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
March 25, 2008
7:00 p.m.
City Hall
Present: Marsha Gunderson, Chair, Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger, Cory Lien, Gerad Paul, Dale Sickels, Dave Vorland
Others: Joe O’Neil, Office of Urban Development; Peg O’Leary
Gunderson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.; a quorum was present.
Motion:
to approve the minutes of the Feb. 26, 2008, with corrections: change “ceiling” to “whole house” in the Lustron discussion, and change “It is Quinnell’s opinion” to “Quinnell says” in the Federal Building discussion. (Iseminger, Sickels)
Motion carries.
Affordable Housing Infill Committee
– Chuck Flemmer
The committee is comprised of Curt Kreun (Council Member), Greg Hoover (Director, OUD), Joe O’Neil (OUD), and Chuck Flemmer (HPC). Caprice Benoit also attended the first session. Flemmer said there were a lot of good proposals, which had been reviewed primarily on the architectural standards of the neighborhood and on the experience of the contractors. All the proposals were speculative and there were enough different proposers to avoid repetitious use of plans. The group met for two full afternoons, interviewed contractors, and achieved unanimous consensus on the choices. Gunderson thanked him for his service on the committee.
Affordable Infill Housing Proposals
– Joe O’Neil
The approved proposals have been taken to Council and approved by them for sale. O’Neil said two of the proposals involve HOME funds; the others are presented for informational purposes. Sale prices cannot exceed $150,000, which was established as the average amount for a family to get into a house in Grand Forks. O’Neil will be visiting each site every week, after construction begins, to assure that what has been proposed is actually what is being built.
410 N. 4th Street – An interior lot facing west, the houses around it are a mix of two-story and 1½ story homes. The plan is a front gable, two-story with basement and wrap-around porch.
418 N. 4th Street – An interior lot facing west, the houses around it are a mix of one-, 1½ and two-story homes. The plan is a one-story on slab, front gable with gable bump-outs on each side. The relatively steep roof pitch and Craftsman like appearance will help it fit in the neighborhood.
508 N. 4th Street – An interior lot facing west, surrounded by a mix of housing styles and including an apartment complex. The plan is the same as for 418 N. 4th Street.
521/523 N. 4th Street – A corner lot, 50’x 97’, replacing two houses and facing east; this is a smaller lot due to the presence of a house on the alley; surrounding houses are one- and 1½ stories. The plan is front gable, one-story plus attic.
1816 N. 4th Street – An interior lot facing west, the surrounding houses are one-story end gable or ranch style. The plan is a one-story, clipped hip roof with a full basement.
1822 N. 4th Street – An interior lot facing west, the surrounding houses are one-story end gable or ranch style. The plan is for a one-story front gable with porch and full basement. HOME funds will be used to subsidize purchase of this house.
Motion:
to concur with the determination of no historic properties affected by building this plan at 1822 N. 4th Street. (Sickels, Flemmer)
Motion carries.
1823 N. 4th Street – An interior lot facing east, the surrounding houses are one-story end gable or ranch style. The plan is for a one-story, end gable with an elevated roofed porch. Sickels noted that an open, Colonial style porch with piers doesn’t blend well with the surrounding houses; also the long dimension runs parallel to the street leaving virtually no side yard. He questioned whether the side yards would meet code. It was suggested that changing the porch to a front gable and making the porch look less like a deck would help the house fit in better. O’Neil will visit with the contractor and bring the plan back for consideration at the next HPC meeting.
901 N. 3rd Street – A corner lot facing east, surrounded by a mix of 1½ and two-story houses and commercial property. Flemmer said there were only two proposals for this lot and this seemed the better plan. Elevations for the plan were not available at the committee meeting. Gunderson noted that the plan is a split level, which is really not a good fit for the neighborhood. Flemmer said it had not been apparent that it was a split level from the material they saw at the committee meetings. O’Neil said he would visit with the proposer and bring the plan back for consideration at the next HPC meeting.
Motion:
to concur with the determination of no adverse effect from the plans proposed for 410, 418, 508, 521/523, and 1816 N. 4th Street. (Flemmer, Iseminger)
Motion carries.
Chair Report
– Marsha Gunderson
CLG Budget FY08 – The state has approved everything except the street sign project for a total allocation of $25,481.
Speaking Engagements – O’Leary is occasionally requested to speak on preservation. Currently, she charges mileage for out-of-town engagements and a nominal fee if the presentation is not part of her HPC function. She does not charge for presentations to local groups. A state-wide convention coming to Grand Forks has requested a presentation. Should we consider this as part of the HPC mission and, therefore, free or should we treat it as separate from the job and treat it as a personal speaking engagement?
Consensus:
a local presentation should be considered part of the job.
PND Membership – Professional membership fees have doubled, from $50/year to $100/year.
Motion:
to continue our membership. (Paul, Iseminger)
Motion carries.
Coordinator Report
– Peg O’Leary
UND Nomination – Michelle Dennis has been given the OK to include the fraternities and sororities in the nomination. All of the sororities and five fraternities have agreed to nomination, one fraternity voted no on inclusion, four fraternities did not respond in writing.
Lustron House – The visit to the house with Rolf Ottum went well. Ottum had several suggestions for economical ways to remedy the problems and is willing to work on the project. We have also found half of the needed bathroom fixtures through Northern Plumbing, and they will continue to try to find a sink.
Riverside Pool and Bathhouse – O’Leary reported that she had attended the presentation for the proposed remodeling.
YWCA Appeal – The National Park Service has granted the owner’s appeal and allowed federal tax credits for the proposed YWCA rehabilitation.
ACE Final Report – NPRR Bridge Mitigation – O’Leary passed around the letter from the Army Corps of Engineers detailing the completion of the interpretation panels. This was the final piece of mitigation for the loss of the Northern Pacific Railroad Bridge.
Preservation Magazine Article – O’Leary distributed an article about a North Dakota family farm that was published in the March/April 2008 edition of Preservation Magazine.
Other Business
None
Meeting adjourned.
9:00 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 8, 2008, room A101, City Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Peg O’Leary
Coordinator