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Home My WebLink About2021-01-14 HPC AgendaAgenda AGENDA CITY OF MAPLEWOOD HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION 7:00 P.M Thursday, January 14, 2021 Join Zoom Meeting https: / /maplewoodmn.zoom.us/j /97252311864?pwd=M05ZUOZPaDd5S1 ZVaHNJUFJuW n Fi Zz09 Meeting ID: 972 5231 1864 Passcode: 201611 877 853 5247 US Toll-free CALL TO ORDER A. ROLL CALL B. APPROVAL OF AGENDA C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES D. NEW BUSINESS 1. New Council Liaison — Nikki Villavicencio 2. Demolition Report — Update 3. HPC Authority Discussion E. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. Ramsey County Poor Farm Barn - Discussion 2. Rush Line BRT Letter — Letter from Bob Jensen F. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS 1. Maplewood Area Historical Society Update G. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS H. STAFF PRESENTATIONS I. ADJOURNMENT RULES OF CIVILITY FOR THE CITY COUNCIL, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND OUR COMMUNITY Following are rules of civility the City of Maplewood expects of everyone appearing at Commission Meetings - elected officials, staff and citizens. It is hoped that by following these simple rules, everyone's opinions can be heard and understood in a reasonable manner. We appreciate the fact that when appearing at Commission meetings, it is understood that everyone will follow these principles: • Speak only for yourself, not for other Commission members or citizens - unless specifically tasked by your colleagues to speak for the group or for citizens in the form of a petition. • Show respect during comments and/or discussions, listen actively and do not interrupt or talk amongst each other. • Be respectful of the process, keeping order and decorum. Do not be critical of Commission members, staff or others in public. • Be respectful of each other's time keeping remarks brief, to the point and non -repetitive. flwf r .e. IF 9►s'` 'AIN :� _l i �� . '�` :��; e �.r�i,"� V"I- 914 Bartelmy Lane N City of Maplewood January 12, 2021 Maplewood l�1��1�D'J I��I' _X2 z ol mto; &A"�Nfw AS AMMILk f 3 _ -Al- 7A A. —Jet RWTTI�- wlr- —Jet r AT&T Inu D i A M N' Wiactu� - M 1i" J •-:�: -, - .. ,� ,L.:. .. _ Vii" ' _ � - • " ... --�•�Y_ri AA 7, SEA WEDDING D I A P, M AD a lmvit= E E2 Letter to FTA PW \ '4 MAPLEWOOD AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY MAPLEWOOD ,AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY 2170 EAST COUNTY ROAD D, MAPLEWOOD, MN 55.109 IN, �rxerr$a� Heri%e �RrNs (651) 748-8645 - www.ma lewoodhistoricalsocie .or January 6, 2021 Jay M. Ciavarella Director, Office of Planning and Program Development Federal Transit Administration U.S. Department of Transportation 200 West Adams Street Suite 320 Chicago, IL 60606-5253 Subject: Metro Transit Rush Line Bus Rapid Transit, Ramsey County, Minnesota; Determination of Effect, SH PO #2019-0985 I would like to make the following recommendations regarding the effects of constructing the Rush Line Bus Rapid Transit on the existing Bruce Vento Trail. XX-RRD-NPRO01— LS&M Railroad Corridor Historic District: Saint Paul to White. Bear Lake Segment XX-RRD-NPR005 -- LS&M Railroad Corridor Historic District: White Bear Lake to Hugo Segment Avoidance — I have no recommendations to avoiding these effects Minimizing— I have no recommendations to minimizing the effects. Mitigation — I have three recommendations A. Perform a Phase III archaeological excavation to obtain historic, environmental and cultural information at several topographic locations between St Paul and White Bear Lake. Some work was performed in Phase II thru soil cores and measuring the width of roadway, but I recommend additional backhoe trenching across the entire roadway to determine the feature's structure and stratigraphy. Archaeologically obtained matrix soil samples should be collected for analysis of botanicals such as seeds, pollens or wood which may provide analysis of the environment during different eras of construction. This excavation could answer the following questions suggested in previous reports. Did construction of the 1868 railroad roadway differ from contemporary engineering designs and best practices? For example, how wide