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Grand Forks Historic Preservation Commission
1405 First Avenue North
P. O. Box 13876
Grand Forks, ND 58208-3876
701-772-8756

Minutes
November 9, 2010
6:30 p.m.
City Hall

Present: Marsha Gunderson - Chair, Sharon Bures, Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger,
Sylvia Kloster, Cory Lien, Sandy Slater
Others: Kevin Severson, RRVCA; Peg O’Leary

Minutes
Motion: to approve the minutes of the October 26, 2010, meeting. (Slater, Iseminger)
Motion carries.
The agenda is suspended to better accommodate presenters.
Red River Valley Community Action – Kevin Severson
1015 University Avenue, built 1898 – The owner plans to use a federally subsidized loan to reshingle the roof, side the house with vinyl siding, replace windows with single-hung vinyl units, install aluminum storm doors in front and back entries and complete various interior jobs. The house is not on the Register or in a historic district; a 1981 architectural survey indicates that the house has no National Register potential.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected from the work described at 1015 University Avenue. (Flemmer, Lien)
Motion carries.

RRVCA Weatherization Program – Kevin Severson
1516 10th Avenue North, built 1965 – The owner plans to use a federally subsidized loan to replace existing entry doors on the rear of the house and the west side of the garage with steel doors, and complete various interior jobs. The house is not on the Register or in a historic district.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected from the work described at 1516 10th Ave. N. (Flemmer, Bures)
Motion carries.
901 Cherry Street, built 1913 – The owner plans to use a federally subsidized loan to insulate the attic, install a steel door on the rear entry, install two vinyl pocket window units and one metal storm window, and complete various interior jobs. The house is not on the Register or in a historic district; a 1994 architectural survey indicates that the house has no National Register potential.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected from the work described at 901 Cherry St. (Slater, Kloster)
Motion carries.
625 North 5th Street, built 1912 – The owner plans to use a federally subsidized loan to insulate the attic and walls, install a metal storm window and complete miscellaneous air sealing and installation of energy saving light bulbs. The house is not on the Register or in a historic district; a 1994 architectural survey indicates that the house has no National Register potential.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the proposed work at 625 North 5th Street. (Slater, Flemmer)
Motion carries.

Grand Forks Energy Alliance
120 Rolling Hills Drive, built 1977 – The owners plan to use a federally subsidized loan to replace existing electric water heater and furnace with high efficiency natural gas water heater and furnace. The house is not on the Register or in a historic district.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the work proposed at 120 Rolling Hills Drive. (Flemmer, Bures)
Motion carries.
Agenda resumes.

Chair Report – Marsha Gunderson
Downtown Design and Review Board – DDRB meets on Wednesday, Nov. 10.
Central High School Additions – Gunderson and O’Leary met with JLG architects on Thursday, Nov. 4, to discuss the proposed additions to Central High School. Copies of the current plans were distributed for perusal. The meeting focus was on the 1st Avenue North addition, which will cover much of the existing theatre façade and will jut into the street. Central High School, with its existing additions, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was noted that the theatre building is individually eligible due to its style, WPA origins, and material integrity. A general discussion of the planned addition ensued; significant objections hinged on the proportional changes, to the main entry of the original theatre building, that will result from raising the interior level of the floor to accommodate accessibility. Concerns were also expressed about the disruption of the streetscape and set backs in the Downtown Historic District
Motion: to send a letter to the Grand Forks School District expressing particular concern about the loss of design and material integrity at the entry. (Flemmer, Iseminger)
Motion carries.

Coordinator Report – Peg O’Leary
Governor’s Conference on North Dakota History, October 29-30, 2010 – O’Leary reported that the conference was interesting and well worth attending. She also noted that former GFHPC commissioner Fred Schneider was at the conference and sends greetings.
Synagogue Nomination – O’Leary has met with the contractor and a further draft of the nomination should be available soon.
The Kegs NRHP Nomination – O’Leary visited with the contractor; he is completing revisions based upon SHSND review of the material and will probably have the nomination back to the commission in a week.
FY09 CLG Budget – Reconciliation of the FY09 budget is complete and final reimbursement forms will be sent to the state before the end of the week.
Mission Statement – Lisa Steckler, SHSND CLG coordinator, has asked all CLGs to submit their mission statements and to review their five- and ten-year plans. The GFHPC mission statement is
“The commission is charged with safeguarding the heritage of Grand Forks through preservation of those elements that reflect its cultural, social, economic, political and architectural history and with promoting the historic districts and landmarks of the city.”
It has been submitted to the state. O’Leary will pull the short- and long-term plans, with an eye to commission review in January.
GFHPC Storage – Our current storage space in the Housing and Urban Development building is going to be converted to office space. We will need to do some serious house cleaning. Slater pointed out that the Special Collections department of the Chester Fritz Library has an existing collection of GFHPC material and appropriate items can be placed in the collection. O’Leary will find out what has to be retained for auditing purposes and will begin the sorting process.

Other Business
Hookah Business Sign – Iseminger asked if the sign issue had been resolved; Gunderson said it would be discussed at the DDRB meeting on Nov. 10.
Granitoid “R. S. Blome” Markers – Iseminger asked what would become of the bronze markers that are removed from mill and overlay areas; he would like to see them worked into curbs or somehow incorporated into areas of Granitoid that remain in service. O’Leary said this can be addressed during mitigation, which would begin when the work is scheduled and funding is in place.
Smoking Deck – Iseminger said he had gone to N. 3rd Street to try to visualize the proposed smoking deck/arbor atop Caulfield’s. He believed it would be highly intrusive and he couldn’t believe the DDRB had approved its construction.

Motion: to adjourn. (Bures, Slater)
Motion carries. Meeting adjourned. 7:45 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010, in A101, City Hall.

Respectfully submitted,



Peg O’Leary
Coordinator