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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 09/15/1997 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1997 7:00 p.m. Prairie Rooms A & B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Jane Hession, Chair, Kathie Case, Tim Colliton, John Hensrud, James Mason, Nathalie Rabuse, James Wilson COMMISSION STAFF: John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist, Barbara Anderson, City Recorder 1. ROLL CALL Chair Hession called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Commissioner Rabuse was absent. Commissioners Case and Hensrud arrived at 7:30 p.m.. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Wilson moved, seconded by Colliton to approve the Agenda as published. Motion carried-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - August 18, 1997 Hession noted a changes to the Minutes on pages 1, 2, 5 and 7. MOTION: Wilson moved, seconded by Mason, to approve the Minutes of the August 18, 1997 Meeting as corrected. Motion carried 4-0. IV. REPORTS AND REQUESTS - EDEN PRAIRIE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Case stated she had nothing to report from the Eden Prairie Historical Society. Gertz noted that the farm buildings on the Darril Peterson Farm which was located on Highway 212 by the Lion=s Tap were in very bad condition and he suggested that perhaps some of the Commissioners would like to take a look at them before making a recommendation regarding this. Hession asked if this property was on their survey and Gertz responded it was not. The consensus of the Commission was that they should go and take a look at it. Gertz stated that Darril was renting the house. Mason asked how old the barn was and Gertz responded he did not know. Case,Colliton, and Mason will go out and look at the buildings as they still have more buildings to review, and report back to the Commission. Gertz stated he would send a memo to Bob Lambert within two weeks. V. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Preservation Festival Gertz asked if anyone was interested in attending the Preservation Festival as he has EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES September 15, 1997 Page 2 had a table there for the past two years and would appreciate some help this year. He did not want to do it again unless some people were willing to assist in manning the table with him. Hession felt they should be there because it let the community know they were serious about this and it will give the Commission visibility. Mason stated he would work the table for two hours, and Colliton stated he will also attend and work the table. Hession stated she would have to check her calendar as she may have a previous engagement,but if possible she would also attend. Gertz stated he would send in the form and would highlight the Glen Lake Children=s Camp and the Plaque program. Hession commented they could list their designations. Gertz commented he could use help in carrying the materials up the stairs as it was a large chore last year to get all the materials up to the third floor. Colliton commented he had been appointed to the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota Board. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. Cummins-Grill Home 1. Peony Garden Restoration Case stated she talked to Teri Dunn with the Eden Prairie Garden Club and she told her that they have a plan going and they want to try to get all of the peonies dug up and remove all the plants that are interfering with the peony plants within the next two weeks. This will require coordination with the City Parks and Recreation Department because the ground must be tilled. Jan Mossman will be taking the lead on this and she will be getting together with the City to set this up. They will work with a professional gardener who has experience with peonies and knows the time to do this is now. Mason asked who the City person was who would have the City crew go out there and Gertz responded that would be Bob Lambert. Hession stated that Jan Mossman should write a letter detailing what needs to be done and send it to Bob Lambert so he knows what is being asked of him. Gertz will let Bob Lambert know as soon as he hears from Jan Mossman. Case stated that the Garden Club needs to know if the City can till the garden as soon as they get the plants dug up. She will call Teri and Jan and get the plans moving forward. The City owns the land and they are asking them to help maintain it. The City will also need to put new fresh dirt down. Discussion ensued regarding this request and the time frame within which it would need to be completed and coordination with the Garden Club. Gertz stated he would talk to Bob Lambert tomorrow and Case will talk to Terry and get a letter drafted regarding the work that needs to be done. EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES September 15, 1997 Page 3 2. West Porch Restoration 3. Upper Level Restoration Gertz stated west porch restoration may not be done this season which is why he added the upper level restoration item. The contractor selected to do the job had surgery and has not returned his phone calls. The other contractor is too busy until next spring. It is too late in the season to get the restoration work done on the porch this year and he recommended that the funds be applied to the room above the kitchen. The funds need to be used before the end of the year and must be applied elsewhere. Case stated she felt the bathroom must work so they can conduct meetings there and this was very important. Gertz stated there was a floor in there which has to be rebuilt. They could have a small counter with a sink in there to make coffee, etc. There is about$5,000 left in the budget which needs to be used. Hession asked how much money they have and what it will