Committee Minutes
Grand Forks Historic Preservation Commission
1405 First Avenue North
Grand Forks, ND 58203
701-772-8756
Minutes
7:00 p.m.
January 25, 2005
City Hall
Present: Marsha Gunderson (Chair), Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger, Ted Jelliff, Melinda Leach, Randy Lee, Rolf Ottum, Sandy Slater
Others: Curt Siewert, GF Office of Urban Development; Peg O’Leary
Motion:
to approve the minutes of January 11, 2004, as prepared. (Lee, Ottum)
Motion carries.
In-fill Housing
– Curt Siewert
309 North 7th Street – This 25’ lot was initially assigned to CMI by the review committee; CMI is not pursuing plans for the lot so it has been reassigned to another proposer: Wally Rogers. Rogers proposes a 20’ wide, two-story, front gable with porch to fit in with surrounding homes. See attached drawings. Siewert noted that Rogers will need a variance to put the house on the lot. Ottum commented that the design is more appropriate than that proposed by CMI.
Motion:
to concur that no historic properties will be affected with the placement of this house on the lot at 309 N. 7th Street. (Jelliff, Slater)
Motion carries.
2005 Community Development Block Grant Projects
– Curt Siewert
1600 University Avenue, Salvation Army building (built in 1956) – Siewert said the proposal includes only interior work: replacing residential type kitchen equipment with commercial grade stainless steel.
Motion:
to concur that no historic properties will be affected by the described interior work at 1600 University Avenue. (Slater, Ottum)
Motion carries.
1805 5th Avenue North (built in 1956) – The St. Vincent de Paul organization owns the duplex at this address and is using it as transitional housing. They propose complete renovation of the exterior of the house (reshingling, metal siding, new [metal] windows and doors, and new fascia and gutters). The main floor bedroom windows would have to be enlarged to be approved for egress. The house is in original condition. It was noted that the pictures indicate the siding to be in good shape; members requested information on the condition of the material to be replaced. The
proposal was withdrawn
from consideration by Siewert. He will return after visiting with the owners.
1021 North 5th Street (garage only on site) and 1017 North 5th Street (house built in 1889) – HUD funds have been approved for Red River Valley Community Action to purchase these lots, demolish the house and garage, and build a permanent supportive housing unit across the two lots. Siewert requested concurrence with “no historic properties affected.” Members disagreed, citing the age of the house, the apparent integrity of most of the exterior materials, and the loss of most of the similarly-aged homes in the vicinity. Siewert noted that the project could go ahead if appropriate mitigation could be established for the loss of the house. There was some general discussion of what might be appropriate mitigation.
Motion:
demolition of the house at 1017 N. 5th St. would adversely affect an historic property. (Flemmer, Slater)
Motion carries.
Siewert said he will meet with RRVCA to determine if they wish to proceed with the project; if they do, he will contact the State Historic Preservation Office and begin the negotiation process for a Memorandum of Agreement. He anticipated that the City, SHPO, HPC, and RRVCA would all be parties to that MOA.
514 University Avenue – This is a rental rehab property in which the owner has failed to meet contractual deadlines. The matter has been referred to the City Attorney’s Office.
Downtown Development Project – The City has released an RFP regarding high-rise, up-scale housing for the downtown area. Potential sites include Memorial Park, the parking lot on the SE corner of N. 3rd St. and 1st Ave. N., and the parking lot on the NE corner of University and N. 4th St.
Triangle Park at Kittson and S. 5th St. – Iseminger questioned whether the City owns the property from the law offices north to Kittson. Siewert said the City does not own the property on which the Northern Hotel sat.
Chair Report
– Marsha Gunderson
Gunderson reminded members whose terms are expiring that they should contact O’Leary if they wish to be considered for reappointment.
Coordinator Report
– Peg O’Leary
CLG Grant – O’Leary reported that UND does seem to be interested in having its core campus nominated to the NRHP. Informal consultation with potential contractors indicates that there may still be time to complete such a nomination in the required time span. She will continue to work on the possibility.
NPRR Bridge Panels – The full scale proofs were on display in the meeting room. O’Leary noted that the panels are much less busy and more informative than previous iterations. Several minor editing comments will be sent to the COE, but these are essentially what the finished product will look like.
Downtown Nomination – O’Leary has been in contact with the contractor and with the SHPO; a draft is expected within a couple weeks. That draft will be reviewed locally and by the SHPO, revisions will be made as needed, and it is anticipated that a final draft will be available for the State Review Board’s spring meeting.
Donor Forms – Members present completed the forms delineating the time they donated to HPC activities between October 1 and December 31, 2004.
Sorlie Bridge – Cindy Voigt, GF Engineering Office, has said the lighting project on the Sorlie is due to be completed by Jan. 28, 2005.
Other Business
Gunderson noted that the former First National Bank building, 322 DeMers Avenue, now has a first floor tenant: Northwestern Mutual.
Meeting adjourned.
8:30 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 8, in room A101, City Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Peg O’Leary
Coordinator