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
November 27, 2007
7:00 p.m.
City Hall
Present: Marsha Gunderson, Chair, Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger, Ted Jelliff, Cory Lien, Gerad Paul, Dale Sickels, Dave Vorland
Others: Joe O’Neil, Office of Urban Development; Kevin Severson, RRVCA; Peg O’Leary
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.; a quorum was present.
Motion:
to approve the minutes of the Nov. 13, 2007 meeting as presented. (Paul, Jelliff)
Motion carries.
Office of Urban Development
– Joe O’Neil
4812 6th Avenue North – The building is a four-plex built in 1979, which the Housing Authority is planning to renovate and use for transitional housing. The exterior will be repaired, painted and new windows will be installed; extensive interior work will be undertaken.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the work proposed at 4812 6th Ave. N. (Sickels, Paul)
Motion carries.
Lustron House (formerly 602 Lincoln Drive) – O’Neil reported that Council approved expenditures for the reconstruction of the Lustron House. Work will begin immediately.
Red River Valley Community Action
– Kevin Severson
832 North 5th Street, built 1929 - The owners propose using a federally subsidized loan to remove eleven windows and replace with new vinyl double-hung units matching the existing in style and size; remove existing shake siding and replace with new double-four vinyl siding on both garage and house; wrap all exterior trim; install metal fascia and soffit; install ½ inch insulation under siding; install new steel gutters and downspouts; replace existing garage door with new aluminum sectional door; install egress window in the NE corner of the basement; and various interior work. Action on this item was postponed from the previous meeting to enable staff to research the history of the house. O’Leary distributed material delineating historic ownership and listing building permits that have been issued. She noted that, with the exception of a detached garage, there have been no significant changes to the house since it was built. The first owners, Axel and Hilma Ringborg, may have built the house themselves since he was a carpenter. In researching the style of the house, Slater discovered a strong similarity to houses in the Sears pattern book from 1921-1926. Flemmer said the house is uniquely original in Grand Forks. Jelliff said he could not think of another Greek Revival style house like this in the city.
Motion:
to recognize the historic significance of this house based on its material integrity and the style that is unique to Grand Forks. (Flemmer, Iseminger)
Motion carries.
Members discussed the effects of the various requested changes. It was determined that using a federally subsidized loan to change the siding and change the windows would not be permissible under the federal guidelines.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no adverse effect from implementation of items 3 -11 (replace gutters and downspouts, replace garage door, install egress window at NE corner of house, and listed interior work) provided that the egress window is as inconspicuous as possible and that the roof venting is on the rear roof.
(Jelliff, Iseminger)
Motion carries.
Severson said the owner might want to paint the house in lieu of residing.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no adverse effect resulting from appropriately scraping, repairing, and painting the existing siding and windows.
(Flemmer, Iseminger)
Motion carries.
1420 Chestnut Street, built 1946 – This house was moved to its current location as part of the historic mitigation following the 1997 flood. Surveyors for the State and for FEMA have said the house would contribute to a historic district. It may also ultimately contribute to a historic district that would reflect response to the flood in the Walnut-Chestnut Place neighborhood. Owners have applied for a federally subsidized loan to replace existing siding with vinyl siding, replace all seventeen windows with vinyl windows, install a door casing on the rear door, and complete interior work. Members questioned whether the current siding is wood or Masonite; it is wood. Since it has been determined that the house is historically significant, federal funds may not be used to remove the original siding or replace the original windows.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no adverse effect resulting from installation of a door casing on the rear door (to match the rest of the house) or from installing interior GFCI outlets. (Flemmer, Jelliff)
Motion carries.
Severson said the owners might want to repaint the house if they can’t reside.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no adverse effect resulting from appropriately scraping, repairing, and painting the existing siding and windows.
(Flemmer, Iseminger)
Motion carries.
1419 2nd Avenue North, built 1929 – The owners propose to use a federally subsidized loan to install steel siding on the garage, reshingle the house and garage, install new gutters and downspouts on the garage, and install GFCI outlets in the house.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the work proposed at 1419 2nd Ave. N. (Jelliff, Paul)
Motion carries.
O’Leary will send letters to the owners explaining why elements of their requests were denied.
Chair Report
– Marsha Gunderson
Infill Review Committee – Gunderson informed the Commission that the lone proposer for the Belmont Road lots has withdrawn his proposal. All four lots will be offered for proposals next spring. In the meantime, another committee will be established to review affordable infill proposals. It was determined that absent members should be polled about their interest in serving on this committee.
Coordinator Report
– Peg O’Leary
UND Nomination – O’Leary is setting up a meeting with fraternity representatives.
2008 Meeting Schedule – O’Leary proposed that the Commission continue to meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays each month, except June, July, August and December when they will meet only on the second Tuesday of the month. She noted that the first meeting in November will fall on Veterans Day; Commissioners decided not to meet that day but to set an alternative date should it be necessary. (The 2008 meeting schedule is attached.)
Donated Labor Forms – Members completed and signed donated labor forms for June – October, 2007.
Preservation North Dakota Conference – The 2008 PND Conference will be held at the International Peace Gardens, May 2-4, 2008.
HPC 2008 City Budget – O’Leary reported that City Council allocated the full amount of the HPC request. Since the budget included a raise for the coordinator position, a motion to verify the raise would be appropriate.
Motion:
to increase the Coordinator salary to $19 per hour plus existing benefits. (Vorland/Sickels)
Motion carries.
Motion:
to adjourn. (Sickels, Paul)
Motion carries.
Meeting adjourned. 8:30 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007, room A101, City Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Peg O’Leary
Coordinator