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Heritage Preservation - 08/17/2004 NOTES TAKEN AT UNOFFICIAL MEETING EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY,AUGUST 17, 2004 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 COMMISSION STAFF John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist; Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder Chairperson Adams opened the meeting at 7:01 p.m. Commissioners Brown, Amell and Barkley had excused absences. Because there was not a quorum, no official business could be conducted. Adams tabled the agenda until the next meeting on September 20, 2004, and closed the meeting due to lack of a quorum. Gertz asked to make a few announcements. A. Dedication of the Barn at Riley-Jacques Farm Gertz reported that the City would like to have the Governor attend the dedication. However, the Governor's office informed the City that the currently scheduled date of September 26 would not work with the Governor's schedule, so they are working on an alternate date. Gertz said he would inform the Commissioners when and if the Governor can be at the dedication. They are also trying to have the Dorenkemper House finished by that time. Gertz is collecting bids for the work and will send them with a recommendation for approval by the Council at its first meeting in September. He hopes the contractor would be able to get two or three weeks of work done before the dedication, so the City can acknowledge Dan Herbst for his contributions. B. Sunbonnet Day Sunbonnet Day will be held at the J.R. Cummins Homestead on September 12. This is the last year it will be at this location; in the future it will be at the Riley-Jacques farm. Adams asked if there would be any tables set up where she could hand out the brochure about the Anderson Schoolhouse project and take donations for it. Gertz advised her to contact Sandy Werts, the staff member in charge of Sunbonnet Day. Adams said Northwest Technical Institute students are making a three-dimensional model of the school; if it is available in time for Sunbonnet Day, she will bring it for people to look at. Adams said the Historical Society Task Force needs $175,000 for the schoolhouse project. She is looking for someone to work on obtaining grants. This would be a volunteer job. She has a list of local foundations that have grants available. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES August 17, 2004 Page 2 C. Newly Donated Furniture at Cummins-Grill House Gertz reported the Cummins-Grill House now has a large oak table with ten chairs, a very large buffet, and another piece of furniture from which to serve food. D. Prioritization of Funding for Historic Preservation of Cummins-Grill House Gertz said that there are funds coming to the City for historic preservation, some of which will be used for the Dorenkemper House. Some will also be designated for the Cummins-Grill House, and Gertz said he wants to set aside the next HPC meeting to prioritize use of the money for the Cummins-Grill House. He said Janet Jeremiah, the Community Development Director, would like to attend the meeting. E. Interpretive Sisn Drafts Gertz showed drafts of two interpretive signs, one for the Prairie Bluffs Conservation Area and the other for the Gathering Bridge, the tribute to Mayor Jean Harris. Bob Lambert had asked to have the same person who did the previous signs make these also. The text of the Prairie Bluffs Conservation Area sign has been replaced with new text, and the eagle will be replaced with prairie flowers. The Gathering Bridge sign is about 70 percent complete. A few changes will be made. The colors will be gray, green-gray and buff. The picture of Jean Harris will be in black and white rather than in color. F. Registration for Statewide Historic Preservation Conference Gertz asked that registration forms be sent to him by the end of August. He will send them through City administration and they will be forwarded to the Minnesota Historical Society. The City would pay for registration and mileage to and from St. Cloud. Gertz said he would send all the Commissioners another copy of the registration form. The following items were also discussed. Cemetery Management Plan Gilbertson referenced one of Robert Vogel's recommendations for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery that no new burials should be allowed in the old part of the cemetery. She didn't agree with that recommendation, because families who owned burial plots in that part of the cemetery would expect to be allowed to bury relatives in those plots, next to other family members. Gertz said other City Staff will be reviewing the management plan, and there will likely be some changes to the recommendations. He believed burial would be allowed in the old section if a family has purchased plots and there is no question about who is buried there. Some other plots might be questionable. If no one owns those plots, the City could not sell them. Gertz said he would have the completed documents for the next meeting and the Commissioners can look them over. Adams recommended going through the documents at the next meeting line by line. They could designate a certain amount of time for that. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES August 17, 2004 Page 3 Preservation Site Sims Gilbertson inquired about the difference between the properties on the City's list of Historic Properties and other properties she has seen with preservation signs on them. Gertz replied the City has a program that has been around for some time, where people owning a house that is at least 50 years old could request a heritage preservation site sign. The house had to meet some significant criteria, in terms of visual interest, for example, but did not have to meet all the criteria for historic preservation. However, it has led to confusion because people believe the houses are all on the register of historic places. Gertz said people can still apply for a sign, and the application would be reviewed by the HPC. The whole purpose of the program was to put out a symbol in Eden Prairie that people would become familiar with. He suggested putting a photo display of all those signed properties in the City Center and let people know they can go around the City and look at them. Adams stated that Robert Vogel said this is a good program because it reminds people there is history in Eden Prairie to be preserved.