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Heritage Preservation - 08/19/2002 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY,AUGUST 19, 2002 7:00 P.M. Prairie Rooms A and B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Lori Peterson-Benike, Chairperson; Betsy Adams, Deborah Barkley,Jennie Brown, Elise Kist, Kati Simons COMMISSION STAFF: John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder I. ROLL CALL Peterson-Benike called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. All members were present. Robert Vogel, Historic Preservation Officer for Cottage Grove and Edina, was a guest. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Peterson-Benike added Item F. Pleasant Hill Cemetery, under V. Old Business. MOTION: Adams moved, seconded by Kist, to approve the agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —JULY 15, 2002 Peterson-Benike corrected the spelling of Chris Eilers name on page 3, paragraph 2. Under Item C. on page 2, the last sentence should read "There are broken windows in the barn that should be repaired." MOTION: Kist moved, seconded by Barkley, to approve the minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting held on July 15, 2002, as published and amended. Motion carried 6-0. IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Historical Society Meeting Peterson-Benike reported that the Historical Society would be meeting on Wednesday, August 21, at 12:15 p.m., in the museum. HPC members were invited to attend. The next meeting will be in September, and in December they will meet at the Cummins-Grill House. Gertz said he would give the Historical Society a schedule of the events to be held there in December so their meeting does not conflict. B. Report on NAPC San Antonio Forum 2002 Robert Vogel, Historic Preservation Officer for Cottage Grove and Edina, was introduced. He is also the FEMA representative for Cottage Grove, and participated in the Disaster Management session at the Forum. He said a city's disaster plan should include interaction between its HPC and other departments in HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES August 19, 2002 Page 2 the city. Fire departments need to know which buildings are fragile and of historic value. There were 300 cities represented at the Forum. Peterson-Benike, Adams and Kist were there to represent Eden Prairie. Adams said what she noticed was how different our HPC is from the others. Most HPCs for old communities are concerned with preserving their city centers. Many are burdened with requests for changes to historic sites, so they don't have time to develop new areas of interest. They do not have the support from their city councils, or get along with city staff as well as Eden Prairie's HPC does. The staff liaison is often one of the city's planners, with no training in preservation. However all HPCs are now working toward forming preservation partnerships with the local media and other groups. Peterson-Benike said she went to a discussion on enforcement of city codes. Washington, D.C. has the most designated properties in the country, and has one person on its staff. She got the impression that Eden Prairie's HPC is in good shape compared with other communities. Kist reported the roundtable discussions were very good. It was suggested that HPCs form partnerships with schools to include preservation in the curriculum. They also talked about ordinances and regulations. Because people are changing the appearance of historic homes they own, ordinances need to be enforced. There was no mention made of adaptive reuse,but Kist brought it up and others expressed an interest. Adams said her roundtable spent time on specific problems with design review. They discussed taking people to court if they don't follow the guidelines. Most cities are dealing with issues about preserving their downtown areas. Peterson- Benike added that a person from Elk River who was there said the city is experiencing quite a lot of growth, and wants to raze a couple of blocks of the downtown area. That is a big issue for the HPC. Kist said on the first day she went to Castorville with a group. A large part of the town has undergone restoration. She was amazed how much they had accomplished with a population of just 2,100 people. Tourism provides the funds for restoration by charging a tax for meals at restaurants,hotel rooms, etc. Peterson-Benike said she would be sending a note of thanks to the SHPO for providing scholarships to the three commissioners from Eden Prairie. C. Manual for Members Peterson-Benike said HPC members will receive a manual in which to keep the City's ordinance pertaining to heritage preservation sites and standard reference information. Members will turn these in when they are no longer on the HPC. Gertz said the language in the ordinance will probably be amended this year to HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES August 19, 2002 Page 3 allow owners to make changes to historic buildings, such as new roofing materials, without having to go to the City Council, which is then required to conduct a public hearing. Vogel suggested charging fees for reviewing the changes requested in order to generate income for the HPC. V. OLD BUSINESS A. Smith-Douglas-More House Gertz thanked Adams for assisting with the groundbreaking ceremony along with Chris Eilers and Mayor Tyra-Lukens, who made a brief statement. The other commissioners attended as well as members of the Historical Society and nearby neighbors. Work has begun on excavating the back yard for the addition, the porches have been demolished, and ceilings are down in the interior of the house. The construction crew is putting in new joists. MacDonald and Mack ordered gray block with a buff-colored fleck for the foundation of the addition. Gertz is taking progress photos. The work schedule is on track. Gertz said the crew has been told they should keep any old artifacts they find so he can look them over. Every day they have found something, such as newspapers from the 1920s that were used for insulation. Peterson-Benike