Committee Minutes

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


Meeting Minutes
September 11, 2007
7:00 p.m.
City Hall

Present: Marsha Gunderson, Chair, Caprice Benoit, Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger, Ted Jelliff, Melinda Leach, Cory Lien, Gerad Paul, Sandy Slater, Dave Vorland
Others: Brad Kouba; Leon Comeau, Joanne Brundin, St. Vincent de Paul; Meredith Richards, GF Office of Urban Development; Kevin Severson, Red River Valley Community Action; Peg O’Leary

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.; a quorum was present.

Motion: to approve the minutes of the August 14, 2007 meeting as presented. (Benoit, Jelliff)
Motion carries.

1119 Almonte Avenue – Brad Kouba
The Kouba property is under covenant because it is historically significant and, after the 1997 flood, it was purchased and moved utilizing federal funds. The covenant stipulates that the “property will be maintained, repaired and kept in good condition by the purchaser to preserve the architectural or historical integrity of the property.” The Koubas propose replacing the wooden front door, which appears to be original to the house, with a steel door in a different style. The door would be painted to match the shutters. The existing door is not energy efficient and is 40” wide. The new door would be 36” wide and the opening would be made smaller to fit the door. Kouba was asked if he had considered replacing with a wood door in a style more in keeping with the style of the house. He reiterated that they want a steel door with the stained and leaded glass appearance of those he marked in the catalog being passed around. Members noted that his house is Colonial Revival style in which doors are simply styled with raised panels and clear lights in the upper portion of the door, or no lights at all. Slater suggested he consider replacing the door with something in keeping with the style of the house; Kouba said they want the style indicated in the catalog. Benoit asked what they will do if they are not allowed to change out the historic door for the catalog type door; Kouba said they will replace the door after the covenant is up and possibly cover the door with plywood for the time being. He was asked if they had considered adding a storm door; Kouba said the 40” width makes it impossible to get a pre-fabricated storm except in wood. Gunderson noted that HPC set a precedent when the owners of 102 Conklin were required to either keep their original door or replace their front door with a wood door of the same size in a style closely resembling that of the original.

Motion: to deny the request to replace the existing door with a steel door of a different size and in a style inappropriate to the style of the house. (Iseminger, Slater)
Motion carries unanimously.
Red River Valley Community Action – Kevin Severson
  924 Cottonwood – The owner proposes to use a federally subsidized loan to complete interior work including linoleum flooring, replacement doors, and carpeting. The property has been surveyed as having no nomination potential and the work does not affect the exterior.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the proposed work at 924 Cottonwood. (Flemmer, Leach)
Motion carries unanimously.
  1613 10th Avenue North – The owner proposes to use a federally subsidized loan to replace eleven windows with vinyl units of similar style and size; add metal gutters and downspouts; replace fascia and soffit; install new vinyl basement window units; remove existing and install new pre-cast front concrete steps; remove existing and replace driveway; and paint interior rooms. There has been no architectural survey on the property. The neighborhood is mixed and unlikely ever to be nominated as a district. The windows are in very bad condition. The house has been resided.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the proposed work at 1613 10th Avenue North. (Flemmer, Slater)
Motion carries unanimously.
  1212 University Avenue – Pulled by RRVCA

St. Vincent de Paul – Meredith Richards, Leon Comeau, JoAnn Brundin
Richards explained that the St. Vincent de Paul Society owns two houses adjacent to its Thrift Store and Food Cupboard. HOME funding, up to $25,000 per house, is available to rehabilitate the houses for use as interim housing for homeless families.
  614 8th Avenue South – The owners propose replacing the windows with wood windows in the same style and size as existing; replacing gutters and downspouts; replacing wrought iron handrails on the front entry; and scraping and painting the exterior. The window trim will remain in place and be painted. The house has been surveyed as contributing to a potential district.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no adverse effect by the proposed work at 624 8th Avenue South. (Slater, Flemmer)
Motion carries unanimously.
  616 8th Avenue South – The owners propose replacing the windows with wood windows in the same style and size as existing; replacing gutters and downspouts; patching small cracks in the stucco; painting exterior trim; replacing front entry steps; and replacing the front entry door and sidelights with a door and sidelights of similar size and style. The house has been surveyed as contributing to a potential district and having thematic nomination potential. The front door is in very bad shape, unlikely to be able to hold paint. Paul noted that the front door had probably been the interior front door originally, and then moved to the porch entry at a later date. Richards said the railing style for the front entry would be wood with square balusters in keeping with the Craftsman style of the house. Only the rotted sill on the upper level south window will be replaced; all other trim will remain in place and be painted white. General discussion ensued about finding an appropriate door for the entry. O’Leary and Richards will see if a salvage door is available.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no adverse effect from the window replacement, gutters and downspouts, stucco patching, trim painting and replacement of the entry steps, but to require further information on the front door and sidelights. (Iseminger, Paul)
Discussion: The roofs are OK on both buildings.
Motion carries unanimously.

