Committee Minutes
Grand Forks Historic Preservation Commissio
n
1405 First Avenue North
P. O. Box 13876
Grand Forks, ND 58208-3876
701-772-8756
Meeting Minutes
January 8, 2008
7:00 p.m.
City Hall
Present: Sandy Slater, Vice-Chair, Caprice Benoit, Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger,
Ted Jelliff, Melinda Leach, Cory Lien, Dale Sickels, Dave Vorland
Others: Joe O’Neil, Office of Urban Development; Kevin Severson, RRVCA; Peg O’Leary
Slater called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.; a quorum was present.
Motion: to approve the minutes of the Nov. 27, 2007 meeting as presented. (Sickels, Jelliff)
Motion carries.
Office of Urban Development – Joe O’Neil
Pedestrian Underpass, Gateway Drive and 4th Street North (built 1988)– The city plans to
use CDBG funding to repair the pedestrian shelters, concrete walkways and associated
drainage structures, remove and replace electrical street lights, replace passage lights with
vandal-resistant energy-efficient fixtures, repaint interior with vandal resistant paint, and
replace clouded Plexiglas panels with clear Plexiglas panels. The underpass is one-half
block from the Riverside Neighborhood Historic District.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the work
proposed for the pedestrian underpass. (Flemmer, Jelliff)
Motion carries.
Shelter for the Homeless, 420 Division Avenue (built 1920, 2003) – CDBG funding will be
used to remove current outdated fire doors on the interior of the building and replace with
new 90-minute rated fire doors. The building is a contributing feature in the Downtown
Historic District.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no adverse effect from the work proposed for
the building at 420 Division Avenue. (Jelliff, Lien)
Motion carries.
Grand Forks Senior Center, 620 4th Avenue South (built 1976) – CDBG funding will be
used to complete repairs to the central heating system at the Center.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the work
proposed for the building at 620 4th Ave. S. (Flemmer, Leach)
Motion carries.
Promenade Neighborhood, North 55th Street and 8th Avenue North (new construction) –
The Housing Authority will use HOME funds to build thirty new houses in the Promenade
neighborhood. Leach questioned whether an archaeological review had been conducted at
the proposed building site. O’Neil did not know.
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Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the work
proposed for the new housing provided the appropriate archaeological review is
completed prior to undertaking the project. (Flemmer, Sickels)
Motion carries.
Lustron House (formerly 602 Lincoln Drive) – O’Neil reported that the contractor has
redone much of the earlier work and has almost fully enclosed the building. The roof should
be completed and doors and windows in within about ten days. Vorland said the County
Historical Society is excited about taking the house to the next level, getting it furnished and
fitted out, and they appreciate what the city has done to get the project completed.
Red River Valley Community Action – Kevin Severson
412 3rd Avenue South (built 1938) - The owners propose using a federally subsidized loan to
remove thirteen windows and replace with new vinyl double-hung units matching the
existing in style and size; replace the roofing on the attached garage; replace gutters and
downspouts on the house and garage; install a new steel door on the garage; prime and spray
paint the exterior metal siding; remove existing front steps and replace with a 9’ by 6’
treated wood deck with steps and railings; and complete various interior work. The house is
a contributing feature in the Near Southside Historic District. According to the architectural
survey, this house “is a good example of a plain residential style house built during the
depression.” Members questioned whether the brick stoop could be repaired; Severson said
it is probably past repair and pictures appeared to confirm that. Severson said the owners
know that they will probably have to use wood windows but they would rather do vinyl.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no adverse effect from the work proposed with
the following stipulations: replacement windows must be wood, 3/1 double hung of the
same size and style as existing windows; original exterior window trim molding must be
retained with repair as needed; an enlarged deck at the front entry cannot be approved
but a stoop replicating the existing size and style in cement or brick would be acceptable
with either a metal railing of the existing style or a wooden railing to match the style of
an original 1930s railing. (Iseminger, Benoit)
Motion carries.
Chair Report – Marsha Gunderson (provided by Peg O’Leary in Gunderson’s absence)
Infill Review Committee – Benoit, Flemmer and Slater are interested in serving on one of
the upcoming review committees. Time constraints are important. O’Leary will try to
identify, as much as possible, how much time will be involved in this particular committee.
Grand Forks County Courthouse – The County is installing a protective work station in the
primary entry for the use of the guard. The work will involve minimal anchoring into the
floor. This information was provided to the Commission as a courtesy, since there is no
federal funding involved in the work.
Coordinator Report – Peg O’Leary
FY08 Certified Local Government Grant – We have received the information for the
upcoming CLG grant review cycle. The submission deadline is February 15, 2008.
O’Leary asked that members consider potential projects for next year so that a project
decision can be made at the Jan. 22 meeting. The budget for the grant request can then be
voted on at the February 12 meeting.
MPO Plan – The GF-EGF Metropolitan Planning Organization is issuing an RFP for a
consultant to conduct a study of the 4th Avenue South/Minnesota Avenue corridor. The
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study will especially focus on the Granitoid and the intersection where 4th Avenue turns into
Minnesota. The MPO has assured the Commission that we will be involved throughout the
process. They also will involve the State Historical Society.
UND Nomination – O’Leary has contacted the fraternity representatives but it is difficult to
gather them for a meeting. She is conferring with them individually by email at this point.
Riverside Pool and Bathhouse, Riverside Park – O’Leary and Gunderson met with Mark
Walker, City Engineering, and Colin Lovdahl, EAPC, to discuss the ramifications of various
proposed changes to the pool and bathhouse that would be required or desirable to reopen
the pool and make it ADA compliant. No plans have been drawn up yet; the meeting was to
get an idea of what might or might not be acceptable. They promised to keep the
Commission informed as plans progress.
Riverside Neighborhood Historic District – O’Leary announced that the Riverside District
had been officially added to the National Register on Nov. 15, 2007, though it did not
appear on the Weekly Listing until Jan. 4, 2008. The SHSND will issue a press release
within the week, but O’Leary had been interviewed for an article in the Grand Forks Herald
which will probably appear in the Jan. 9 edition.
Carpenter List – O’Leary distributed the list of carpenters’ names that resulted from running
the ad in the Herald. Seven carpenters expressed interest in doing historically appropriate
work on older homes. The sheet that we will send out includes a disclaimer and a reminder
to homeowners to verify licensing, bonding, insurance coverage and references of any
contractor they might hire.
114 Belmont Road – O’Leary has had an inquiry regarding whether this building is a
DeRemer design. Slater said the building does not appear on the list of DeRemer buildings
on file at UND Special Collections, which doesn’t preclude it being a DeRemer but shows it
hasn’t been previously verified. Jelliff said he believes the building was built as an office
rather than a residence.
Other Business
Holiday Cards – O’Leary passed around greeting cards received by the Commission over
the holidays. One of the cards was from CanadInn and it was noted that the historic pictures
displayed in the local CanadInn are particularly well done.
Meeting adjourned. 8:30 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008, room A101, City Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
(signed)
Peg O’Leary
Coordinator