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Heritage Preservation - 10/18/2010 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER PRAIRIE ROOMS A&B COMMISSION MEMBERS Ann Higgins, Chairperson; Kathy Veurink, Vice Chairperson; Matthew Fyten, Jeffrey Lawler, Nina Mackay, Mark McPherson, Ed Muehlberg STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE Ian English COMMISSION STAFF John Gertz, Pathfinder CRM, LLC Sandy Eastling, Recorder I. ROLL CALL Higgins called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Commissioner Veurink excused. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Mackay moved, seconded by Fyten to approve the agenda. Motion Carried 6-0. A friendly amendment was made and approved to move ItemVI. A. to the first agenda item to allow Stu Fox, Parks & Natural Resources Manager, to speak first. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. COMMISSION MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 20, 2010 MOTION: Makay moved, seconded by Flynn to approve the minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting held on September 20, 2010 with the following corrections: Page 3, Item VI . NEW BUSINESS —third sentence— delete "project" and add "site"; tenth sentence delete "documentation for" and add "background information." Motion carried 6-0. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. SMITH DOUGLAS MORE PROPERTY—REMOVAL OF DEAD TREES, TREE TRIMMING AND BRUSH CLEARING—PRESENTATION BY STU FOX, PARKS & NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER Stu Fox referred the commissioners to a memo dated October 18, 2010 to Scott Kipp, Senior Planner and the Heritage Preservation Commission. About a year ago, concerns were raised regarding several trees on the Smith-Douglas-More HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 18, 2010 Page 2 property. Because of uncertainty regarding who was responsible for grounds work and maintenance, John Gertz and several of the City Staff met together about the matter. An updated Historical Properties Inventory was developed. The Smith Douglas More Property's tree and grounds maintenance is assigned to the Parks Department. Fox went on to discuss the findings of the tree condition assessment. Many of the trees were found to be in poor condition, with removal being recommended. Because this is a historical site, the Parks & Recreation Department wanted input from the HPC regarding historical impact of the property and trees. Stu Fox went on to report on other trimming work needing to be done on the property. The primary focus is to remove hazardous tree conditions and insure safety of the buildings on the property. Some of the work will be contracted out, as the Parks & Recreation Department doesn't have the training and equipment necessary to do the work. Fox has talked with the tenant of the Dunn Brothers store at the location. They have developed a plan to work on the trees while minimizing the impact on business. Stu Fox then solicited input from the HPC members regarding the type and extent of reporting they want regarding grounds and maintenance work. The commissioners felt the submitted memo/report style was enough—but not too much—information and a good format for communicating. Commissioner McPherson addressed the need to think about tree replacement in the future. Gertz asked Fox about the Cummins Grill House Landscape Plan status. SHPO has approved the plan. The Parks Department will begin implementation next Spring 2011. The department is currently researching types of grass to plant,how to propagate Shag Bark Hickory as it's not native to this area. The University of Minnesota has recommended the City try to gather seed and propagate from it. This Winter, Parks Department employees will be constructing the fencing for the property. IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF Nothing reported. V. OLD BUSINESS A. UPDATE ON THE JOHN R. CUMMINS HOMESTEAD LANDSCAPE RESTORATION AND OUTBUILDINGS Parks & Natural Resources Manager Stu Fox addressed this during his report on the Smith Douglas More house. Commissioner McPherson was asked if he'd heard anything further about the bathroom project at the Cummins House. He hadn't heard anything; the EPHS has been focusing their attention on their recent Halloween event. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 18, 2010 Page 3 B. HPA COMMISSIONER'S INFORMATION PACKET DISCUSSION Nothing reported. C. UPDATE ON WEBSITE ITEMS Commissioner Lawler and Senior Planner Scott Kipp met with the City's Communications staff to discuss updating the Heritage Preservation Commission website. According to Communications staff, the IT Department is constrained by understaffing. Down loading of the HPC Commissioner Manual on the website won't be a problem. Updating the HPC home page won't be hard either. However, the Commission's idea about an interactive page won't be possible right now due to the labor-intensive nature of developing the page. Lawler's conclusion from the meeting was updating the existing website wouldn't be a problem; upgrading the website itself would. The Communications staff is aware of the need to upgrade the City's website. Gertz said there is CLG grant money available for a website upgrade project,but the HPC needs to be cognizant of consistency with the balance of the City's website. Ian English, HPC Student Representative mentioned the Eden Prairie High School has a web design class. Perhaps some students could work on this web page as a community service project. Ann Higgins offered to coordinate contact/communication with high school staff about this possibility. Gertz stated he'd provide the HPC Commissioner Manual to city staff to provide access to the manual from the HPC webpage. VII. NEW BUSINESS B. ANNUAL CLG REPORTING Gertz explained the Minnesota Historical Society has reviewed and affirmed the 2009 City's compliance with all requirements for continued Certified Local Government status. Gertz described the history of some of the hangars at Flying Cloud Airport. Some are National Register of Historic Places-eligible. McPherson asked about the status of the designation process for the Goodrich- Ramus barn. Gertz looked into this a little and recommends waiting until title has actually transferred to the new owner. Gertz suggested it may be prudent to have a discussion with the new owner regarding plans, zoning, etc. going forward once the sale has actually transpired. Gertz also recommended designation of the Dorenkemper House. The only glitch is the house has been moved from its original foundation. Even if the house didn't qualify for State designation, the City could still designate it locally. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 18, 2010 Page 4 To initiate the designation process for the Dorenkemper House, Gertz would develop a Findings of Significance which would be presented to the HPC and signed by HPC Chairperson Ann Higgins. The Findings of Significance would then be sent to the City Council, who would submit to SHPO for designation. The Commission requested, and Gertz agreed to put together a Findings of Significance for the Commission to review at the next meeting. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Lawler moved, seconded by Mackay to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. Higgins adjourned the meeting at 8:22 p.m.