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Heritage Preservation - 10/18/2005 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2005 7:00 P.M., Prairie Rooms A & B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS Betsy Adams, Chairperson; Molly Gilbertson, Vice Chairperson; Bob Amell, Deborah Barkley, Nina Mackay, Ed Muehlberg,Jane Plaza STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES Danny Dunleavy,Anna Hewitt, Jennifer Nicklay COMMISSION STAFF John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist; Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder I. ROLL CALL Chair Adams called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Commissioner Barkley was excused. Rachel Schlueter, a high school student taking a class on government, was present. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Gilbertson moved, seconded by Amell, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUES —SEPTEMBER 19, 2005 MOTION: Plaza moved, seconded by Amell, to approve the minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting, held on September 19, 2005, as published. Motion carried 6-0. IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Welcome New Student Representatives Student representatives Dunleavy, Hewitt and Nicklay introduced themselves and were welcomed to the HPC. They are juniors at Eden Prairie High School and all of them expressed an interest in history. The Commissioners also introduced themselves. V. OLD BUSINESS A. CLG Grants Gertz explained that the City is receiving funds from a Certified Local Government Grant to hire a consultant to do research and documentation of three HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 17, 2005 Page 2 properties for local designation as historic sites. The sites are Staring Lake Outdoor Center, the Consolidated School and Glen Lake Children's Camp. Gertz reported that the Request For Proposals (RFP) was sent out two weeks ago, and the proposals are due by 4:30 p.m. on October 28. Because this date falls between meetings of the HPC, Gertz requested that three Commissioners meet with him on October 31 to review the proposals that are submitted by consultants and select one of them. Commissioners Gilbertson, Plaza, and Muehlberg offered to meet with Gertz. The selected consultant would start work in November. The deadline for completion of the grant is July 31, 2006. Gertz said he would be submitting pre-application for another grant request in January. He provided several suggestions for the HPC to consider: completion of an archeological survey in selected areas of the Minnesota River bottom land; local designations for the Narrows, Indian Road Corridor and Murphy's Landing Site; local designations for the Picha farm, Higgens House, and Kurtz Barn; publication of a handout listing Eden Prairie's historic places and link it to the City's Web site and preservation exhibit. Plaza inquired how many requests have led to local designations. Gertz replied six of them so far. Mackay said she often wonders how many people know about Eden Prairie's historic homes. She would like to see some funds used to publish a handout that would list all of the City's historic places. Gertz said perhaps, in addition to the handout, the consultant could work with the person who runs the City's Web site to provide a connection to the historic places and a link that would bring up a picture of one, leading to a virtual tour. Adams said it might be possible to set up a framework to connect with the school district's Web site because that is the best way to reach adults and kids. Gertz said the educational part of the grant would allow for those types of costs. Muehlberg said he would support that use of grant funds as long as the historic sites are not in immediate danger. Gertz replied the Picha farm and Higgens house are privately owned and are not in danger. There is no development activity in the Minnesota River bottoms to cause concern. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service owns part of it as a wildlife refuge. However, the Kurtz barn might be in danger. There has been discussion about razing that site and developing it. Gertz has told the developer that the City is interested in preserving the barn. Gilbertson inquired if designating the Kurtz barn should be done as soon as possible. Gertz replied that ninety percent of the work on designation has been compiled. He would be willing to work on finishing this outside of a CLG grant during the next year. He offered to bring the information that has been compiled on the Kurtz property to the next HPC meeting. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 17, 2005 Page 3 Adams said a decision on the grant request should be made by the December HPC meeting so that the pre-application can be sent in January prior to that month's meeting. B. Cummins and Riley House Repairs Gertz reported work at both properties is wrapping up. On the Riley house there is a little work to do on the kitchen porch. On the Cummins house, re-pointing of the brick is 99 percent done, and all the hardware on the exterior doors has been refurbished. Gertz was able to find a set of replacement hinges for the exterior parlor door that looked very similar to the original ones that had been broken off some years ago. Gertz said rebuilding the ice house was not part of the change order that was approved by the Council on October 4. However, Councilmember