Committee Minutes
Grand Forks Historic Preservation Commission
1405 First Avenue North
P. O. Box 13876
Grand Forks, ND 58208-3876
701-772-8756
Minutes
(as corrected)
January 26, 2010
6:30 p.m.
City Hall
Present: Marsha Gunderson, Chair, Sharon Bures, Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger,
Cory Lien, Dale Sickels, Sandy Slater, Judy Swisher
Others: Joe O’Neil, Office of Urban Development (OUD); Kevin Severson, Chris Loveless, Red River Valley Community Action (RRVCA); Peg O’Leary
Motion:
to approve the minutes of the January 12, 2010 meeting as presented. (Slater, Bures)
Motion carries.
Office of Urban Development
– Joe O’Neil
732 N. 4
th
St., built 1894 – OUD has used federal stimulus funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to purchase this home. The plan is to demolish the house and replace it with a new house which fits the neighborhood and which can be sold to an LMI qualifying family. The existing house was surveyed in 1981 and was found to be not individually eligible and not contributing to a historic district, should one come into being. O’Neil said that basement wall is caving in on the north side. The proposed construction is 1300-1400 sq.ft., two bedroom, two bath, with two egress windows and plumbing roughed in in the basement. Flemmer serves on the In-fill Review Committee and said the new construction is bigger with more options for the new owner. It’s a good fit in the neighborhood, being a two-story front-gable with a wrap-around porch.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the proposed demolition of the house at 732 N. 4
th
St. (Swisher, Sickels)
Motion carries.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the proposed construction at 732 N. 4
th
St. (Slater, Swisher)
Motion carries.
Gordon Iseminger arrived at this time.
816 N. 4
th
St., built 1900 – OUD has used federal stimulus funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to purchase this home. The plan is to demolish the house and replace it with a new house which fits the neighborhood and which can be sold to an LMI qualifying family. The existing house was surveyed in 1981 and in 1997; both surveyors concluded that the house is neither eligible for the National Register nor would it contribute to an historic district. O’Neil said the foundation is failing throughout, the roofline is sagging, and the floor joists are rotting. The new construction is 1,330 sq.ft. with three bedrooms, two baths and a full roughed-in basement.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the proposed demolition of the house at 816 N. 4
th
St. (Sickels, Swisher)
Motion carries.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the proposed construction at 816 N. 4
th
St. (Lien, Slater)
Motion carries.
606 Reeves Drive, built 1906 – OUD has used federal stimulus funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to purchase this home. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing element of the Near Southside Historic District. The plan is to rehab the house as needed and resell at approximately 95% of assessed value. O’Neil will contract for removal of the steel siding and repair and repainting of the original siding, which is extant beneath the steel siding. A rear, second floor apartment entrance and stairs will be removed and a motion sensor light on the front of the house will be replaced with an appropriate fixture. Members questioned what would happen if the original siding is found to be beyond repair; O’Neil would bring the issue back to HPC before taking other action.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no adverse effect resulting from the proposed work at 606 Reeves Drive. (Bures, Swisher)
Motion carries.
722 University Avenue, built 1904 – OUD
has used federal stimulus funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to purchase this home. A survey in 1981 determined that the house had no nomination potential. The plan is to rehab the house as needed and resell at approximately 95% of assessed value. OUD will contract to close off the side apartment entrance and reside, remove a plywood lean-to on the rear and remove part of a fence to allow room for a driveway. It was noted that all of these homes will have covenants requiring them to be owner occupied, single-family dwellings and stipulating that the new owner remain in possession of the property for at least five years.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected from the proposed work at 722 University Avenue. (Bures, Sickels)
Motion carries.
908 S. 12
th
Street, built 1963 – OUD
has used federal stimulus funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to purchase this home. They propose minor interior work only. The house has not been surveyed but is not yet 50 years old and has no National Register significance.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected from the proposed work at 908 S. 12
th
Street. (Sickels, Slater)
Motion carries.
Red River Valley Community Action
– Kevin Severson, Chris Loveless
Ryan House, 23 N. 3
rd
Street, built 1927 – RRVCA plans to use federal stimulus funding to implement weatherization measures including replacement of historic metal-framed, chicken-wire glass windows on the south (overlooking other buildings) and west (alley) facades. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Ryan Hotel and is a contributing element of the Downtown Grand Forks Historic District. Windows on the street facades (north and east) were replaced in 1997 with new metal windows. Loveless said the windows they want to replace have an R-value of .85; the new windows will have an R-value of 3.2 and are specially designed to withstand wind load on high-rise buildings. They propose a window with a vinyl exterior that is guaranteed for 50 years. The color and style would match the 1997 windows on the other facades. The interior finish can be selected by the building owner. The replaced windows cannot be recycled as they will be badly damaged during removal. The surrounding brickwork will not be damaged by the window removal or replacement. The new windows will fit the existing window openings and maintain the same exterior profile as the existing historic windows.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no adverse effect provided that the new windows are the same size and same profile as the historic windows and the color of the 1997 windows is matched. (Sickels, Slater)
Motion carries.
Chair Report
– Marsha Gunderson
Downtown Design and Review Board – The DDRB hosted a meeting at which downtown owners/operators formed a joint committee to review issues, such as window signage, that affect downtown. The meeting was well attended.
Coordinator Report
– Peg O’Leary
Cemetery WPA Nomination – Comments from the state architectural historian echoed HPC concerns that the subject of the nomination is still somewhat unclear. It is felt that it must be very clear that we are nominating the WPA structures only and that the cemeteries are simply the backdrop for the structures. The contractor has been asked to make revisions accordingly. We would hope to hold the Public Hearing on this nomination at the first meeting in March and submit the nomination for review by the State Review Board at its April meeting.
UND Nomination – The University of North Dakota Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Jan. 13, 2010, in recognition of its contribution to the cultural heritage of North Dakota. O’Leary will look into the possibility of a plaque for the District.
FY10 CLG Budget – Several projects were discussed including possible nomination of The Kegs, the Williams Brothers Pipeline Building and the Lustron House. It was noted that we need to add funding for hosting the Statewide Annual CLG Meeting in September and we should request funding for a Riverside Historic District brochure since the Downtown brochure will be completed this spring. Members discussed the development of a long range preservation plan for Grand Forks, especially a plan that would work in conjunction with “green” goals. O’Leary was directed to look into costs for a consultant to coordinate development of such a plan.
Other Business
Masonic Temple – Lien said one of the large painted stage backdrops had sustained serious damage when the drops were being raised and lowered for photographic documentation. They have contacted a conservator in Minneapolis who provided extensive emergency information and would be available to work on the drop. The Temple will probably pursue grants to assist with conservation work on the damaged drop, to assess the status of the whole body of painted scenery and to assist with funding any recommended preservation activities.
CLG Conference Speaker – Iseminger said he heard a local businessman, David Britton, give an excellent presentation on grain elevators. Britton was suggested as a possible speaker at the CLG conference.
Motion:
to adjourn. (Flemmer, Sickels)
Motion carries.
Meeting adjourned. 8:30 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, in A101 City Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Peg O’Leary
Coordinator