as Item A. under New Business. MOTION: Plaza moved, seconded by Akerlund, to approve the agenda as modified. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —OCTOBER 15, 2007 MOTION: Mackay moved, seconded by Higgins, to approve the minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission held on October 15, 2007, as published. Motion carried 6-0. IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. NEW STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES Megan Clark and Alexandra (Lexie) Shea were asked what brought them to this Commission. Both are Seniors in Eden Prairie High School. Both heard about serving on City commissions through the local newspaper and the school bulletin. The students do not get school credit for being on the Heritage Preservation Commission and do not have to make a report to the school. Lexie served on the Commission last year. She said she was interested in the subject of heritage and what Eden Prairie does with the historic houses it owns. Megan said she is interested in how the City's commissions work. She is interested in the Dunn Bros. Coffee operating in the Smith-Douglas-More House, and recently attended the Council meeting about the house. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 19, 2007 Page 2 B. UPDATED LIST OF EDEN PRAIRIE HISTORIC PROPERTY INVENTORY Commissioners reviewed the inventory list provided by Gertz. It has a description of the properties owned by the City, and organizes the other historic properties by type, including buildings, archaeology and landscape sites. Also listed are properties that have been lost. Each has an inventory number, and property that is on the National Register has a number provided by the State Historic Preservation Office. The City has assigned numbers for all the properties. They represent the ordinance number and then the listing number for designation. Gertz said he would ask Steve Durham, the City's zoning official, to put the most significant properties on the City's Web site. Gertz pointed out that another part of the inventory is landscapes. Cemeteries fall into that category, as well as Lookout Park and Fredrick-Miller Spring. The Indian Road Corridor is one that is worth preserving as a landscape. Archaeology resources include burial mounds and locations where lithic scatter has been found. Gertz explained that lithic scatter includes broken pieces, such as broken tools, that indicate occupation or habitation on that site. Another inventory list consists of historic resources, such as farm sites and houses, some of which have been lost due to development. The names indicate the names of owners during the period of significance. The Dvorak family still occupies the farm property, which is near the industrial area on Flying Cloud Drive. The original home is gone, but the barn and other buildings are still there. Gertz said the property is eligible, and should be considered, for local nomination. Gertz said he would keep updating the list. C. MINNESOTA SENATE CAPITAL INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING—NOVEMBER 30 Gertz said the committee will meet at Camp Eden Wood, and Friendship Ventures will be making a presentation on their plans to develop the camp, per the Master Plan being completed by Brauer & Associates. It is an opportunity for Friendship Ventures to sell this plan to the State Legislature, which will be deciding whether or not to fund the project. City Council members have been invited. Gertz said he plans to attend and expects that other staff will be there. He hopes Friendship Ventures receives state support for the project. D. UPDATED CUMMINS HOUSE REUSE STUDY REPORT Commissioners received copies of the updated Reuse Study Report. Gertz made the necessary corrections and edits to the previous version. Gertz said he plans to distribute copies to the SHPO and the people on staff who participated in the reuse study. He will go through the report with staff. Gertz said he believes it HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 19, 2007 Page 3 will be presented to the Council at a workshop session next Spring, and would also coordinate this with Vogel to make sure he is able to attend. Adams said she could see from the report that the house and site were kept in mind at all times by trying to preserve the building as much as possible. She said it is important for the Commissioners to read the report and feel comfortable with it. The HPC will keep talking about it. V. OLD BUSINESS A. JOINT MEETING—EDINA HPB—DECEMBER 17 There was discussion with regard to holding a meeting prior to the joint session with the Edina HPB. Gertz pointed out that the CLG grant application is due in January, and it would be important to decide what project to pursue prior to the January meeting. It was decided to begin the HPC meeting at 6:30 p.m. and plan to end it at 7:00 p.m., when the Edina group is expected to arrive. Gertz said the joint meeting would last about one hour. He offered to bring refreshments. Adams suggested beginning the joint session with a mini-tour of the Staring Lake Outdoor Center. Vogel compiled a document about its history that could be shared with the Edina HPB. Gertz offered to make a brief PowerPoint presentation regarding Eden Prairie's historic properties. Adams said the Edina HPB has a long-range plan they can explain to the HPC, and then discuss the pros and cons of making such a plan. Akerlund pointed out that some of the things the HPB are dealing with now are things the HPC will be dealing with in five or ten years. Gertz said he would talk to Vogel about an agenda. B. UPDATE ON CAMP EDEN WOOD PROJECT Commissioners received a copy of the letter Gertz wrote to Mark Buechel at SHPO requesting approval of the six-foot-wide trail behind the dormitory building. In the letter, Gertz went over the rationale for expanding it, as explained by Friendship Ventures. Gertz has not received a written answer from Buechel, but he has had a long discussion with him over the phone, and Buechel indicated he would approve a maximum width of six feet, including the shoulders. Gertz said he believes this will fall within the planning scope of the Master Plan. Gertz expects to get a written response soon and will forward it to the Commissioners. Written approval would give Friendship Ventures permission to go ahead with construction next spring. Gertz also talked to Buechel about using an alternative to a bituminous surface for the trail, such as crushed stone or aggregates of different types, that are very durable and look more natural than asphalt. They would also allow water to infiltrate the soil underneath. Gertz said he would do research on different materials and ask Friendship Ventures to consider using them. Many