Sherry Butcher runs a program at Ramsey-Anoka Community College. Gertz met with her and Mark Wickstrom, a masonry specialist, and they will make disassembling and rebuilding the ice house a class project this winter semester. The only charge would be for materials. The City will heat the area for the students. C. Dorenkemper House Gertz reported Steve Tobako has been working hard to get the work done. The interior walls have been completely sheet-rocked. The kitchen will get a veneer plaster coat over the sheet-rock. New doors have been built for the kitchen entry and a closet in the lower- level bedroom. The accessible ramp has been built and a step for the landing at the back door. There are four steps, and that requires providing a railing. Gertz said he has been looking at historic railings to find one that blends well with the home. He has been gathering information on the dry sink arrangement also. Kathie Case, president of the Historical Society, came to the house to look over the one interior wall that is going to remain all log, with Plexiglas covering it. She approved of that. They also discussed paint and wallpaper. She is very pleased with the work Steve Tobako is doing. Gertz met with the fire marshal regarding the chimney firewall for the proposed wood-burning stove in the kitchen, and it meets code requirements. The house has a furnace in the basement, which heats the house if the trap door from the basement is open. Gertz is planning to attend the next meeting of the Historical Society and invite the members to come and look at the house and discuss the furniture that would be used. They have accumulated some furniture, and some original furniture from the house is also available. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 17, 2005 Page 4 D. Smith House/Dunn Brothers Gertz said the wheel stops have not been ordered so he will order them right away. When they come in, City employees will install them. He will ask to have the fence reassembled,but that depends on how many sections are broken. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Reprinting "Eden Prairie—The First 100 Years" Gertz reported that there are only a few copies of the book left. He checked with the Finance Department on the funds available for reprinting the book. In the Historical/Cultural fund there is $5,953.94, and in the Cummins Grill Print fund there is $6,595.61. These two funds were established years ago to accumulate money for historic purposes. Money from the sale of the book and the print of the Cummins homestead has gone into these funds. Gertz said he doesn't know what reprinting would cost. Adams said the Historical Society plans to edit the book. There is new information to include and there are corrections that should be made. They have contacted the original author, Helen Anderson, about this. Gertz said the book has been scanned into a computer, and they might be able to add new material. B. Anderson School Update Adams reported that the budget for the project is $175,000; so far they have banked $70,000. Partnerships have been built with the school district and the community, and in-kind services have been promised. The new site for the school is going to be next to the parking lot across the road from Oak Point School on Staring Lake Parkway. The City owns this property now. Scott Neal told Adams that if the City Council gives approval at its meeting on October 18, the property would be given to the School District and made available for the school house. Adams said the plan is to deconstruct the building at its present Riley Lake location. The parts will be inventoried and stored. The reconstruction phase is to take place at the Staring Lake Parkway site. The task force is aiming for completion in the spring of 2007. Gertz and Adams will be meeting on October 18 with Ed McBride, head of the Department for Building Arts at Hennepin Technical College. He is also a historian and has done work in reconstructing old buildings on the East Coast. He is very interested in working on this project. Also at the meeting will be a deconstruction services representative, who will see that the materials from the school house are stored at another location until needed. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 17, 2005 Page 5 C. Cemetery Task Force Report—Commissioner Amell Amell reported that the task force has been meeting and going over the basic rules and regulations for the Pleasant View Cemetery. There was discussion about putting a new fence around the cemetery. Amell expressed concern that the picture of a fence provided for consideration was not historic looking. He requested that Gertz be invited to meet with the task force to get his input. Amell said the task force discussed making a recommendation to the City that the cemetery be enlarged by purchasing additional land from Pax Christ. D. Preservation Alliance Award Presented to Eden Prairie Gertz reported that Councilmember Sherry Butcher accepted the 2005 Restoration Award for the City from Preservation Alliance of Minnesota for restoration of the Riley Jacques barn. A recent meeting of the City Council, held at the barn, showed that the roof could withstand heavy rain. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Mackay moved, seconded by Amell, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. Chair Adams adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m.