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01-15-2009 HPC MINMEETING OF THE ELK RIVER HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION HELD AT THE ELK RIVER CITY HALL Thursday, January 15, 2009 Members present: Chair Lance Lindberg, Councilmember Matt Westgaard, Stephen Rohlf, Debra Mortensen, Kurt Kragness, and Kristin Harris Members absent: Matt Christiaansen, and Molly Nadeau-Peterson Staff Present: Environmental Administrator, Rebecca Haug Environmental Technician, Nicki Blake-Bradley Community Development Director, Jeff Gongoll 1) Meeting called to Order: Elk River Heritage Preservation Commission was called to order at 6:02 p.m. by Chair Lance Lindberg. Councilmember Matt Westgaard was welcomed as the new City Council liaison to the HPC and introductions were made of all commissioners present. 2) Consider January 15, 2009 HPC Agenda MOTION BY COMMISSIONER KRAGNESS AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER HARRIS TO ACCEPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED WITH NO CHANGES. ALL 1N FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED. 3) Consider September 18, 2008 HPC Minutes No changes to the minutes were requested. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER KRAGNESS AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER ROHLF TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES WITHOUT CHANGES. ALL 1N FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED. 4) Historic Neighborhood Update Environmental Administrator Haug informed the commission that she had heard from Mr. Babcock. Unfortunately he will not be able to organize the neighborhood, but he did recommend Jim and Mary Earnhart. Environmental Administrator Haug stated that she does not know these people and requested assistance from the commission. A question was raised as to whether there is any interest in forming historic neighborhoods. Environmental Administrator Haug stated there are people interested in learning about them; they're just not active. There may be more interest now that the City Council is interested in reviving the Downtown Revitalization Task Force. Community Development Director Gongoll stated that the task force had been put on hold temporarily while the Highway 10 study was being completed. Now that it has been completed, the task force may resume its role. He added that he knows the Earnhart's (they live in the old Bailey house at 1185 Main Street) and will work with Environmental • Administrator Haug to contact them about being the liaisons for the HPC with the residents of the neighborhood. 5) Book Proposals Update Commissioner Mortensen has completed the chapter titles and has decided to limit the scope of the book to time prior to 1900 due to the sheer volume of material and history of Elk River. She stated she will be going to the Historical Center to obtain photos and then will submit her proposal to Arcadia. The book will briefly focus upon Native American battles, and also include information on fur trading, the Civil War (and those who settled here following the war), businesses, the potato market, etc. Commissioner Mortensen stated that she contacted the Police and Fire Chiefs but they didn't have enough information regarding early Elk River history to be included. Commissioner Rohlf offered several possible sources of information and suggested that she include information on the mills in Elk River. She agreed and stated that she has many photos to include (many pages will have two photos). Environmental Administrator Haug questioned when Commissioner Mortensen expects to send in the book. Commissioner Mortensen stated that she hopes to be ready by the end of January or the first week in February to send it in, but cautioned that the book won't be ready until sometime around July or August. Arcadia informed her it will take approximately six months to publish. Commissioner Mortensen was thanked by all the commissioners for her hard work. She in turn thanked the HPC for the opportunity to do it, stating that she's had a lot of fun. Discussion then turned to the possibility of a second book and potential topics such as the gravel mimng (Tiller Corp. has early gravel mine photos from the area), the Hungarian settlement, moon shiners, and gangs. Commissioner Mortensen stated that there is a lot of material if a second book is decided upon. Environmental Administrator Haug requested that Commissioner Mortensen submit any receipts for 2008 by January 31St for reimbursement. 6) Planning Commission Items One item was on the Planning Commission agenda that pertains to the Heritage Preservation Commission. Fred McCoy has put in a request to expand his building (McCoy's Pub) toward the river with a storage area on the bottom and a deck on the top. Environmental Administrator Haug stated there are no State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) sites and there is low potential for an archaeological site on the property. Discussion of the request followed. Given the location of the lot, some surprise was expressed at the low potential for archaeological artifacts. Commissioner Rohlf commented that he has no issues with the request regarding the HPC, but he felt there is a relatively high potential that something might be hit during excavation. He added that there was a wooden sewer line in [the bank along that stretch of river] somewhere which might be hit. His concern centered upon the potential for loss of archaeological information. • A question of whether the Pub is a second generation building was brought up. Commissioner Kragness stated he will check the Sanborn maps (early insurance maps which show building footprints and materials). A question regarding whether additions to historic buildings affect their designation was also asked. Discussion followed regarding design issues, structure integrity, etc. A comment was made that any changes should be consistent with downtown standards. