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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-06-16 HPC Minutes MINUTES MAPLEWOOD HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS - CITY HALL JUNE 16, 2011 -7:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chair Richard Currie at 7:01 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Acting Chair Richard Currie, Commissioners Lu Aurelius, Pete Boulay, AI Galbraith and Brenda Rudberg; Staff Liaison Dave Fisher, Guest Speaker Charlotte Wasiluk, Guests Carol Mahre and Virginia Dehen, and Recorder Lois Behm. Commissioner Robert Creager arrived at 7: 11 p.m. Absent: Commissioner Caleb Anderson. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Richard requested moving the Oath of Office (8a) to precede 6. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS as State Statute requires it be completed before any business is conducted; and adding an opportunity for Brenda to tell the group about herself. AI moved approval of the Aqenda as amended. Pete seconded. Aves - All. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Minutes of April 21, 2011 AI moved approval of the April 21. 2011 minutes as presented. Pete seconded. Aves - All. 5. CHAIR OPENING STATEMENTS / PRESENT A nONS - Richard asked that the oath of office be administered at this time. Dave stated that anytime an appointment is made to any position at the City, State Statute requires they be sworn in with the Oath of Office. He asked Brenda to raise her right hand and repeat the oath: Brenda: "I, Brenda Rudberg, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Minnesota, and faithfully discharge the duties of the Heritage Preservation Commission in the City of Maplewood, in the County of Ramsey and the State of Minnesota to the best of my judgment and ability so help me God." Richard asked Brenda to tell the group about herself. Brenda stated she has been a resident of Maplewood for 6 years, and is a lifelong resident of Minnesota, always in the suburbs. Her general interest in being on this Commission is in heritage and historical preservation, and she has done a lot of study and research on Minnesota and St. Paul history. She has recently become more interested in the history of Maplewood and, as a newer resident, has a different perspective on what it means to be part of a community from a newcomers perspective, and really does have a willingness and desire to help and serve on this commission in any way she can. She and her husband plan to stay in Maplewood for the rest of their lives, for the foreseeable future anyway, and is honored and pleased to be here. 6. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Charlotte Wasiluk Richard welcomed Charlotte Wasil uk. Char thanked the Commission for inviting her to speak and said she was happy to be here. She gave Dave a book of numbered photos to display from the overhead camera, starting with a map of the Lake Phalen area where she lives on Frank Street, which was originally named "Good Street". In 1838 Edward Phelan, one of the earliest settlers in the area, built a "claim shanty" at the south end of the lake and in 1840 was jailed and tried for the first recorded murder in St. Paul. He was acquitted for lack of witnesses, but then had more trouble with the law and fled, heading for the California gold fields. On the way he got into so much trouble from treating his fellow travelers in such a brutal manner that they killed him in self-defense; for some reason they named the lake after him. Char pointed out that she had obtained that information from a booklet titled, "Walking Tour of Historic Phalen Lake" by Janice Quick, which she highly recommends because it is very interesting, and believes Janice has a few more copies. The next photo showed the C. Fisher house built in the 1860's and 5 generations of Fishers lived in it. After Fisher it was Linke, then Starks, then Dehen's and after that the Dehen's children. Carol Mahr and Ginger Dehen, who are here tonight, are Carl August Linke's great-granddaughters. Carl Linke seemed to be quite an entrepreneur, he's the one who evidently sold lots in the area, we hear about Linke's Landing, he had boats down at the end of Larpenteur, he had locked oar boxes where people could keep their oars, fishing tackle and things for fishing in Lake Phalen, and he put in a dock. Around 1917, Char's grandfather, Charles August Otto, moved from the th & Arcade area, which was a German settlement, out to the Lake Phalen area, to a small cottage about 400 feet north of Larpenteur. Between their cottage and Larpenteur there were tents which were rented out to the city dwellers for the summers. Char's parents and other relatives rented and lived in those tents for the summer. On July 15, 1921 Char's Mother went next door to Charles Otto's house and Char was born there. Char's Mother had