HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 01/31/2011 APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION
MONDAY,JANUARY 31, 2011 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER
PRAIRIE ROOMS A&B
COMMISSION MEMBERS Ann Higgins, Chairperson; Kathy Veurink,
Vice Chairperson; Matthew Fyten,Jeffrey
Lawler, Nina Mackay, Mark McPherson, Ed
Muehlberg
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE Ian English
COMMISSION STAFF John Gertz, Pathfinder CRM, LLC
Lori Creamer, Recorder
I. ROLL CALL
Higgins called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. due to inclement weather. Jan Mosman
from the Eden Prairie Historical Society joined the group at 7:25.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Mackay moved, seconded by Muehlberg to approve the agenda.
Motion Carried 7-0.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A. COMMISSION MEETING HELD NOVEMBER 15, 2010
MOTION: Lawler moved, seconded by Fyten to approve the minutes of the
Heritage Preservation Commission meeting held on November 15, 2010 with the
following corrections: Page 2, item IV Reports of Commission and Staff section A
second paragraph add "demolished" before "the shed down by the peony garden"; Page
3,paragraph 1, replace "is" with"if'
Motion carried 4-0, 3 abstain.
MOTION: Lawler moved, seconded by Fyten to accept the amended minutes.
Motion Carried 4-0, 3 abstain.
IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF
A. UPDATE ON EDEN PRAIRIE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PROJECTS
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January 31, 2011
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Jan Mosman, vice chair of the Eden Prairie Historical Society, gave an update on the
progress of the Historical Society Museum.
The Museum will be the site for the Annual meeting April 14, 2011. The space in the
lower level of City Center is being renovated including more efficient filing systems by
families and topics and more room for study areas. The current hours of the Museum are
Monday's 11-1:30; after the renovations are complete they are hoping to have evening
and weekend hours to accommodate student and others needs for research.
The Cummins Grill House pavers had to wait until spring. Landscaping will be done this
spring and summer. The Grand Opening will be May 22, 2011; the hope is to have
everything done by then. The city will be helping with wall repairs, the ice box, painting
and cleaning inside the house and lighting electrical upgrades. Water and sewer was
installed last week. By spring of 2011 the first floor should be finished and ready for use.
When all the repairs and upgrades are complete, the Cummins Grill House will be
available to rent out for public use,private parties, meeting space, and special events.
The Board has been looking for grants which they can apply for in 2012 to help with
some of the upcoming work. Staff received an e-mail from the National Trust for Historic
Preservation Grant Program regarding some funds that would be available to the city in
2012. Mosman and Gertz will look into those further.
V. OLD BUSINESS
A. HPC COMMISSIONER'S RESOURCES
Higgins stated nothing has been done with this item yet. The purpose would be to have
all the criteria and resources on the city's website for HPC commissioners to access
easily the information. Gertz stated this is one of the items on the 2011 work plan and he
would get the information to city staff and the scanning completed by March 2011. The
site would be updated as needed going forward
B. WEBSITE UPDATE
Higgins hasn't had time to set up a meeting with city staff and Eden Prairie High School
to discuss the possibility of having students help develop a new active website for the
HPC. She will try to set that up before the next HPC meeting.
C. DORENKEMPER HOUSE LOCAL DESIGNATION
This was discussed at a previous meeting and the decision had been made it was eligible
for local designation. Everyone concurred this would be a good candidate to have
designated. Next steps would be to get it on the city council agenda,prepare a statement
of significance including physical description, historical integrity. Submit that
information to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to get their approval for a
local designation.
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January 31, 2011
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VI. NEW BUSINESS
A. DRAFT 2011 WORK PLAN
The commission discussed the Best Management Practices (BMP) for the Cummins Grill
House. This document is the responsibility of the HPC and it should model the others that
have been done previously for some of the other historic properties in Eden Prairie.
There was discussion regarding the letter received by Misica Tang relating to the
designation of the outdoor center. The commission concurred it should be pursued to
have the outdoor center as a local designation site. Gertz stated there is a good chance it
is National Registration eligible because of its historical significance. The first step
would be to talk with the city's Parks & Recreation department before proceeding. Glen
Lake Children's camp would be a possible local designation site also. Mackay suggested
adding this project to the 2011 work plan. Gertz agreed and said the next steps would be
to investigate and prepare an eligibility form.
Higgins asked if the commission was ready to make a motion to add the Starring Lake
Outdoor Center local designation process to the 2011 work plan.
MOTION: Muehlberg moved, seconded by Mackay to include Starring Lake Outdoor
Center as first a local Heritage Site Designation and secondly a National Registry
Designation to the 2011 work plan. Motion carried 7-0.
B. DRAFT FEBRUARY 1, 2011 CITY COUNCIL PRESENTATION
Higgins will give the presentation to the City Council on Tuesday, February 1, 2011. This
presentation is a thumbnail of what the HPC has accomplished in 2010. Higgins asked for
any comments/feedback on the draft presentation. The only suggestion was to add a slide
regarding updates on the Outdoor Center to the presentation.
C. PLAN REVIEW REQUIREMENTS FOR EDEN PRAIRIE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY PROJECTS AT THE JOHN R. CUMMINS HOUSE
Gertz stated this item relates to a reminder of what the necessary steps are when bringing
projects to the HPC meeting for review. The Planning Department should receive all
project plans for review to determine if the project requires a public hearing or if it is an
administrative project. The Planning Department would then send the administrative
projects to the HPC for their review.
Gertz reiterated once the Best Management Practices document is completed for the
Cummins house, that will help in determining which projects may need to hold public
hearings and which ones may not.
Gertz will attend the next Historical Society Board meeting to talk about the process. He
will prepare a presentation which covers the expectations based on the Best Management
HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES
January 31, 2011
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Practices. This process is not to stop projects from happening; it's just to make the
process for both parties run smoothly.
D. GOODRICH RAMUS BARN UPDATE
There are no updates on the barn. Higgins noticed some activity at the location. She will
get an update from Staff.
E. OTHER BUSINESS
Gertz discussed the National Trust Grant funds that are available. An intern representing
the National Trust has been assigned to help determine which sites may be eligible for
this grant money. The commission discussed possible sites that may be eligible including
Smith Douglas Moore house, Glen Lake Children's camp and Riley Jacques farm. Other
possible sites included the Cummins Grill Homestead, which the Historical Society had
intended on pursuing funds for the projects they anticipate working on in 2011 and 2012.
The commission agreed it didn't make sense to try and compete for the funds if the
Historical Society had projects that were ready to go, they should apply for the grant and
of course the HPC would assist them and work together in any way possible to receive a
grant.
Mosman will send a draft proposal to Gertz and Higgins for review and feedback before
submitting it to the National Trust. Mosman will only consider inside work to the
Cummins House since the agreement they have with the city is; The Historical Society
takes care of the interior of the house and the city maintains the exterior.
Gertz stated the project submitted should be significant, not just a couple of minor
projects. A couple suggestions were an interpretive sign for the property or possibly
moving the grain bin and pouring a cement slab for it to sit on.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: Mackay moved, seconded by Veurink to adjourn the meeting. Motion
carried 7-0. Higgins adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m.