cost to do the plastering and rewiring upstairs. She also inquired what it would cost to do the bathroom. Gertz stated he would look at bids for both and make a recommendation to the Commission at the next meeting. Discussion ensued regarding how the Commission could help with this project. The consensus was that they should get the bathroom in working order first and then decide what to do with the remaining funds (if any). B. Glen Lake Children=s Camp Hession stated there was a meeting two weeks ago with Friendship Ventures and since they did not have the funds to construct their new building, Gertz had been doing research into applying for Grant funds. They discussed whether Friendship Ventures needs have been met and if there was a way to save the dining hall. Hession reviewed what transpired at the meeting regarding the site and the plans for the camp. They wanted to find out what could be done to a historic building to make it usable without destroying it=s historic significance. Gertz showed the original plans which were drawn in 1925 by the architect that drafted the plans for the Glen Lake Sanitorium buildings. He outlined a plan to construct the addition from the kitchen wing parallel to the existing building. They could also shift the building towards the railroad tracks to avoid impeding the view of the existing dining hall. Discussion ensued regarding the plans that will be drawn and the various design elements that will be incorporated into the new building to tie it into the old existing structure. Gertz submitted the final grant application last Friday,and 29 requests will be looked at by the State to determine how much they will give to the petitioners. This is the last remaining camp in Minnesota and he believed they would get something but he did not know how much it would be. It is a matching grant so they will have about $120,000. They can apply for a planning grant in December which will help with EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES September 15, 1997 Page 4 drawing costs. The grant is available annually and they can continue to reapply if they are not granted any funds this year. Hession stated that Gertz should be commended for getting the grant together and submitting it as it entailed a great deal of work and effort. C. Riley-Jacques Farm 1. Granary Restoration Hession stated she had received a call from Elaine Jacques who was concerned that the donation of$5,000 she gave for the restoration has not been used. It is becoming more complicated and those funds might be insufficient to cover the costs for some of the restoration. Gertz stated that the $5,000 would just about cover replacing the roof. There is much more that needs to be done in the building besides that and the donation will not cover it all. The roof is the most important thing to do first, and it should be done as soon as possible. He has not had time to follow up with contractors to get the work done. He is meeting a contractor at the site tomorrow or Wednesday and he will give us an estimate, which will be given to Bob Lambert for authorization for the work to be done. Case commented that if they could show Elaine they are doing something with her donation she may be inclined to give more later to help with further restoration. They need to show her that the gift is appreciated. Gertz stated he would call Elaine Jacques and let her know where they are with this project. 2. Renters Hession stated she had received two calls from people who were interested in renting the house. She called Bob Lambert and there is a renter there now that the City is happy with. She believed the Heritage Preservation Commission would like to have someone in the house that would take more of an interest in maintaining it and the grounds. Lambert explained that they could give the renter notice but he would talk to the interested people to see what developed. The HPC could draft some expectations from what they expect from tenants in the future. Case commented she liked the Ateam-approach with the husband and wife who were interested. Gertz stated perhaps Natalie would be interested in doing this because she had some concerns regarding how such a plan might be drafted. Hession stated she would call Natalie and ask her what her concerns were. EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES September 15, 1997 Page 5 D. Miller-Spring Update Gertz stated he talked to Natalie who had called Tyra-Lukens and she was concerned about safety and sanitation and the potential for salt to get into the stand pipe from being too close to the road. Mason stated he talked to Butcher-Youngans who thought they were voting on some improvements being needed but the rendering published in the paper was not what she had seen. She liked the idea of a stone well house. Hession stated she had called Mayor Harris and informed her of the Commission=s concerns. Wilson stated that Butcher-Youngans had told him that she wanted Gertz and Lambert to work together to resolve this issue. E. Heritage Site Designation Update Hession stated that the six site designations were given First Reading by the City Council at their regular meeting held on September 2, 1997. Gertz stated that Second Reading would be held on September 16, 1997. Hession asked if the HPC can look at the budget for next year because they need to get some money set aside for surveys and restorations for the City-owned properties. Gertz stated he will meet with Chris Enger to see what can be done regarding this. Mason inquired why a budget was submitted to the City and the HPC did not get an opportunity to review it. Gertz responded that this Commission did not have it=s own budget,but had funds included under the Community Development Department. The Commission decided that the most important priority was to designate the next six sites and