rheumatic fever as a child and had trouble with her heart, and died when Char was 3 years old. After that she lived with her grandparents in their cottage. There were a few farms around there, but mostly people just had big gardens. There were also cottages around the lake; one, just north of her grandparents, belonged to the Silversteins who owned a knitting mill, and the neighbors were able to get their woolen bathing suits from them wholesale. In 1928 her grandfather tore down the cottage and they lived in the garage while he built a 2-bedroom bungalow, typical of the era, with the glazed in half front porch. Shortly after that her Father remarried and she went to live with them and her 2 older brothers, but still spent her summers at Lake Phalen, where there was always a lot of activity including swimming, concerts at the band shell and community sings as well as Kelly's Pavilion which was another busy place. A memorable neighbor was Doris Nelson who, at age 19, contracted polio and lived in an iron lung for 36 years. At first she was in the hospital, but later went home and was cared for by her mother and sister. She always seemed to be in a good frame of mind, and she kept her mind busy. She even typed with a pencil in her mouth. One of the people who moved into the area was a tall Swede, Long John Hanson, a widower whose wife had died of TB, who built a little house on the corner of Sophia and East Shore Drive. At that time people thought that cold clear air cured people of TB, so they would bundle the children up and put them outdoors to help them. Long John, not wanting to die of TB like his wife did, chopped a hole in the lake ice and would take dips in the freezing water. He was a very nice man, with a 3-wheeled motorcycle with a box on the side, and would take several kids out to Wildwood Park for the free rides and treats on Shriner's Day. He joined the Merchant Marines and when he came home he brought gifts from the Orient for all the neighborhood kids. Later he went back into the Merchant Marines and she lost track of him. Char graduated from North High, and one of her classmates was former Mayor George Rossbach. Char met Mike Wasiluk, who was on the docks at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed. He was slightly injured and allowed to come home in 1942 and they were married in 1943. As soon as they were able, they bought a small house by Lake Phalen, right behind her grandparents house - "I guess it was my place where I wanted to be." Mike was a very high energy person who was involved very much in politics, community affairs, scouting, volunteering after he retired from the railroad, delivering meals, taking sick people to their doctor appointments, and he built 5 houses in his spare time. Sometimes when they were building these houses they needed to get into them before they were ready, so they would spend a few weeks down at the St. Paul Tourist Cabins while the houses were being finished. A lot of people lived there, it was right after the war and building supplies were limited so many had to stay there for a while until their homes were finished. They had 3 children, Sandy, Michael Terry and Scott, who all went to Gladstone School and North High. They have all been in public service like their Dad and all live nearby. Mike was one of the 11 electors in the country who voted for Walter Mondale for president, and was very proud to be able to do that as he thought Mondale would have been a much better president. He also served on the 622 School Board for two terms, then decided not to run again, however he did later run for Maplewood City Council and was elected on his second try. He had served 1-1/2 years when he died of cancer and Char was appointed to fill his spot. There was 6 months until the next election so she ran for and was elected for the two- year term as she wanted to serve what would have been his full term, but didn't run again after that. She served with Mayor John Greavu, Gary Bastian, Norm Anderson and Marylee Maida. During that short time (1985 -1987) they formed an Open Space Committee, on which she served, and did a lot of research around the City. They decided the Fish Creek area would be a good spot to save, along with other spaces. They had a lot of influential supporters for their efforts, including people from environmental groups and Sam Morgan of Briggs & Morgan. Everyone was enthused but no one had any money. State Senator Jerry Hughes carried a bill to get some funding for the Fish Creek area, but it got lost in committee and was kind of dropped. Another thing they did was start the first recycling efforts in the city with a drop-off site by the Public Works Building. She was asked to go to a meeting with the Mayors of Oakdale and North St. Paul to talk about forming a local transportation system, the Northeast Suburban Transit. It lasted for many