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Heritage Preservation - 01/24/2005 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2005 7:00 P.M. Prairie Rooms A & B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS Betsy Adams, Chairperson; Jennie Brown, Vice Chairperson; Bob Amell, Deborah Barkley, Molly Gilbertson, Elise Kist STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES Ben Costello, Katie Kunitz, Trevor Diddell COMMISSION STAFF John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist; Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder I. ROLL CALL Adams called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Commissioner Brown and Student Representative Kunitz were absent. Student Representative Diddell was excused. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Kist moved, seconded by Barkley, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —DECEMBER 20, 2004 Gertz made two corrections on page 4. In the third paragraph, the third sentence should read "The National Trust is the only federally funded advocacy group for historic preservation." In the fifth paragraph, the last sentence should read "That would not have been possible without the grants." MOTION: Amell moved, seconded by Kist, to approve the minutes as published and approved. Motion carried 4-0-1, with Gilbertson abstaining due to her absence. IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF Gertz said he receives "E-News" from the 2007 Twin Cities National Preservation Conference. Council Member Butcher is coordinator of the Midwest Preservation Institute, which is offering workshops in the coming months. Gertz offered to put all the Commissioners on the mailing list to receive "E-News." V. OLD BUSINESS A. Dorenkemper House HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES January 24, 2005 Page 2 Gertz had nothing new to report. He did not know the outcome of a meeting between Dan Herbst and City staff earlier that day. With regard to members of the National Honor Society being asked to work on the Dorenkemper House, Kist gave the name of the contact person to Gertz. B. J. R. Cummins House Gertz reported that David Lindahl has mailed out a flyer inviting proposals from the public for adaptive reuse of the Cummins house. So far several ideas have been received,but no one has submitted a plan to look at. Gertz met with Lindahl to go over possible parking lot locations on the property. They considered the north side of the house where the dog-training area is located. Gertz and other City staff will be meeting with County engineers to view an early concept plan for expansion of Pioneer Trail to four lanes. It is hoped that impact to the Cummins property would be minimal. C. CLG Grant Update Gertz said the City has submitted a grant application to the SHPO for preparation of three designations. After the applications are reviewed in March, the City will find out if the grant was approved. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Historic Preservation 101: Part 2 Gertz distributed copies of the "Preservation Awareness Program Training Manual." It was produced for the City of Aspen and Pitkin County because a manual was needed that could be used to certify trades people in preservation of historic places. Gertz said there is a need everywhere in the country for people trained in the preservation trades. The manual covers the whole field of historic preservation. "Basic Preservation Theory" was reviewed on page 7 of the manual. The concept of historic significance is described. Gertz said that without integrity there is not much that can be done in terms of making a claim of a building's historic significance. Gertz referenced "Alternative Approaches to Preservation", beginning on page 8. Four ways to preserve homes are shown, based on the Secretary of the Interior's Guidelines. Adaptive use is defined. Preservation principles are listed on page 11. They are used in determining the best treatment approach. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES January 24, 2005 Page 3 Page 12 has a list of questions to answer to determine the requirements for continued use of the building. Based on the answers to those questions, an opinion and plan of action could be formulated. Gertz encouraged the Commissioners to read the whole book, as it provides a good overview of historic preservation. He will go into a particular aspect of the book at the next meeting. He also asked them to go over the plans for the Cummins-Grill house and the Riley-Jacques farmhouse to see how these relate to the federal standards, and how Miller-Dunwiddie applied them. He will bring a full set of the drawings for the Cummins-Grill house to the February meeting and they can talk about specifics. Adams asked the Commissioners to come with questions for Gertz to answer so they can more fully understand the process that the Cummins-Grill house and Riley-Jacques farmhouse will go through. B. Preservation Kiosk Planning Gertz distributed a draft outline for a preservation exhibit, which was reviewed. He said the exhibit would be a freestanding, portable kiosk. It is expected to be four-sided, made of Plexiglas, and would be built by the City. The Commissioners decided to ask the Historical Society to contribute artifacts and photographs, and their contribution would be noted in the exhibit. One purpose of the exhibit would be to inform the public about what the HPC and Historical Society does and to describe the differences between them. Both groups are involved with the Cummins-Grill house. Adams said it is important to educate people about how preservation works. Gilbertson said the public would like to know where the money comes from for preservation projects. She suggested adding information about federal funding and grant programs. Amell said one way to get people to stop and look at the exhibit is to include old photos and maps. Adams suggested having photos that include a person standing in front of their home, like Mr. Staring. The Historical Society has a great many photographs. Gilbertson said she has many photos she took while the Smith house was being changed into a Dunn Bros. Coffee shop, which is a good example of adaptive reuse of an old building. Under "Would You Like to Know More?" one recommendation was to include a picture of the interior of the museum and let people know where it is located. One goal of the exhibit would be to bring people into the museum and to let them know about opportunities to be volunteers with the Historical Society. Adams said another goal of the exhibit is to have people identify with the historic structures in the City, both architectural and other types. Gertz emphasized the importance of letting the public know that locally designated historic sites include landscape objects and archaeology, not just three historic houses, and that HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES January 24, 2005 Page 4 designation is part of a national program. Having pictures placed into a collage, with text and captions, would help to attract attention as people walk past. It was suggested that a brochure could be available for people to pick up, giving more information about the items in the kiosk. There could be a list of activities scheduled for the Riley-Jacques barn that would be updated on a quarterly basis. Gertz said he hopes to have the kiosk done by March or April. He plans to do as much of the work as he can by himself, but there is a graphic arts person on staff who will help him and who already has hundreds of pictures scanned that could be used. Locations suggested for the kiosk include the City Center, the Eden Prairie Shopping Center, and the Hennepin County Library. Gertz said the first place outside the City Center would be the library. The Commissioners decided that the target audience is adults who are 30 and older. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Gilbertson moved, seconded by Amell, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Adams adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m.