write the Request for Proposals as soon as possible. The cemeteries should also be done in 1997. Hession was told that the HPC needs to come up with a line item in the budget to get funds for restoration of buildings the City owns. Mason commented if they don=t get these requests in they will not get more funds from future City Councils in the new budgets. Gertz reviewed how the budget has worked in the past and the changes that have taken place and how this will need to be developed. Hession emphasized that the Commission needs to know what amount they have in the way of funding in order to make plans. Gertz stated that each property would need to have its own budget with a list of things that are needed. They can work up a draft proposal and any Commissioner that wants to be part of this can be involved. The proposal should also include things like gardens and other items, and site needs have to be identified and the uses of the properties need to be established. Hession suggested perhaps they could have a restoration budget which could be used for all the properties depending on what was needed. This would be more efficient than having site-specific funding and would give the Commission more flexibility. Hensrud and Wilson volunteered to serve on the Committee to research this and will report back at the next meeting. EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES September 15, 1997 Page 6 F. Heritage Site Marker Program Update Case and Colliton passed out pictures of the markers and a list of homes they were considering as possible for designation. Case also had some historic landmarks that should be designated with historic street sign markers. If the HPC approved these then they can send out the applications and get people their plaques. These are buildings that have been pre-approved. She has one plaque left and she suggested that they give one to the Holasek house. Gertz stated there is sufficient funding left to reorder plaques but they will have to use some money from the Historic Site Restoration funds. They could get 25 plaques and 25 street signs. Case stated they will submit a list of the houses that will be eligible. They should order 30 street signs because of the historic sites they want to designate that do not have buildings on them any longer. She inquired if the Commission wanted to continue charging $25.00 for the plaques or if they wanted to raise the price. After discussion,it was decided to keep the price at$25.00 because they want to keep the program the same as it was when it started. Gertz stated he would order 25 plaques and 30 street signs and next week they will make a list of those sites that will be sent applications. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. Designation Process Review Hession reviewed the designation process set out by the ordinance. Properties can be undesignated or if they want to change them there is a process established by which a Heritage Site Alteration Permit may be obtained. This permit requires approval by the Heritage Preservation Commission. Gertz stated he would send out a memo to Department Heads reminding them that the properties which are designated as Historic Sites require approval of any alterations by the Hertage Preservation Commission and they should also be designated on the zoning map. The City needs to develop a Historic Site Alteration Permit form and he has obtained samples from other communities. Hession stated that this permit must be reviewed by the Heritage Preservation Commission who will then make a recommendation to the City Council who will hold a public hearing for this permit request. B. Maintenance Budget Planning for City Owned Historic Properties This item was discussed earlier under the Heritage Site Designation item. EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES September 15, 1997 Page 7 C. Sunbonnet Day 1. Recap Gertz commented there were a lot of people there,and it was a very nice day. He thought if they had more things to do that people would stay longer. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were a big help in running the games. He thought that many people would like to volunteer if they had direction. Case commented that she thought they should particularly invite the Grill family and involve them in Sunbonnet Day. She also thought they should have some plain water available on the site, as the day was warm, and pop did not quench the thirst for people who were out there being active. She also heard that the music was too loud, and should be toned down a bit. 2. Program Ideas for 1998 Gertz stated the possibility of using the Riley-Jacques property for Sunbonnet Days next year was discussed,and he thought if they used the barn instead of a tent it would be less expensive. Mason thought it was a great idea and it would be a nice change from the Cummins-Grill house. Discussion ensued regarding using volunteers to plan the next Sunbonnet Day and utilizing Gertz=s time in other ways. The origin of Sunbonnet Days was discussed, and how it ended up being the purview of the HPC. Case suggested they have a subcommittee to plan for Sunbonnet Day beginning six months in advance. Hession inquired why they spend money on Sunbonnet Days when they are still behind on the site designations and they have buildings that need to be maintained. Case stated it was important because people learn so much about the community by attending Sunbonnet Days. Mason stated he would take charge of the event and investigate holding it at the Riley-Jacques farm. They will come back with plans for next year. All the Commissioners present volunteered to help with this. Mason will serve as the Sunbonnet Day Committee Chair. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION:Wilson moved, seconded by Case,to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m.