times they are cheaper, because bituminous can buckle and has to be repaired and maintained. Gertz asked the Commissioners to let him know if any of them has a HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 19, 2007 Page 4 source for that material. McPherson asked if the material has to meet City requirements of any kind. Gertz replied he did not believe such requirements would pertain to the campgrounds, but Friendship Ventures could probably get waivers if needed. Higgins asked what it means to the HPC that Friendship Ventures has decided not to rehabilitate the dining hall building. Gertz replied it means that the HPC won't have to review it. Friendship Ventures will have to update their grant request by removing the cost of rehabilitating the dining hall. They are applying for an eight-to-twelve month extension of the grant. Friendship Ventures are still required to maintain the building. Gertz understands they plan to extend water to the building so they have a source of clean water, and they are talking about adding a bathroom. Basically, the building will remain intact, which is good. C. UPDATE ON DRAFT PRESERVATION CODE CHANGES Gertz reported he has been asked by Janet Jeremiah to go ahead and finish the update, after which she plans to send it to the City Council for approval. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. COUNCIL'S ACTIONS REGARDING SMITH-DOUGLAS-MORE HOUSE Adams said the City Council recently approved a one-year extension of the lease for the house. The amount was lowered considerably, which allows the manager of Dunn Bros. Coffee to see if she can make her business more viable. She is also renting upstairs rooms to a tutoring business. Higgins said she has heard that the City Council is putting the subject of the lease back on the agenda. There is a possibility that the lease agreement could be revoked if it has not been signed by then. Higgins has heard the lessee received the lease a week ago and gave it to her attorney for review. Higgins asked what the role of the HPC is with regard to this situation. Gertz replied he had not heard about this, but the HPC would only be involved in physical changes to the house. If they felt the building was in jeopardy and the use would damage the property, the HPC would have a reason to make a recommendation to the Council. B. 2008 CLG GRANT PROJECT Gertz explained the HPC doesn't have to apply for a grant if they don't want to because there is a lot of work that could be done without it. Gertz said the SHPO prefers to give grants to do survey work, local designation work, preservation work, etc. They fund educational projects as well, but that is not a high priority for the grants. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 19, 2007 Page 5 Mackay asked Gertz if there is something he would like to see accomplished. Gertz replied there are areas in the Minnesota River Valley that should be surveyed. It is mostly owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, so it is not in danger of being developed,but a grant could be used to survey areas that have not been fully explored. Adams said she believed whatever they apply for, it has to be connected to an event the HPC can use to improve public relations. It might be attached to something "green" related to preservation. The kiosks that Gertz hopes to construct should go into the high school to increase interest in preservation. Adams believes it is important to use part of the grant money to create an on- going blog to let people know what the HPC is doing and to involve multiple segments of the community. Adams wants people to realize the history that is here and highlight it. She would like the grant money to be used as a method for outreach. Plaza said grants are not given out for education very often,but perhaps that could be part of the grant application package. Akerlund said he has looked at the old photographs at the shopping mall and wondered who those people are. Mackay said the Eden Prairie Historical Society donated those. Plaza said a lot of really good work has been done with the grant money, but she would like to see designations taken a step further. Gertz agreed that designations need to be advanced. Gertz said work on management plans should be continued, including those for the Smith-Douglas-More House and the Glen Lake Children's Camp. Management plans provide guidelines for whoever owns the property. Gertz said that work could be done without a grant, as could a barn survey. Adams said she would like to include the citizens in whatever the Commissioners decide to do with grant money. Mackay agreed with that idea. Gertz said work on the City's Web site and media work could be funded through the CLG grant. He would want to talk to people at the SHPO and also find out what the City would like to do with regard to updating the City's Web site. Higgins suggested asking the school district to put something on their Web site about the City's historic sites. The local library also might be willing to do that. Adams said whatever is decided, there should be a theme for the grant application. Working on the Web site is one; the kiosk is another. Partnering with the Historical Society, the library and the high school would appeal to the SHPO because they want to encourage partnering. Akerlund suggested a partnership with the Mdewakanton Sioux community in Dakota County. He also has worked with Wings of the North and believes they would allow a display at the airport about the history of Flying Cloud Airport. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 19, 2007 Page 6 Gertz said he would work the Commissioners' ideas down into a grant application. He will also talk to City staff to find out if something can be done with the Web site using grant money. McPherson suggested listing some buildings the HPC wants to save or have already saved, with a photo that would get people's interest, or make a postcard with a photo on the front. That photo could also be put in the newspaper as a way to market the City. Mackay said she has seen some postcards with photos of old houses. Adams said the Historical Society commissioned those and had them made into note cards that they sold. Gertz said that 25 or 30 prints of historic sites are owned jointly by the School District and the City. They are on display at the Central Kindergarten school. Gertz said he has always thought they would make good calendar art. Adams said they would discuss this again at the next meeting, and asked the Commissioners to come in with some other ideas. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Mackay moved, seconded by Higgins, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. Adams adjourned the meeting at 8:50 p.m.