Committee Minutes

Grand Forks Historic Preservation Commission
1405 First Avenue North
Grand Forks, ND 58203
701-772-8756

Minutes
7:00 p.m.
May 10, 2005
City Hall

Present: Marsha Gunderson, Chair, Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger, Ted Jelliff,
Ken Polovitz, Dale Sickels, Sandy Slater
Others: Pete Haga, Assistant to the Mayor; Doug Munski, UND Geography Dept.;
Peg O’Leary

Motion: to approve the minutes of the April 26, 2005, meeting as presented. (Slater, Flemmer)
Motion carries.
Jelliff arrived at this time.
Guided Tours of Downtown – Pete Haga
Haga thanked the Commission for their support of the idea of historic tours during the Farmers’ Markets this summer and discussion of the logistics ensued. Iseminger said the History Dept. has agreed to give academic credit for guides. Munski suggested he would have some interested students and that an Arts and Sciences number could be used giving more latitude in credits allowed. Munski said there has been an increased interest in service learning activities such as this. Haga said the goal is not only to provide activity for people downtown for the markets but to draw people downtown for the tour itself. The following points were developed as a working basis for the tours:
  the City Info Booth will be the starting/ending point for the tours and will provide resources
  the tentative route would be from Town Square south to Kittson, west to 4th St., north to 2nd Ave. N., east to 3rd St, and back to Town Square
  guides must be scripted, to be sure information is accurate and consistent
  tour needs to be scripted for about 45 minutes and assume there will be questions that will extend the time to an hour or so
  need to run about four tours each Saturday from mid-June to mid-August (possibly 9:30am, 10am, 11am, and 11:30am)
  at least two guides will be needed each Saturday (ideally four, to allow for two guides on each group)
  the Downtown Grand Cities brochure will be given to folks on the tour and the map developed by Ted and Tom Jelliff, showing what businesses were in various buildings in the 50s and the 70s, could also be available
  at least two rehearsal/learning events should be scheduled prior to starting the public tours on June 18
  guides should be identifiable (period clothes or city logo hat/shirt)
  guides should read Grand Forks: A Pictorial History by D. Jerome Tweton prior to running tours and be given a lecture on Grand Forks history
  promotion of the tours will begin as soon as guides are secured and will be handled primarily by Haga and the GF Info Center
  Iseminger will be the primary campus contact for students; Haga will be the city liaison
There were general concerns about attracting students to guide (cost of tuition, commitment to weekends in Grand Forks, how to let them know about the opportunity).
Polovitz left at this time.
Munski and Iseminger both thought students would be attracted to the project; O’Leary noted that Melinda Leach had said she has an interested student. Jelliff, Iseminger, and Munski agreed to serve on a tour subcommittee chaired by Haga. Flemmer noted the need for a backup plan if student guides don’t materialize. Members agreed to allow the commission name to be used in marketing the tours.

Chair Report – Marsha Gunderson
  Preservation North Dakota Conference – Gunderson attended the Saturday sessions and found them very enjoyable and pertinent to the downtown development that Grand Forks is currently experiencing.
  Downtown Housing Task Force – The task force spent two days reviewing the seven proposals the city received for housing in the downtown. Each proposal was evaluated using weighted criteria; proposals were not compared to each other in the process. Council has referred the ranked proposals to Finance subcommittee.

Coordinator Report – Peg O’Leary
  Riverside Survey – The contractor has found an insurer in Fargo who will provide the city-required insurance for a reasonable cost. This being the last barrier to a contract, the contract should be issued by Friday, May 13.
  Downtown Nomination – O’Leary met Ann Emmons in Bismarck for the presentation to the State Review Board. The Board had only a few questions regarding boundary decisions and unanimously referred the nomination to the Keeper.
  812 Almonte – The owner has referred his ‘freedom of information’ request to the State Attorney General, saying that he has not received all the pertinent information from the city. O’Leary met with the owners and provided all the information the Commission has on April 1, 2005. The AG’s office will contact the City Attorney and they will decide the next step.
  County Fairgrounds – Sickels brought pictures of the stone gates at the County Fairgrounds. These gates were part of the WPA project that built the old fairgrounds building. O’Leary had contacted County Commissioner Connie Triplett to ask whether the gates are jeopardized by the construction of the new correctional facility and Triplett responded that the construction project is on the far east edge of the property and the gates should not be jeopardized in any way. Sickels suggested that, aside from the new building, traffic and time could be adversely affecting the structure and he wondered if the county has taken any measures to assess its stability and plan for its preservation.
  HPC Library – O’Leary distributed an inventory list of the books and pamphlets available in the Commission office.
  PND Membership Renewed – O’Leary has paid the $50 annual membership fee for the Commission to belong to Preservation North Dakota.
  Jacks Roller Rink – O’Leary distributed notes she had made after a conversation with the owner of Dakota TV and Appliance about the early days of his business and of the building at 224 N. 4th St.
  Preserve Minnesota – will be holding its annual meeting in Duluth, Sept. 15-16, 2005. Donovan Rypkema will be a keynote speaker. Several members expressed an interest in attending.
  JLG Architects – have opened an office in Fargo in addition to their Grand Forks and Minneapolis offices.

Other Business
  Slater noted that her son has just completed his MBA and an MA in City Planning from the University of North Carolina and has accepted an offer to project manage the reconstruction and rehabilitation of an historic building in Durham, NC. The building is part of the larger American Tobacco Historic District.

Motion: to adjourn. (Sickels, Jelliff)
Motion carries. Meeting adjourned. 9:00 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 24, in room A101, City Hall.

Respectfully submitted,



Peg O’Leary
Coordinator