was the grade and how much earth was removed? Does this portion of the LS&M railroad roadway (constructed between 1864-1868) differ from later LS&M areas, such as the Thomson to Fond du Lac Segment (constructed between 1868- 1870)? Were some specific design or engineering methods used to accommodate the local landscape? Flow much earth did workers have to move manually to construct the cut and filled areas along this portion of the LS&M? How was the earth moved — by human and animal Where Maplewood History Lives Metro Transit Rush Line Bus Rapid Transit, Ramsey County, Minnesota Determination of Effect, SHPQ #2019-0985 Page 2 of 3 workers? What was the quality of this "western railroad" or pioneering railroad construction? What types of construction methods were used to place the rails? Did the topography drive these decisions, or ease of construction? Is there any evidence that ballast was used? How were wetlands breached — especially in the segment between County Road C and Beam Avenue? These questions came from two reports: Phase II Evaluation Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad Corridor Historic District: Saint Paul to White Bear Lake Segment, June 2020, page 148 and National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form, Supplement to Railroads in Minnesota: 1862-1956, various pages. B. Install interpretive signage at each station which discusses the history and importance of this first railroad from St. Paul to Duluth. For Maplewood, the Frost Avenue station is especially important because it will be near the intersection with the Wisconsin Central railroad, near the railroad depots for two railroads and near the St Paul & Duluth Railroad Maintenance Shops. There are other locations such as the Gervais Avenue park and ride, the St. Paul Plow Works, the "Canada" station at County Road C, and the earliest Gladstone schoolhouse near Larpenteur Avenue which no longer exist but may be ideal for interpretive signage. 1868 Railroad Roadwav under later fill embankment realignment -- Johnson Parkwav to Marviand Avenue East I would recommend conducting a non-invasive search for possible remains of the railroad trestle across the southern end of Lake Phalen. Common practice was to fill in the wooden trestle with earth to create an earth berm and it might be possible to locate the wood posts with ground -penetrating radar or other non-invasive methods. XX-RRD-NPRO04 -- Between Eldridge Avenue East and County Road B East. Maplewood XX-RRD-NPRO03_- Between County Road C and Gervais Avenue, Maplewood XX-RR_D-NPRO02 -- Between Kohlman Avenue and Beam Avenue, Maplewood Avoidance — Most of the 1868 roadbed for NPRO02 lies outside the right-of-way and thus should not be affected by construction and can be avoided. I have no recommendations for avoiding the effects on the northern part of this segment nor on the other two segments. Minimizing — I would encourage design changes for all three segments which would route the transitway away from or over these three segments. I have no recommendations on how this would be accomplished. Mitigation — I have two recommendations. A. Perform a Phase III archaeological excavation to obtain historic, environmental and cultural information at each of the three locations. This could be completed by trench excavation as discussed above. Metro Transit Rush Line Bus Rapid Transit, Ramsey County, Minnesota Determination of Effect, SHPO #2019-0985 Page 3 of 3 B. Install interpretive signage at each location. For NPR004, I recommend the sign would be adjacent to the Weaver School trail under the transitway. For NPR003, it could be at either the nearby Gervais Avenue station or on the Vento Trail at the southern end of the segment. For NPR002, I would recommend it would be on the trail between Fitch Road and Barclay Street. Please consider these recommendations as you prepare the Memo of Agreement on the likely adverse effect on the LS&M corridor. Sincerely, Robert Jensen Treasurer, editor and historian Maplewood Area Historical Society CC: Barbara Howard, Minnesota Department of Transportation Sarah Beimers, Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office Peter Boulay, Maplewood Heritage Preservation Commission Elizabeth Breiseth, Federal Transit Administration