Committee Minutes
Grand Forks Historic Preservation Commission
1405 First Avenue North
P. O. Box 13876
Grand Forks, ND 58208-3876
701-772-8756
Minutes
May 25, 2010
6:30 p.m.
City Hall
Present: Marsha Gunderson, Chair, Sharon Bures, Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger,
Sylvia Kloster, Melinda Leach, Cory Lien, Dale Sickels, Sandy Slater, Judy Swisher
Others: Joe O’Neil (Office of Urban Development), Kevin Severson (Red River Valley Community Action), Peg O’Leary
Minutes
Motion:
to correct the date and approve the minutes of the May 11, 2010, meeting. (Leach, Swisher)
Motion carries.
Grand Forks Energy Alliance, Office of Urban Development
– Joe O’Neil
2905 Shadow Road, built 1973 – The house is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is not a component in an historic district. The owners propose to replace eight low efficiency windows with high efficiency windows and insulate the attic with blown-in insulation.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected from the work described at 2905 Shadow Road. (Slater, Sickels)
Motion carries.
305 N. 6
th
Street, built 1912 – The house is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is not a component in an historic district. The house was surveyed in 1989 and determined to have no historic register value, presumably because it did not have original siding. The owners propose to add attic insulation, insulate one porch attic and one complete porch, air seal attic, and weather-strip two doors.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected from the work described at 305 N. 6
th
Street. (Slater, Swisher)
Motion carries.
New development at Civic Auditorium site – Iseminger asked O’Neil about the contamination at the site; O’Neil said the City will conduct Phase III exploratory research to determine how much contamination is present at the site.
Red River Valley Community Action
– Kevin Severson
710 N. 7
th
Street, built 1914 – The house is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is not a component in an historic district. The owners plan to use a federally subsidized loan to reroof, replace soffit, fascia, gutters and downspouts, replace two exterior doors with steel, pre-hung units, replace two existing windows with casement bow windows, and replace four other windows with vinyl double-hung units. One of the prospective bow windows is an original stained glass window; members expressed concern that the window be reused in some manner and not end up in the landfill.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the proposed work at 710 N. 7
th
Street. (Flemmer, Lien)
Motion carries.
Preservation Awards
– Cory Lien
Lien reported that he and Kloster had researched awards offered by other commissions and found several that could be good models for a Grand Forks award. Many seek nominations from the community. It should be possible to post a nomination form on the HPC web site. The name, “Grand Forks Historic Preservation in Action,” was the favorite. The first year awards would be nominated by the HPC to get the ball rolling. Consensus was that a limited number of the awards should be given annually (probably in May), that projects should have been completed recently (within about three years), that awardees should meet Secretary of Interior Standards in order to provide a community education opportunity, and that a yard sign of some sort would be a good way to bring attention to the awards. O’Leary will compile data into a proposal for review by the Commission.
Chair Report
– Marsha Gunderson
Downtown Design and Review Board – Gunderson said Amazing Grains had received approval to replace their sidewalk seating after lunch each day with fresh produce stalls. Several new bike rack designs will be tested in downtown, including one style that substitutes fourteen bike spaces for one car parking space on the street. DDRB is also going to resume their meetings with downtown business owners/operators.
Lustron House – The County Historical Society is making good headway with restoring the Lustron house. Many of the interior metal panels had been painted over time; these are now being stripped, primed and painted. They work on the house most Saturday mornings and could use help. They’re hoping to have the house open to the public in a couple months.
Chippewa Indian History Exhibit – The County Historical Society is mounting an exhibit about the history of the Chippewa in what became Grand Forks County. It will open in a couple weeks with a grand opening on June 24, 2010. Dave Vorland, a former HPC commissioner, is the primary researcher for the exhibit.
Coordinator Report
– Peg O’Leary
WPA Cemeteries Nomination – The nomination has been signed by Merl Paaverud and sent to the National Park Service for review. Final payment to the contractor is due in the amount of $349.00.
Motion:
to authorize final payment to Steve C. Martens for the WPA Stone Structures in Calvary Cemetery and Memorial Park nomination in the amount of $349.00.
