Committee Minutes
Grand Forks Historic Preservation Commission
1405 First Avenue North
P. O. Box 13876
Grand Forks, ND 58208-3876
701-772-8756
Minutes
February 22, 2011
6:30 p.m.
City Hall
Present: Sandy Slater – Vice-chair, Chuck Flemmer, Gordon Iseminger, Sylvia Kloster,
Cory Lien, Dale Sickels, Judy Swisher
Others: Joe O’Neil, Office of Urban Development; Kevin Severson, Mike Sullivan, Red River Valley Community Action; Doug Munski; Peg O’Leary
Minutes
Motion:
to approve the minutes of the February 8, 2010, meeting. (Swisher, Lien)
Motion carries.
Office of Urban Development
– Joe O’Neil
201 S. 4
th
Street
, built 1961 – The building is a non-contributing property in the Downtown Historic District. CDBG funds will be used for interior work only: remodel of first floor, including the addition of sleeping rooms and meeting rooms.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected from the proposed work at 201 S. 4
th
Street. (Flemmer, Swisher)
Motion carries.
Dale Sickels arrived at this time.
1600 University Avenue
, built 1956 – The building is not listed in the National Register nor is it in a historic district. CDBG funding will be used to replace an outdated and unsafe elevator inside the building. No exterior work is proposed.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected from the proposed work at 1600 University Avenue. (Flemmer, Swisher)
Motion carries.
Near North Neighborhood Sidewalks
– CDBG funding will be used to replace damaged public sidewalks in an area from N. 10
th
Street to Washington and from University Avenue to Dyke Avenue. These sidewalks have been personally inspected by O’Neil; damaged stretches and safety hazards will be addressed. Iseminger questioned whether any of the old 1’x 1’ cement pavers remain; O’Neil said there are some. These could possibly be salvaged by homeowners if the timing works out but O’Neil would not want to create time delays for the contractor or safety hazards for the neighborhood. O’Neil also noted that the contractor will work around the trees to avoid damage. All removed cement is ground up and recycled.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected from the proposed sidewalk work. (Flemmer, Lien)
Motion carries.
430 S. 5
th
Street
– O’Neil reported that a compression fitting on a shut-off water valve blew out, flooding the house from the second floor down. Rehab had been complete at the house but no one was living there so the water was not discovered until severe damage had occurred. The plumbing contractor’s insurance will pay for fixing the house.
Red River Valley Community Action
– Kevin Severson
1401 4
th
Avenue N.,
built 1913 – The house is not on the National Register and is not in a historic district. The owners propose to use a federally subsidized loan to replace the five remaining original windows with vinyl replacement windows; install new steel pre-hung doors to the front, back and kitchen entries; install new aluminum storm doors to the front and back entries; scrape, prime and paint soffits; and complete a variety of interior jobs.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected by the proposed work at 1401 4
th
Avenue N. (Lien, Kloster)
Motion carries.
Red River Valley Community Action Weatherization Program
- Mike Sullivan
110 Conklin Avenue
, built 1926 – O’Leary gave an overview of previous HPC activity regarding the use of a federal grant for window and door replacement on this house: at the Jan. 25 HPC meeting a motion of “adverse effect” passed because the house is on the National Register and its “unaltered, nearly-original exterior materials” are part of the reason for its listing. RRVCA has reworked the proposal and now would use the grant to replace windows with wood, 3:1, double-hung windows in the existing openings (two windows on the south, two on the east and two on the north) and would replace only the rear door, which is seriously damaged, with a steel replacement door. The front door, inside the porch, would be retained and weatherized. They will also do other work identified in the original request: attic insulation, wall insulation (blown in using methods that preserve the exterior siding), basement wall insulation, and general air sealing. Sullivan said the wood windows will meet the savings-to-investment ratio required for the grant. Flemmer questioned whether each project within a job has to meet the ratio or if it is based on the whole job; Sullivan said each project has to meet the ratio.
Motion:
to concur with a determination of no adverse effect resulting from this project if wood replacement windows, as described, are used, the front door is retained, and the original siding is protected. (Sickels, Flemmer)
Motion carries.
220 Walnut Street
– Pulled.
Chair Report
At Gunderson’s request, O’Leary distributed an article from Preservation Magazine about a historic home that has been appropriately retrofitted for accessibility and sustainability.
Coordinator Report
– Peg O’Leary
Kegs Nomination
– O’Leary has received feedback from the state regarding questions raised at the last meeting. The state agrees that The Kegs Drive-In should be nominated for its architecture and recommends using “programmatic architecture” as the designation. The state also agrees that pictures of the Kegs with bamboo siding should not be included in the nomination because it was not in place during the period of significance and is not on the buildings now. Hoffbeck and O’Leary will incorporate these and other relatively minor edits, and will deal with the formatting issues. An exact wording for the location of the Kegs, relative to local highways, has not yet been determined but will be addressed in this draft. O’Leary requested authorization to pay Hoffbeck the second contractual payment based upon completion of the revised draft.
Motion:
to authorize payment of $1,050 to Steve Hoffbeck in accordance with the contract. (Iseminger, Swisher)
Motion carries.
Synagogue Nomination
– O’Leary has drafted a contract with Steve Martens to nominate B’nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery to the National Register of Historic Places. She will submit it to the City Attorney for approval and also to Martens for review. It should be ready for HPC approval at the March 8 meeting.
Central High School Expansion Report
– O’Leary attended a meeting with engineers and architects for the project at JLG offices on Feb. 9. She answered questions and reiterated concerns the HPC has regarding the project. In response, JLG architect Randy Lieberg provided a memo and sketches of the interior of the theatre addition. The entrance will be shortened by two feet rather than the original five feet and they plan to use a pattern in the floor that will visually extend the height of the entrance. Lieberg also said that the addition will be a floating slab that does not require cutting into the brick face of the existing entrance. Copies of the memo and sketches were distributed.
Motion:
to adjourn. (Swisher, Flemmer)
Motion carries.
Meeting adjourned. 7:45 p.m.
The next regular meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Mar. 8, 2011, in A101, City Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Peg O’Leary
Coordinator