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11-20-2025 HPC MINMeeting of the Heritage Preservation Commission Held at the Elk River City Hall ':ityof Thursday, November 20, 2025 Elk --� River Members Present: Commissioner Gavin Tuckey, Commissioner Zachary Griffiths, Commissioner Jayne Dietz, Commissioner Lance Lindberg Members Absent: Commissioner Linda Campbell Staff Present: Community Development Director Zack Carlton I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting was called to order at 6:04 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. CONSIDER AGENDA Moved by Commissioner Tuckey and seconded by Commissioner Dietz to approve the agenda. Motion carried 4-0. 4. CONSIDER MINUTES Moved by Commissioner Dietz and seconded by Commissioner Griffiths to approve the following consent items as outlined in their respective staff reports. Motion carried 4-0. 4.1 DRAFT Minutes - October 8, 2025 5. GENERAL BUSINESS 5.1 Jackson Street Historic Water Tower Site Mr. Carlton reviewed that the Jackson Street Historic Water Tower Site plan had been approved at the November 17, 2025 City Council meeting. Mr. Carlton stated that the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) currently under review by the City Council included $50,000 in funding toward the project. He suggested using some of this funding to have a more detailed plan to present when looking for funding such as planting or construction plans. Mr. Carlton asked the Commissioners what they would like to see on the interpretive signs. Councilmember Calva suggested a QR code which led to a map of the walking trail. Heritage Preservation Commission Minutes November 20, 2025 Page 2 of 4 Mr. Carlton reviewed a grant opportunity which included funding for interpretive programs and public education such as historical markers, heritage tours, and wayfinding. The grant is a 70/30 federal/local match. Mr. Carlton stated the water tower site would include approximately six interpretive signage boards. The city internal communications team could work on designing the boards. Councilmember Calva asked if the signs would be one or two-sided. Mr. Carlton stated the signs were one-sided. Commissioner Griffiths asked if the sign content would be changeable. Mr. Carlton asked the Commission how often they would want to rotate information on the signs. The Commissioners questioned how to add information that happens in the future. Mr. Carlton suggested leaving a couple of sign panels blank for future use. Commissioner Dietz suggested one sign panel could be for the water tower history and asked if the fire department should have one. Commissioner Tuckey envisioned the water tower site as the beginning of the historic walk and stated it should highlight some of the historical things that aren't mentioned on other sites along the tour. He asked about school -related history. Councilmember Calva stated that some historical information was located within Handke School. Councilmember Calva agreed one of the panels could be about the fire department, one about the tower and fires. He suggested one panel could be about the walking tour. Mr. Carlton stated the downtown kiosk at Rivers Edge Commons had four sides for information. Mr. Carlton suggested other information points could be at Handke School, Native American history at Bailey Point, history of energy near Elk River Municipal Utilities, or the history of agriculture/industry at William H. Houlton Conservation Area. The Commission should consider what type of history they may want to include at each location. Mr. Carlton reviewed that the grant funding may cover some some of the costs of construction plans. Commissioner Griffiths asked if Mend Collaborative was putting together a timeline of when grants are due. Mr. Carlton stated he has one more call with Mend Collaborative and is working with the information previously provided. Commissioner Tuckey asked about action steps before the next meeting. Mr. Carlton asked the Commission to consider what information they would like on each site panel. He stated that the other historic walking tour site panels could be constructed sooner, before the water tower site was completed. Mr. Carlton stated he would submit the preliminary grant and put together a spreadsheet of different grants and timelines. Commissioner Tuckey asked if certain items could be purchased in advance if businesses earmarked Heritage Preservation Commission Minutes November 20, 2025 Page 3 of 4 funding toward a particular feature of the site. Mr. Carlton stated the money could be allocated for the feature and spent when it was ready to be constructed. 5.2 Elk River History Trail Mr. Carlton stated that the Commission discussion had moved into Item 5.2. Commissioner Dietz asked if the donated hitching posts would have a plaque on them to indicate what year they are from or what they are. Councilmember Calva asked if the hitching posts could be identified on one of the information panels. Mr. Carlton suggested on the panel describing the trail. Mr. Carlton added that the Commission does not need to follow the sites listed on the brochures from the packet. They can set their own historic site stops for the trail. Mr. Carlton added that it was a good time to consider options while the streets and sidewalks were being redone. Information could be embedded into the sidewalks such as directional signs for the walking tour or information about historic buildings. Commissioner Dietz suggested a QR code on the buildings with historic background information. Mr. Carlton stated that there was no Preserve Minnesota conference in 2026. Instead, the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions will be holding their annual forum in Minneapolis. The Commission should consider if they wished to attend the event July 22-26, 2026. Mr. Carlton stated that Steve Rohlf reached out through Mayor Dietz with information that Vernon Cemetary will be celebrating their 150th Anniversary in 2026. He wished to know if the Commission wanted to participate in the event in summer 2026. Commissioner Lindberg suggested highlighting notable Elk River people located in the cemetery to give some of their history. Mr. Carlton also noted that in 2030, Elk River will be 150 years old. Commissioner Lindberg stated that a website reached out to him with some photos of Elk River and asked him to review some of their content for accuracy. Commissioner Griffiths reviewed that the Wikipedia website for Elk River was not currently accurate. 6. MOTION TO ADJOURN Moved by Commissioner Dietz and seconded by Commissioner Griffiths to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 6:47 p.m. Minutes prepared by Katie Porath. Heritage Preser Pon Commiss' n Minutes Page 4 of 4 November 20, 15 / Lance Lindbe Jolene Richter, Deputy City Clerk