Chair Report – Marsha Gunderson
  Annual CLG Meeting – Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007 in Edinburg, ND. O’Leary will email about possible carpooling. Please plan to attend.
  Governor’s Conference on North Dakota History – November 2-3, 2007 in Bismarck.
  522 Reeves Drive – The new house going up is of interest.

Coordinator Report – Peg O’Leary
  Web Site Contract – O’Leary demonstrated the new web site and request authorization for the first half of the contract ($1,000) due upon registration of the domain name and when the site is ready for on-line testing. The contractor has met these requirements. Members were pleased with the site construction. Slater suggested that the UND Dept. of Special Collections be included under the linked contacts.
Motion: to authorize payment of $1,000 to JBA Web Design. (Jelliff, Leach)
Motion carries unanimously.
  NDDOT Project #SU-6-986(073)077, DeMers and 42nd Street Grade Raise Project – Commissioners reviewed the area of potential effects and expressed concern that the history of Ray Richards Golf Course had not been sufficiently researched. Consensus: to request time to further research the significance of the UND golf course before acting on the request for concurrence. O’Leary will report to the SHPO and O’Leary and Vorland will conduct some local research.
  UND Nomination – O’Leary reported that Michelle Dennis, the contractor, has been able to find the insurance the city requires, however, the cost is $200 higher than she budgeted. Since the bid came in at $1,500 less than HPC is authorized to spend on the project, O’Leary suggested a change order to the contract authorizing $200 for the additional insurance expenses.
Motion: to authorize adding $200 to the contract with M.L. Dennis, for a total contracted amount of $13,700, to nominate the University of North Dakota historic campus to the National Register of Historic Places. (Slater, Leach)
Motion carries unanimously.
  Riverside Nomination Revisions – Steve Martens is finishing up the final work on some of the maps; when completed, we can resubmit the nomination to the National Park Service.
  NTHP National Conference – St. Paul, MN, Oct. 2-6, 2007
  Lustron House – O’Leary said Urban Development had nothing new to report when she asked them about progress on the reconstruction of the house. Richards has said NDSU had agreed to meet the last week of August but that meeting did not materialize.
  St. Michael’s Hospital and Nurses’ Residence Mitigation – The flood wall is completed, painted, and the graffiti repellent has been applied. The only remaining item is the border area around the tile work on the two entrances.
  Regrant Status – Dinnie Apartments – Work is in progress at 102-108 4th Avenue S. The shingles are up, the porch floor is sanded and ready for paint/stain and the balusters are being prepared for reconstruction. All work should be completed by the funding deadline.
  GF County Fairgrounds – O’Leary reported that Dennis Pazderic, a member of the Fair Board, is looking into replacing the iron gates that were part of the stone entry to the Fairgrounds. He has been given the sketches from our earlier discussions. Jelliff said that the Grand Forks Herald had an article or series of articles by Mike Corrigan in the 1960s about the fairgrounds; there might be pictures of the original gates.

Other Business
  Fieldstone Chapel – Iseminger asked if anyone knew who built the chapel in the Catholic cemetery at Gateway and Columbia Road. Slater thought the Sanborn Insurance maps might show the chapel and would give an approximate date.
  Grand Forks Herald – Gunderson said the paper is digitizing its old issues. They have completed the digitizing up to 1923 ; digitized material can be searched by computer.
  Babcock Hall – Leach said a 100th Birthday Party is planned for Babcock Hall on Friday, September 28, from Noon to 3 p.m.
  DOT Projects – Leach noted that the report on the proposed work at DeMers and 42nd Street indicates that ground surface testing had been conducted. She wondered what requirements are placed on a contractor if archaeological elements are discovered during the course of work. O’Leary will check into it.

Meeting adjourned. 9:00 p.m.

The next regular meeting will be at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007, room A101, City Hall.

Respectfully submitted,



Peg O’Leary
Coordinator