(Iseminger, Slater)
Motion carries.
Energy Efficiency Discussion – Postponed.
Walking Tours – O’Leary will conduct a couple downtown walking tours for attendees of a Human Nutrition Research Center sponsored conference in July.
Granitoid Update – O’Leary visited with Al Grasser about HPC expectations for Granitoid mitigation if/when the 4
th
Avenue/ Minnesota Avenue project gets underway. The discussion centered around tree canopy protection and a reserve area of Granitoid that would be protected, maintained and improved as needed for the preservation of the Granitoid and the needs of the neighborhood.
Central High School – O’Leary visited with Perry Marto recently regarding the proposals for an addition to Central. One possibility being considered is pushing out the front of the WPA Auditorium into 1
st
Avenue North. This would require that the City allow vacation of the street. This façade is an excellent example of Art Deco design, which is greatly underrepresented in Grand Forks.
Civic Auditorium – Steve Martens has completed the written documentation of the Civic Auditorium. Some revision is required but authorization would allow payment immediately upon completion of the changes.
Motion:
to authorize contractural payment of $950 for the historic context on the Grand Forks Civic Auditorium. (Swisher, Flemmer)
Motion carries.
Central High School Architectural Prints – Fine Print scanned and printed poster-sized copies of the architectural negatives donated by Kent Anderson. The negatives will be donated to the Chester Fritz Library Special Collections; general discussion ensued about how best to use the prints.
Motion:
to pay the Fine Print invoice. (Flemmer, Bures)
Motion carries.
HPC Appointments – Five members’ appointments are up in July: Bures, Flemmer, Iseminger, Leach, and Slater. Two are at-large appointments and three (historian, archaeologist, archivist) are specific to Certified Local Government status. Each of the five current commissioners expressed a desire to remain on the commission.
Grand Forks Fairgrounds – GF Fair Board member Dennis Pazderic has retrieved the NRHP plaque and they will install it before the Fair, which is a month away. Anticipated placement is near the SE face of the entry gates at the south entrance to the Fairgrounds. This placement will provide high visibility along with some protection for the plaque. Pazderic also asked for copies of any pictures we may have showing the grandstand windows. They are in need of replacement and the Fair Board wants to replace them appropriately. Sickels mentioned the
Grand Forks Herald
article that Jelliff found in the Grand Forks Room of the GF Public Library as a possible source.
Sorlie Bridge – Earl Haugen has responded to a question arising out of the last meeting: the Sorlie is scheduled for work in 2018. Haugen assures the commission that it will be fully involved in all discussions regarding the bridge.
Henry Havig Award – The Public Information Center has asked us for assistance in finding pictures and other information about Henry Havig as they make a new video for the award program. Lien suggested that Valley 4000 be contacted as they have a Henry Havig room in the facility. Slater said there is material at UND Special Collections on Havig.
Other Business
Projects, new and old – Flemmer mentioned three projects that may merit HPC attention: restoration of historic signage that is painted directly on downtown buildings (Coca-Cola sign on the Met, McDonald’s sign on the Stratford); a memorial Kannowski Peony Garden in the Central Park area; and the English Coulee clean-up. Iseminger said he has looked into the ad restoration and found a method that results in a product having an aged appearance instead of looking brand new. It was thought that Devils Lake and/or Crookston had recently restored their similarly painted advertising. Gunderson said DDRB guidelines would have to be addressed as they specifically deny painting signs/murals on buildings. Several members expressed support for the Peony Garden.
KEM Shrine Temple – Lien said the Shriners in Grand Forks are celebrating their 100
th
anniversary this summer with, among other things, a parade through downtown East Grand Forks and Grand Forks on June 5
th
. He showed a commemorative plate that celebrates the anniversary.
Metropolitan Opera House – Iseminger asked if there is any known prospect for the retail space; no one was aware of any new developments.
Motion:
to adjourn. (Sickels, Bures)
Motion carries.
Meeting adjourned. 8:15 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 8, 2010, in A101, City Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Peg O’Leary
Coordinator