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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 09/17/2018 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL RD HPC COMMISSION MEMBERS: Steve Olson-Chair; Tara Kalar-Vice Chair; Pamela Spera; Valerie Ross; Paul Thorp; Richard Smith; Shanti Shah STUDENT COMMISSION MEMBERS: Joe Pesheck; Neha Bhupatiraju; Sydney Lewis COMMISSION STAFF: Lori Creamer, Staff Liaison Kristin Harley, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Olson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Absent was commission member Spera and student member Lewis. II. WELCOME STUDENTS Olson had the commission members and the new student members introduce themselves. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Shah moved, seconded by Ross to approve the agenda. Motion carried 6-0. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Thorp moved, seconded by Smith to approve the minutes of the meeting held August 20, 2018 with the following changes: "Jesse Schwartz family" to be listed as donor in Item B, first paragraph; a sentence about a deadline for restoration of the Stone Monument at Camp Edenwood was erroneous and to be removed; the tree lighting ceremony held at the Eden Prairie Historical Society was open to the public. Motion carried 5-0 with one abstention (Kalar). IV. NEW BUSINESS A. COA—LION'S DEN AT CAMP EDENWOOD Creamer displayed the master plan and full report for the historic district and explained the request from Camp Edenwood for work on the Lion's Den, which was not a historic building but stood within the district. This included siding, EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION September 17, 2018 Page 2 window, and door replacement along with the construction of an ADA ramp. She asked for commission members' comments. Discussion followed on the proposed replacements and the materials. Kalar stated it would be helpful for True Friends to explain the choice of the white door and the choice of siding, given the guidance by SHPO in the past. She wondered if this was acceptable in a historic district even on a noncontributing building. The commission members compared the color of the door to the other buildings in the district. Discussion followed on the use of white on doors and windows on buildings in the site. Olson concluded the effect was a"hodge-podge" and if the color on the new Boulay Building was white,he would accept that; the point was to be consistent. Creamer displayed the photographs sent by the applicant. Olson noted these showed little window trim. Discussion followed on the location of the proposed ramp and what appeared to be the footprint for a large deck or the interior dimensions of an existing building. Smith asked how current historical buildings met ADA standards. Olson replied there were limits of door sizes and on grades; metal and wood were acceptable as materials. Some attempted to blend in and match; other construction simply did not draw attention to them. Kalar stated the commission needed a presentation on this issue. Creamer said she forwarded the COA request to the building official and to the facilities manager, but had not received any comments. Shah noted the deck looked very modern. Olson stated a stain or treatment would help it blend in. Kalar read from the Secretary of Interior's Guidelines about retaining original materials, and noted this was again applied to historical buildings, not non- contributing buildings in a historic district. Kalar also read"accessibility modifications should be in scale with the historic property." Discussion followed on the difficulty of determining where the ramp actually sat, and Creamer offered to get clarification from the applicants. Shah stated because the information seemed incomplete this raised more questions for the commission. V. OLD BUSINESS A. CITY WIDE OPEN HOUSE AND FALL HARVEST—OCTOBER 6, 2018 Creamer stated the commission was set with this event. She invited the student members to participate. Ross also invited the student members to see and tour the Dorenkemper House. B. YORKVILLE AND BLOOMINGTON ROAD —NEXT STEPS Thorp stated he expected to get direction from the City Council at the workshop on Tuesday, September 18. Kalar asked if the Parks and Recreation Department had an opinion, and Creamer replied she had received no comment. Thorp replied Parks and Recreation staff had toured the site. Creamer stated there could be interest in the future should the department wish to remove invasive plants and turn the site into a park. Thorp stated at present the commission wished to EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION September 17, 2018 Page 3 preserve the site; the tour was to raise the awareness of Parks and Recreation staff. Creamer stated listing the property as historic also raised awareness, and would involve the property owners. The City Council would decide the depth of the commission's involvement moving forward. Olson noted at a minimum this should be on Lotthammer's list of historic properties. C. FLYING RED HORSE RESTORATION—NEXT STEPS Creamer stated the City Council would also give the commission direction on the Flying Red Horse restoration project. She displayed the information booklets which will be given to the Council for both the Yorkville Bloomington Road site and the Flying Red Horse at the workshop on September 18. The 12-foot tall by 17-foot wide by five-foot thick artifact was being stored in the City's maintenance building and needed a great deal of repair. The City Council would determine if the restoration would include LED lighting or leave it unlit. Thorp replied the original sign still existed behind aluminum panels that had been added; to his mind the restoration would involve removing the added panels. VI. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. ANNUAL HERITAGE PRESERVATION CONFERENCE Shah summarized her attendance at the preservation conference. Winona, Minnesota had done a good job of preserving its "living history" and especially in leveraging partnerships. She saw a completed restoration project, one in progress, and one, which was recently purchased. Winona utilized tax credits and other incentives, and with new construction. Shah was especially interested in the refurbishment of the Woolworth building and the truss bridge across the Mississippi River. Creamer stated the keynote speaker Dan Becker, from Raleigh, North Carolina stressed leadership, stewardship, and partnership—with people, money, and organizations. "Making the Most of Modernism" was a workshop she attended which aimed to preserve buildings 50-60 years old. Construction of these buildings were often more durable than new construction today and represented an era. Creamer also summarized the various types of designation (landmark, tribal, a significant event, National Register, local designation, et cetera). She found both these presentations relevant to Eden Prairie. The environmental archeology and history presentation given by David Mather, from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) included the various ways Fort Snelling was a historical resource. The workshop on preservation from a developer's perspective also utilized partnerships, community connections, incentives and grants, historic tax credits, and Tax Increment Financing (TIF). The presenter argued for restoring a building without having a current tenant, and once leased the tenant(s) would subsequently adapt the building to the new use. EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION September 17, 2018 Page 4 B. MINNESOTA RIVER VISTA 8.21.18 COUNCIL PRESENTATION Creamer stated there was an article in the newspaper she emailed to the commission members. She shared a PowerPoint, shown at the City Council meeting of August 21. The 1939 site was a former wayside rest area that was eventually closed to the public. The new location for the Minnesota River Vista, the name of the new park site, was along Charlson Road. Of the concept plans, Concept Two was chosen which allowed only pedestrian access and interpretive signs. The City was partnering with U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Blackstone Contractors, LLC was retained as the contractor. Construction was planned for August, 2018, completion in November, interpretive sign installation in April/May, 2019, and the grand opening in June, 2019. Kalar suggested inviting Lotthammer to the next commission meeting. Discussion followed on the possibility of reusing the MAC materials. Kalar noted the Heritage Preservation Commission provided a lot of work on this early,but did not have much involvement in this project now. Thorp stated at minimum the interpretive signs could incorporate original MAC materials. Creamer offered to invite Lotthammer, and encouraged commission members to ask questions at the upcoming City Council workshop. VII. REPORTS OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY Ross reported the tree lighting would be November 24, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. Thorp added Santa would be there and would not require a reservation that evening. There would also be a food truck. Thorp stated the Historical society has two new board members. Thorp said the Historical Society was looking to the HPC for ideas to utilize the Dorenkemper House in the future. Discussion followed on possibilities. Ross stated she would like to see it open during the day camp and other events in the summer, perhaps serving ice cream. VIII. FYI ITEMS Smith asked if the two red cabins on Riley Lake at the junction of Riley Creek were part of the original Dutch's resort or were privately owned. Thorp replied Riley Lake Road used to be closer to the lake, and there could still be a path there,but it was not part of that resort. The two cabins were on the HPC inventory list. Olson asked if Bluestem would have a research document, and Creamer offered to look for it. IX NEXT MEETING EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION September 17, 2018 Page 5 The next meeting will be held Monday, October 15, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. in Prairie Rooms A & B. X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Shah moved, seconded by Ross to adjourn. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.