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Heritage Preservation - 06/18/2001 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY,JUNE 18, 2001 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER Prairie Rooms A and B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Lori Peterson-Benike, Chairperson; Betsy Adams, Deborah Barkley,Jennie Brown, Kati Simons,Art Weeks, Mike Wroblewski COMMISSION STAFF: John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder I. ROLL CALL Peterson-Benike called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Commissioner Simons had an excused absence. All Student Representatives were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Adams moved, seconded by Brown, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —MAY 21, 2001 Weeks made two corrections on page 3, under New Business. The second sentence in the first paragraph should read, "They have completed a draft report for review this evening." The third sentence in the third paragraph should read, "The way to verify the amounts was to require a second opinion." A fourth sentence was added, "Miller-Dunwiddie, which prepared a feasibility study on the Cummins-Grill House, appeared to be a suitable selection, since they have experience in architectural restoration, recently the Burwell House in Minnetonka." MOTION: Wroblewski moved, seconded by Adams, to approve the minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting, held on May 21, 2001, as published and amended. Motion carried 6-0. IV. REPORTS AND REQUESTS V. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF Update on CLG Grant Projects Due to time constraints, John Gertz deferred the update on CLG Grant Projects until the July meeting. VI. OLD BUSINESS Historic Properties CIP Budget HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES June 18, 2001 Page 2 John Gertz introduced Chuck Liddy and Dione DeMartelaere of Miller-Dunwiddie. Liddy said they were interested in preparing the CIP draft because Miller-Dunwiddie had done the original report on the Cummins Grill House in 1979. Ms. DeMartelaere has been working on restoration of the Burwell House in Minnetonka. The company has prepared maintenance budgets and repair recommendations on the Stevens and Godfrey houses for the City of Minneapolis. Liddy said the preliminary estimates for the Historic Properties CIP Budget are based on 2001 costs and include twenty percent for contingency and fifteen percent for professional fees. They sent information on the properties to L. S. Black Constructors in order to get another opinion. Wroblewski asked what would be the top priority for maintenance and repair. Liddy said sometimes a point of no return is reached with deterioration, so it doesn't pay to let the repairs go too long. He would recommend taking care of the exterior of the buildings first. The structures should also be stabilized. They have put together cost estimates for both the interior and exterior, broken those down and prioritized them. Liddy noted there are three distinct periods of ownership of the house. The HPC needs to decide to what period they want to restore the house. However, a case could be made for interpreting all three periods to reflect the most important aspects of each one. It might be particularly effective to define what each owner brought to the house. There could be a 1910 room next to a 1935 room. In Minneapolis, the Stevens house is being restored to its 1849 appearance rather than leaving it the way it later evolved. Liddy discussed the City's properties with Susan Roth at the Historical Society, who wrote the nomination of the Cummins-Grill House for the National Register. She talked about doing different rooms in different periods, and thought it would be all right to interpret the house through each period. Gertz said he believed the Commission should decide on a period of significance so the rehabilitation would fit with that period. As far as restoring each room to a certain period, he believed that, in a way, the house reflects that now. The parlor has been changed to look like it looked in Cummins time, with the fireplace and wallpaper. The intent was to go back to when Phipps took over the home. The biggest changes occurred between 1918 and 1920. That is when the kitchen was added, etc. He said electricity was put in during the 1930s while Phipps owned the house. Plumbing was added in 1940. There were no major changes from 1950 on. MOTION: Adams moved, seconded by Brown, to approach the CIP budget for the Cummins-Grill House for the 1878-1946 restoration period. Motion carried 6-0. Gertz said during the period 1930-1935 there is no mention of a fireplace. The one in the parlor now replicates the third one and he was not sure when that was removed. He assumed it was dismantled about 1920 when a lot of work was done on the house. He would like to be as accurate as possible in restoration. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES June 18, 2001 Page 3 Liddy said regarding interpretation, it helps to maintain some flexibility. For instance, when there have been three different fireplaces over the years, it would make sense to interpret the rooms in such a way that would allow flexibility in going from a 1930 room to a 1910 parlor with a fireplace. It will be difficult to provide accessibility to the existing bathroom. It may be better to have a separate and accessible bathroom off the kitchen. It shouldn't be made to appear it was part of the original house,however. Dione DeMartelaere said her recommendation would be to take each room and suggest a period for that room, and create a transition from room to room. There could be wood floors in one room but not another. The kitchen addition would be a great place to show the 1935 period. The dining room and parlor could be an older period. They should think through how the upper floor will be used. Liddy said it would be necessary to review the research that has been done on the house and look at what the research shows about the different rooms. Peterson-Benike said there is good information available on the history of the Cummins- Grill house. It makes practical sense to widen the scope of interpretation to be able to tie in with the history of the City. Gertz said he wouldn't want to remove items from any historic period. However, the wainscoting in the dining room could be removed because it was not original to that room. Gertz said he would need an interpretive plan to go with everything. The original electrical chandelier for the parlor is in storage, and he wondered if going to electric lights throughout the house would be a good idea. Adams said she had the impression everybody was talking about multiple eras being shown in the house. She would hate to drop the earliest era in order to make everything look like 1946. She was more interested in the first two owners than in the last one. Weeks said a story board should be used at the house that would indicate blocks of time from Cummins to Grill, and would consolidate and identify different elements associated with different time periods. Otherwise, it will be difficult for people touring the house to understand what they are looking at. The house evolved mostly by adding upgrades for that particular time period. It will be difficult to do different rooms in different periods. If they individualize rooms it might not look authentic. Gertz said he was not thinking they should try to make it look as it did at a certain time or year. Changes by each owner can be pointed out, and there would be some continuity. He believed restoration to the years 1879-1946 made sense. Gertz said he believed it would be best to research information from the 1930-1940 period because the City has a lot of material that dates from that time. Liddy asked if that meant putting in the historic light fixtures that were installed in 1930 even though the parlor is decorated to an earlier time? Gertz replied they would do that, but they would have to remove some things that didn't fit that time, such as wallpaper, but not any historic material. Light switches would have to be relocated, etc. This restoration would be a compromise. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES June 18, 2001 Page 4 Weeks said restoration of the house is the "compass" they should use. If anything was there, it should remain. Gertz said he hoped they would be allowed to remove some elements that should not be there. Liddy said the HPC needs to determine how they want to interpret the house and be consistent with how they approach it. Weeks said he didn't see this house as a monument to one person. In other historic properties there is an effort to focus on what it was like when a particular person lived there. He didn't see this house fulfilling that role in this community. It should have a broader concept than that. Peterson-Benike asked if there was any reason to discuss the costs shown in the Miller- Dunwiddie report. Liddy pointed out that if everything were done, the total cost would be almost$1 million in 2001 dollars. Gertz said the HPC's responsibility is to put together a budget for all three historic properties and that is contained in this report. The consensus was to give the Council copies of the full report. John Gertz said he would attach an explanatory memo. VII. NEW BUSINESS Peterson-Benike said HPC commissioners are also members of the Eden Prairie Historical Society. She asked for permission to mail the commissioners' names and addresses to Marie Whittenburg, President of the Eden Prairie Historical Society so she can mail information to them about the EPHS. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Barkley moved, seconded by Wroblewski, to adjourn the meeting. Chair Peterson-Benike adjourned the meeting at 9:10 p.m.