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Heritage Preservation - 10/18/1999APPROVED MINUTES HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION Monday, October 18, 1999 7:00 p.m. City Center Prairie Rooms A and B Commission Members: Deborah Barkley, Lori Peterson-Benike, Kathie Case, Timothy Colliton, Jan Mosman, and James Wilson Student Representative: Mark Perry Staff: John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist, and Deborah Meuwissen, Recording Secretary I. ROLL CALL Chair Colliton called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present included Deborah Barkley, Kathie Case, Timothy Colliton, Jan Mosman, and James Wilson. Staff present included John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist, and Deborah Meuwissen Recording Secretary. Also present were university students Nathan Koziowski, Colleen Peach, Ursula Larson and Jodie Walz. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Colliton asked for changes or additions to the agenda. Discussion regarding the Anderson School House was added under New Business. Discussion regarding the old Miller Water Tower was added under Old Business. Hearing no other changes, James Wilson moved, seconded by Jan Mosman, to accept the agenda as amended. Motion carried unanimously. III. APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 20, 1999 MINUTES Chair Colliton asked for discussion and approval of the minutes of the September 20, 1999 meeting of the Heritage Preservation Committee. Changes requested included: - removal of period on page 2, Item IV, 6th line, between "Kathie" and "Case" - replacing the blank with the word "Trust" on page 5, Item VIII, first sentence With no other changes, James Wilson moved, seconded by Deborah Barkley, to approve the minutes of the September 20, 1999 meeting of the Heritage Preservation Commission as corrected. Motion carried unanimously. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 18, 1999 Page 2 IV. REPORTS AND REQUESTS V. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Community Open House at Eden Wood Center John Gertz informed the Commissioners an invitation had been received to attend the Eden Wood Center Open House on Sunday, October 24. A reception would be held at 2:00 p.m., with the dedication ceremony beginning at 2:30 p.m., and open house from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. The new Camp Director had made a special request that at least one member of the Historical Preservation Commission attend the Open House and provide information on the Children's Camp project and its inclusion on the National Register. B. Elaine Jacques Donation Mr. Gertz advised Elaine Jacques had indicated her desire to donate to the City between $3,000 - $5,000 for maintenance of the Riley-Jacques Farm Heritage Preservation site. He indicated he would meet with Ms. Jacques and review the list of maintenance projects for the Farm. Her donation would be used for the project(s) she designated. Mr. Gertz would meet with the City Council to relate Ms. Jacques decision. Work would not begin until early 2000. Additional information will be provided at the November meeting. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. J.R. Cummins Heritage Preservation Site Mr. Gertz related materials for the construction of the fence around the site would be picked up within the week. Materials matching the original fence were no longer available and the cost of custom fencing was prohibitive. The Parks Department had requested a 12-foot gate opening. The frame for the gate had to be special ordered but the cost was not significant. He indicated posts for the fence should be erected soon and the gate would be installed at a later date. Mr. Gertz indicated several of the apples trees would be moved to a different location sometime during the spring of 2000. The Parks Department had scheduled repairs to the bathroom later this year. B. Frederick Miller Spring Heritage Preservation Site Mr. Gertz advised he had received a call from Barr Engineering Company, who had furnished plans and specifications for the tank, indicating there would be a problem with settling. Plans for would be finalized in the near future. Once specifications were received, the City would request bids on the project. C. Current CLG Grant HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 18, 1999 Page 3 John reported he had met with Paul Maravelas regarding the eight designations on which Mr. Maravelas was working. He provided comments to Mr. Maravelas on the grants and SHPO's comments have been received. A significant amount of work is required to complete the designations including significance of the properties, local criteria and ordinances that apply to each, dates of construction and legal description of the properties. The final grant will be forwarded to SHPO. A public hearing would be scheduled and this item placed on the agendas of both the Planning Commission and City Council. D. Consolidated School Gym Restoration Task Force Plans Jan Mosman reported on the progress of the School Gym Restoration project. The wall covering the bleachers had been opened. Plans for renovation of the ceiling were still being discussed. Consideration had been given to leaving the ceiling open, as it was originally designed, unless current code requirements prohibit the design. The school had agreed to pay for the railings around the bleachers. Mesh will be included between the rails to meet code. Safety doors would be installed and the architect would determine whether current code requires one or two doors. A request for funding to purchase curtains for the stage would be re-submitted to the Eden Prairie Foundation Ms. Mosman indicated vendors and Eden Prairie companies would receive letters and follow-up telephone calls requesting in-kind services or direct donations for the project. E. Old Miller Store Water Tower Project Kathie Case related a site for the water tower would need to be determined before repair estimates could be finalized since part of the repair costs included erection of the tower. After a general discussion, the Commission concluded Miller Park would be the most appropriate site to locate the water tower. Mr. Gertz indicated he would meet with the Parks Department to discuss contribution of funds from that Department to help erect the tower near the entrance to Miller Park in lieu of installing a sign at the entrance. He also indicated some work had been done on the tower and would discuss with the Director of the Parks Department impact of erecting the water tower at Miller Park. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. Birch Island Park Archaeology Investigation Mr. Gertz indicated Christine Harrison would be conducting the archaeological investigation at Birch Island Park within the week. The State permit to conduct the work had been received. The investigation would take two or three days to complete. He indicated Ms. Harrison would conduct a transectional shovel test at every 3 meters. If any artifacts were found, Ms. Harrison would stop her investigation until she received instructions on how to proceed. B. Vandalism at Overlook Park Heritage Preservation Site HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 18, 1999 Page 4 Mr. Gertz reported he had received a telephone call the week of October 11 indicating the Overlook Park Heritage Preservation site had been vandalized. Upon an inspection of the site, damage to all of the stone walls had been found. The damage may have been caused by a car or truck smashing into the walls. Also, parts of the walls were missing giving the appearance that the walls may have been damaged in order for the stones to be removed. The Eden Prairie Police Department had been contacted and the Minneapolis Airport Commission (MAC) would be contacted to file a police report. Mr. Gertz had contacted MAC and its grounds maintenance crews will install a new barrier over the road to the site. In addition, the Police Department would begin patrolling the site. Mr. Gertz related a cost estimate had been prepared last year for restoration of the site. Due the to the recent vandalism, another estimate would be required. A general discussion ensued with respect to the work required to restore the site, at the conclusion of which, Kathie Case moved, seconded by Jan Mosman, to engage McDonald & Mack Architects to complete an evaluation of the Overlook Park Heritage Preservation Site and provide an estimate of the costs associated with restoration of the site. Motion passed unanimously. The Commission also agreed to contact Bachman's and other similar companies and vendors, as well as building inspectors, requesting their assistance in the event the stones taken were being sold or used in recent landscaping projects. C. Anderson School House Jan Mosman reported other sites were being considered to locate the Anderson School House. The Riley-Jacques Farm Heritage Preservation site had been considered as an option. Mr. Gertz indicated the designation of the Farm as a Registered Heritage site would make it difficult to alter the site. The ballfield located outside the site could be a possible location for the school house. The Commission indicated its support of the project and would assist in the school house relocation planning. VIII. ADJOURNMENT Having no further business to come before the Commission, James Wilson moved, seconded by Deborah Barkley, to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.