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER KRAGNESS AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER ROHLF TO RECOMMEND TO THE CITY COUNCIL THAT THE STANDARD CONDITION BE PLACED UPON THE PROPOSAL AS WELL AS A RECOMMENDATION THAT DESIGN STANDARDS BE FOLLOWED FOR THIS PROPOSAL. ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED. 7) Historic Water Tower Discussion Environmental Administrator Haug stated that the HPC still has the extension to try to save the water tower. One problem is that many grants require a cash match, for which the City has none available. It's hoped the Utilities Commission will postpone their final decision regarding the tower. Environmental Administrator Haug stated that Vance (interim director of Elk River Municipal Utilities [ERMU]) is looking for actual costs for maintenance. Two questions regarding this situation were posed: 1) What is the on-going maintenance cost? And 2) Does this maintenance really have to be done every five years? Commissioner Rohlf questioned whether the Rotary Club had been approached. Community Development Director Gongoll stated that Rotary has financial issues and thinks the tower would need further discussion. Discussion of what other cities have done to save their towers followed. Some cities have secured grants and there have been others with groups which have done fundraising. Costs vary based upon type of tower, shape, etc. The potential for placing a cell phone tower upon the water tower was briefly discussed. Environmental Technician Blake-Bradley mentioned the Clean Water Amendment which has a portion of the funds to be allocated to the Arts and Historic and cultural preservation and questioned whether that would be a potential source of grant funds. Discussion followed regarding the amount of funds available, who has the authority to decide where the funds go, and who can `apply' for the funds. Commissioner Kragness has attended a meeting regarding the funds and stated that he felt Historic Preservation Commissions will have as good a chance as Historical Centers for receiving some funds, but the Legislature makes the final decision for allocation. No one knows how political this will get. The earliest there may be some funds available for allocation may be 2010. A comment was made that if the HPC moves ahead with saving the tower by raising the maintenance funds and if the maintenance needs to be an on-going situation, the public • must be made aware of this from the very beginning. Commissioner Rohlf stated that was a lesson learned at the Kelly Farm. Commissioner Mortensen discussed endowments . from personal estates as a possible revenue source. 8 Other Items for the February Planning Commission which the HPC would possibly comment upon include the Elk River Landfill getting an extension of their CUP (conditional use permit) and an addition to the Aldi's building. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ROHLF AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER HARRIS TO RECOMMEND THE STANDARD CONDITION BE PLACED UPON THE PROPOSALS. ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED. Commissioner Mortensen questioned what happened with the Adams' proposal for the home at 931 Main Street. Environmental Administrator Haug stated that the applicant got final approval but didn't follow through with it. The ordinance was changed to allow Bed and Breakfast buildings without the owner living on site. No zone change was made. This decision met with general agreement from the commissioners. Returning to the topic of the Water Tower, City Councilman Westgaard suggested approaching the Fire Chief regarding fund raising for the water tower during a Firemen's Dance. Discussion followed regarding methods of "advertising" and using the 501-c organization for fund raising. Commissioner Mortensen suggested using engraved bricks which could be purchased for the restoration. Both ideas were well received by the commissioners. 9) Schedule Next HPC Meeting and Identify Agenda Items The next meeting will be held on March 19, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. in the Uppertown Conference Room due to the February meeting being scheduled on the same evening as the volunteer recognition reception (to be held at the Senior Activity Center). Chair Lindberg will officially cancel the February meeting. Items will include the Historic Neighborhood and Book updates Planning Commission items and Historic Water Tower discussion. 10) Adjournment The meeting was adjourned by Chair Lindberg at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Nicki Blake-Bradley Environmental Technician • ~._~ Tina Allard ? ' y City Clerk ~ , , _, ~; -~ ~~ r ~. .. Lance Lindberg ~~°' Heritage Preservation Commission Chair •