Committee Minutes
Grand Forks Historic Preservation Commission
1405 First Avenue North
Grand Forks, ND 58203
701-772-8756
7:00 p.m.
March 23, 2004
Grand Forks City Hall
Present: Marsha Gunderson (Chair), Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger,Melinda Leach, Randy Lee,Rolf Ottum, Ken Polovitz,Dale Sickels, Sandy Slater
Others: Cindy Voigt, Asst. City Engineer; Peg O’Leary
Motion:
to approve the minutes of March 9, 2004, changing the first sentence under the Coordinator’s Campbell House Update to read, “The petition to keep the house on the National Register is completed and approved by the architectural historian at the State Historical Society.” (Slater, Ottum)
Motion carries
unanimously.
Sorlie Bridge Lighting Proposal
– Cindy Voigt
Voigt noted that a proposal to add lighting to the Sorlie Bridge started with the Downtown Leadership Group. There is a perception that the bridge does not feel safe to pedestrians; DLG developed a plan to light the walkways and add some aesthetic lighting to the structure, as well as an unobtrusive fence between traffic and the sidewalks. The plan was not immediately funded but now that the World Juniors will be here in December, Council is interested in revisiting the lighting of the bridge. Widseth Smith Nolting estimates were reviewed and Voigt considered them to be too low; she arrived at an estimate of about $230,000 and considered that to be at the high end of the possible cost. Council asked her to look at alternatives and she researched other types of lighting and found that it would be possible to outline the bridge with fiber-optic cable at an estimated cost of about $100,000. Fiber-optics are described as solid, high-intensity light – they look like neon only brighter, and they are seamless. Leach commented that they have a very modern, high-tech look. Sickels said he has read of problems with longevity for the product. Flemmer asked whether this would address the safety issues; Voigt said it does not, she said she thought safety would be best addressed with crossings and with widening of the walkways, which is structurally very expensive and would also require approval from the various SHPOs and DOTs. Polovitz asked if the WSN proposal was approved earlier; Voigt said it was not. O’Leary said the DLG meetings included NDSHPO and NDDOT representatives and herself; the meetings focused on what would not be approved and what likely might be approved. Without funding, the formal approval process was not begun. Changes to the bridge require approval from both ND and MN State Historic Preservation Officers and from both ND and MN Departments of Transportation. Voigt said another recommendation, from Council, was to point floodlights at the bridge; this raises questions of safety and also would throw light indiscriminately into the night sky. O’Leary said the NDSHPO architectural historian at the time of the 2002 review, Rolene Schliesman, said that pedestrian safety was the concern that merited consideration. She did not think that lighting the bridge just for the sake of drawing attention to it would be approved. Slater asked what the problem was with the WSN design; there was no problem with the final design. Polovitz said we seem to be reinventing the wheel; the City needs to fund the project the way it needs to be done or forget it.
Motion:
If lighting the Sorlie Bridge is necessary, the WSN redesign is more appropriate for pedestrian safety concerns and historic preservation standards and is still the preferred option. (Polovitz, Slater)
Motion carries.
During general discussion it was noted that it is very unlikely that either of the other two options could be approved under the Secretary of Interior Standards.
Chair Report
– Marsha Gunderson
§ Annual CLG Meeting – Commissioners will be receiving a program in the mail with registration materials. O’Leary will submit a group registration for our HPC; members were asked not to register separately unless they are registering for the PND portion of the meeting, which requires a fee.
§ DDRB Update – DDRB hasn’t met since the last HPC meeting.
§ UND Carnegie Library – Gunderson said a notice appeared in the Herald requesting professional services for mechanical services and window replacement for the Carnegie Library. Discussions with Mary Kate Ryan, SHSND architectural historian, indicate that this is preliminary and that plans for actual work will come before the UND Historic Preservation Committee. Members from GFHPC are Sandy Slater and Randy Lee. Iseminger suggested that GFHPC should be involved earlier, rather than seeing the notice in the paper. O’Leary will write a letter to Rick Tonder requesting notification of pending activity.
§ EAPC Historic Building Plans –Myron Denbrook has indicated that the collection of old building plans from Wells Denbrook (now EAPC) have to be relocated. Slater said she has seen the plans and would like to locate them at Special Collections but storage units for the collection cost about $10,000. She doesn’t have that in her budget and the EAPC Board of Directors voted not to participate in funding for the archiving of their materials. She is still looking for funding sources. Several archival locations were discussed but members agreed that they would rather have the collection stay in town and, preferably, at UND where so many of the mid-century buildings were designed by Wells Denbrook.
Coordinator Report
– Peg O’Leary
§ Campbell House Update – O’Leary met with Leah Byzewski, County Historical Society Director, and Mike Fugazzi, Park District Head Forester, to discuss the best process for saving the historic cottonwood trees on the grounds. Fugazzi laid out a plan that has been forwarded to the Corps and will be incorporated into the work specs for the project.
§ Almonte Nursing Home Replat – City Council approved five 60’ lots for the block.
§ 112-120 N. 3rd St. Nomination – O’Leary took the black and white photos of the interior of the apartments that date to 1898. They’re in good condition and retain much of the original architectural detail.
§ SHSND Grants – The grants require match and O’Leary is trying to find matching funds from the City for the signage of the historic district. Polovitz suggested Beautification Funds.
Motion:
to adjourn. (Sickels, Leach)
Motion carries.
Meeting adjourned. 8:30 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be at 7:00pm, Tuesday, April 13, in Room A101, City Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Peg O’Leary
Coordinator