Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 01/31/2011 (5) 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 HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES January 31, 2011 Page 2 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. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES January 31, 2011 Page 3 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 Page 4 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.