years but, sadly, just recently it was discontinued. When it first started the fare was $1.00, then raised a little but was finally discontinued for lack of funding. Gary Bastian had people coming to him complaining about development in the South End, with all the beautiful spaces being bulldozed for building, so the Open Space Committee was reactivated and she was appointed to serve on it. They spent a year identifying and rating spaces in the City they felt should be preserved, and brought it back to the City Council who said now they had to have a referendum. The Committee then started a campaign to have the referendum approved, which it was, and the City hired people to negotiate with the land owners for the properties. Char was then appointed to serve on the first Historical Committee, whose charge was to form a local Historical Society and the Committee would then sunset. The Society was formed and members were being accepted, with Pete Boulay and Lois Behm doing a lot of work to get it going. The Maplewood Historical Society was then incorporated as a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization, and they now meet at the Bruentrup Heritage Farm on County Road D. The Society then recommended to the Council that there should also be a Historic Preservation Commission, separate from the Society, to advise the City about local historical sites. While separate organizations, they would work together as needed. Char served as president of the Society for 4 years and they received the Preservation Alliance Award for saving and moving the Bruentrup Farm which required a lot of fund raising and volunteer effort for bringing the buildings up to code and available to the public. She also stated that in 2006 the Ramsey County Poor Farm Barn was in danger of being torn down and members of the Historical Society got together and prepared a report for the Preservation Alliance about why it should be saved. It was on the Preservation Alliance's 2006 list of Minnesota's 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites, and after that Ramsey County did put a new roof on it and for now it has been saved. She also mentioned that the Society, through the efforts of Bob Overby and Bob Jensen, have prepared an exhibit of the Gladstone area which is being very well received. 7. OLD BUSINESS a. Discussion Onlv - Update on the Process of Amendinq the HPC Ordinance Dave reported that the Ordinance is scheduled for June 27 at the next Council Meeting so the notice should be published now. Again, it is just the amendments Mike Koop suggested be added to the Ordinance clarifying the criteria for identifying historic sites. That will be first reading, and second reading will probably be set up for the first meeting after that. He doesn't foresee any problems but thinks it would be good if someone from the Commission is at the public hearing in case there are any questions. 8. NEW BUSINESS - Moved to 5. PRESENTATIONS a. Oath of Office - Brenda Rudberq 9. MAPLEWOOD AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Pete reported the Gladstone talk at the Library went really well, with a standing room only crowd, which was great to see. He thinks the last time he did it, about 15 years ago, there were 10 people there, including him. Richard said he heard they turned people away. Pete said he hopes the rest of the Gladstone events will be that well attended. Richard reported on upcoming Society events at which there could be a quorum of commissioners - July 10 - Open House at Bruentrup Farm and Gladstone Exhibit 12:00 - 4:00 July 13 - Regular monthly meeting Richard asked Char about the May 28 Spring Tea - She said it was held in the Barn and was very well attended. 10. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair Followinq a brief discussion of the process. Lu moved Pete be named Chair and Richard Vice-Chair. Bob seconded the motion. Aves - All b. Meetinq the second Thursdav of the month Lu moved that the Maplewood Heritaqe Preservation Commission meet on the 2nd Thursdav of each month. Bob seconded the motion. Aves - All. c. 2011 Goals - Discussion Onlv Dave said he didn't put anything in the packet because there hasn't been any discussion, but the Number 1 goal is Certification and part of that is the Ordinance Amendment; Submitting nominations for the Heritage Award; Continue identifying historical families; Continue identifying and recognizing historic geographic features, such as lakes and buildings; Continue to add links and find information to add to the website for people to find historical things; Continue to have a guest speaker each month; Identify books and articles at the library to educate the public; Continue working with the Society for mutual benefit. 11. ADJOURNMENT Lu moved to adiourn the meetinq, Pete seconded, Aves - all. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.