said Kathie Case took old bricks and some items that were inside the house for the Historical Society. B. Dorenkemper Loy House Gertz and Vogel looked at the house together to try to determine how best to restore and use it. There is still the question of whether to put siding back on the building or leave the exposed logs. Gertz hoped to have further information within the next week to help make that decision. Dan Herbst wants that question resolved soon. Adams said she thought the house would be more interesting to the public and attract more attention if it was a log home rather than one with siding. Gertz replied in order to be historically consistent, he needs to find out whether the building has ever existed with the log exterior. That could be determined by looking in the attic to see if the rafters ever sat directly on the logs. Peterson-Benike said it would be important to find out the history of the house. If it was ever a log house without siding, that should be considered. Gertz plans to look at a log home in Medina that was recently restored to see what they did on that house. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES August 19, 2002 Page 4 Gertz is considering leaving a log area exposed and putting siding on the rest of the house. He said he would let the commissioners know before the next meeting. C. Cummins-Grill House Gertz said he is gathering estimates on the different projects planned for the house. The major project is construction of the west porch. The work is expected to be done by the end of the year. Peterson-Benike referenced various items of City property that have been dumped at the back of the property. There are old bleachers, slides and basketball hoops, among other things. She would like the commission to ask the City to clean it up. Gertz said that was in a recommendation the HPC sent to the Council two years ago in the report on adaptive reuse, which the Council adopted. One of the items was to remove trash and the canine training boxes. The HPC could send a reminder. Gertz said he would put the request in the form of a staff report that would go to the Council. Prior to that he would talk to Bob Lambert. Perhaps he would have a better idea of how long it would take to remove the items. MOTION: Adams moved, seconded by Brown, to request that the City Council direct staff to clean up the grounds at the Cummins-Grill House and move the canine training boxes from the property, as stated in the Adaptive Reuse Proposal, published June 20, 2000. Motion carried 6-0. D. Riley Farm Gertz showed commissioners the plans received from the Northwest Technical Institute students who completed field measurements for all the buildings on the farm and also produced CAD electronic files. They did an excellent job, saving the City a great deal of money. Brown suggested sending them a letter of thanks. Gertz said he would do that. He has been asked to talk to students about how the City does restoration projects. Gertz said he has received estimates for repointing the house and window repair work on the barn. The next phase would be to look at all the buildings in terms of adaptive reuse. Adams asked if the HPC might begin one of their meetings at the Riley farm. Peterson-Benike said they could meet there prior to 7:00 p.m. so the regular meeting could start on time. It was agreed that the commissioners would meet at the Riley farm at 6:00 p.m. and then go to the Cummins-Grill House, where the next regular meeting is being E. Farmers Market Gertz said he talked with Terry Picha about having a farmers market in Eden Prairie. Gertz had discussed this with Terry about a year ago. Since then Picha HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES August 19, 2002 Page 5 has talked to Sever Peterson about it, and he agreed to support the idea. He also thought George Marshall would be interested. Picha said he would be happy to plan a farmers market. He helped establish one in Robbinsdale and he has contacts with all the growers in the area. Picha said the emphasis should be on quality rather than on the number of farmers involved. Gertz suggested the HPC meet with Terry Picha and then let all three present the idea to the City Council. Gertz will contact him and invite him to come when he is not busy with farm work. Winter is a good time to plan it and then get it up and running by spring. If there is a problem finding a site, Picha said he would be willing to have one on his property. F Pleasant Hill Cemetery Due to time constraints this was postponed to the next meeting. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Registration for the 23ra Annual Statewide Historic Preservation Conference, September 12-13, 2002, Owatona, Minnesota Peterson-Benike said the deadline to send registrations to SHPO is September 4. They can register for one or two days. Eden Prairie would reimburse all costs. Those who received scholarships for the NAPC Forum are expected to attend. B. HPC Recommendations for a New Commission Member Gertz is still waiting to hear whether Molly Gilbertson is interested in applying for the opening on the commission. He did receive a phone call from another individual who is interested in exploring the possibility of applying for the position. Peterson-Benike said she would give Molly a phone call. Gertz found out that the HPC is not required to actively look for someone to fill the opening. However, if they find someone who is interested now, that person would be appointed to fill the position only until March, when Art Weeks's appointment would have expired. Peterson-Benike said the commission would prefer to find someone who is interested in continuing beyond next March. C. Sunbonnet Day Sunbonnet Day is September 15. Gertz said volunteers are needed, including someone to be Master of Ceremonies. The Historical Society will conduct tours of the house. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Barkley moved, seconded by Simons, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. Peterson-Benike adjourned the meeting at 9:20 p.m.