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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-11-18 HPC Minutes MINUTES MAPLEWOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS - CITY HALL NOVEMBER 18, 2010 -7:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Ron Cockriel at 7:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Chair Ron Cockriel, Vice Chair Richard Currie, Commissioners Caleb Anderson, Lu Aurelius, Robert Creager, AI Galbraith, Staff Liaison Dave Fisher, Recorder Lois Behm, Absent: Commissioner Pete Boulay 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Richard requested addition of the Historical Society to the Agenda, and Ron suggested it be placed before Commissioner Presentations on a regular basis. Dave said it will be there in the future. Lu moved approval of the Aqenda as amended. Caleb seconded. Aves - All 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Minutes of October 21,2010 Dave pointed out that in the "Approval of Minutes" the September meeting date should be September 16, not September 21, in both the heading and the motion for approval. Lu moved approval of the minutes of the October 21 meetinq as amended. Richard seconded; Aves - AI. Caleb. Lu. Richard. and Robert. Ron abstained due to his absence from the October meetinq. 5. CHAIR OPENING STATEMENTS / PRESENT A nONS Ron stated that he feels he, as chairperson, failed by not getting the message across to the Community Design Review Board and the City Council about the facing for the Frost Avenue Bridge reconstruction. He feels there was a missed opportunity in that the City of St. Paul had obtained forms for relief panels on the bridge and Maplewood should have been able to 'piggy-back' on their work and rent or borrow the forms to use so the Frost Avenue Bridge could again look like 'twins' as they did before recon-struction. If successful the collaboration would have been a been an indication of success in preservation. He said he feels it is ironic that the two cities collaborated on the memorial for Sgt. Bergeron but could not do that to replicate the historic bridges built 80 years ago by the WPA, and hopes it can be done better for the next opportunity. 6. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS - None 7. OLD BUSINESS a. Heritaqe Award - Commission Vote Results, Revote & Ballot to Revote Dave said the ballot in the packet has the name of every nominee who received a vote previously, and he feels a little discussion would be good, or if each commissioner would say something about each them, giving a little background and possibly sway some opinions and avoid a continuing deadlock as in the previous vote. Richard suggested each commissioner vote for two rather than one of the nominees. Lu moved to accept Richards suqqestion to vote for two. Caleb seconded. Aves - all The ballots were distributed, marked and returned to Dave. After he and Lois each checked the determined the total votes the Commissioners were told that 5th person on the list was the winner. The award will be announced at a future meeting of the Council when the honoree can be present. Discussion followed about the plaque to be used. Dave said he had talked to three different vendors and no one had a template for a maple leaf and it would be quite expensive to have one made. Lu suggested checking with the Police Department because they use that type of plaque for their awards. Dave said there are some vendors he has not yet heard back from and will check with the Police Department. Caleb offered to prepare the statement for the award presentation; his offer was gratefully accepted by the Commission. b. Certified Local Government Update - Discussion Onlv Dave announced he has now received all the Commissioners biographies and is retyping some to reduce their size. The letter has been written and e-mailed to the Mayor for his approval. He hopes to have that sent to the State before the end of the year for their action and to complete one of the goals. Ron commented that obtaining the CLG status will give the Commission better status and possibly a little more clout for future projects. Dave commented on some possible future projects for historic designation, specifically the original Priory building and the Ski Jump. The goals will need to be worked on at the next meeting. 8. NEW BUSINESS a. December Meeting - Discussion Only Dave announced that the council chambers will be undergoing some work during December and meetings planned after 12/14 will have to be cancelled or rescheduled. Richard moved to cancel the December meetinq. AI seconded. Aves - All. b. Thank You - Discussion Onlv Dave said this item was on the Agenda at Richard's request because he asked if thank you cards or notes were sent to people who were invited and came to speak at the meetings. Dave said he had asked about other commissions and was surprised to learn they never have, because it is a really good idea. Discussion followed about the type of card and what it should say. The consensus was that thank vou cards will be sent in the future. 8-1. HISTORICAL SOCIETY UPDATE Richard announced that the Society's open house at the Bruentrup Farm will be Saturday and Sunday, December 4th and 5th from 1 :00 - 4:00 p. m. and that the annual Member's Potluck dinner will be at 6:00 p. m. on Wednesday, December 8 in place of the regular monthly meeting. The annual Holiday Tea will be on January 15th, with seatings at 11 :30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., $25.00 per person and an Old Fashioned Quilting Bee March 19 at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. He also listed other events through out the rest of 2011. AI talked about the 45th parallel marker between the Bruce Vento trail and Frost Avenue and said the bronze plaque was placed there by the Minnesota Geological Society, but apparently has not been seen by anyone for years. He asked if anyone has any information about what happened to it, the Commission would greatly appreciate hearing about it. 9. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS Lu shared a copy of the Ramsey County news magazine which covered Swede Hollow and much of the East Side of St. Paul. Nothing yet about any of the suburbs. Ron said he has received a couple of e-mails from Dave's staff about a gentleman who lives in Little Canada near the Maplewood border where there is some excavation going on. He had gone before the City Council and Planning Commission about some rocks, petroglyphs, tools and possible artifacts from the area and e-mailed the information to Ron because he is concerned about it and wanted the Commission to know. Ron looked at it and doesn't feel he knows enough to make a judgement, so he forwarded it to people at the Minnesota Historical Society for further study. Also, he said the Woodbury Historical Society is hoping to establish a 'historical village' which would contain a town hall, an old schoolhouse, an old barn and a couple of other old buildings. They are looking for a site in Woodbury and he wishes them luck with that. 10. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Dave asked for clarification about the kinds of demolitions that we are interested in knowing about - he thinks we would not be interested in garages or sheds, but would want to know about houses and businesses. Commissioners agreed with that assumption and discussion followed about how the process is working. Dave mentioned that it is possible to find pictures on line through Google's City View programs, although they are not archived. He was able to print a copy pictures of the buildings, but could not download the picture. He will continue working on adjustments to the demolition permits, hoping to ensure that pictures are taken before the buildings are taken down. 11. ADJOURNMENT - 8:10 p.m.