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

Meeting Minutes
May 23, 2006
7:00 p.m.
City Hall

Present: Marsha Gunderson, Chair, Chuck Flemmer, Ted Jelliff, Melinda Leach, Cory Lien,
Gerad Paul, Dale Sickels, Sandy Slater
Others: Sharon Bures, Tom Bures, Kevin Severson, Curt Siewert, Peg O’Leary

Motion: to approve the minutes of the May 9, 2006 meeting as presented. (Paul, Flemmer)
Motion carries.

Red River Valley Community Action – Kevin Severson
  518 8th Ave. N., built in 1912 – Following initial discussions of this project on May 9, Severson presented a site plan and elevation drawing for the proposed addition. Members expressed appreciation for the new material. Discussion focused on the addition, which would replace part of an existing (though not original) porch.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected. (Sickels, Lien)
Discussion: It was noted that the addition can’t be seen from the street at all.
Motion carries.
  101 N. 11th Street, built in 1898 – The project includes replacing 13 windows with vinyl windows and painting the steel siding on the house; installing a new garage door and adding electrical service to the garage. An architectural survey of the house, in 1989, states that the house has metal siding and is on a new, raised foundation. Paul questioned whether the windows would maintain the proportions of the originals; Severson said yes, and that they would try to make them as similar as possible to the existing windows. Severson said the owner requested vinyl windows but would agree to wood if the Commission requires it. General discussion ensued regarding the style of the existing windows and whether they are original. Leach noted that the addition appears to have significantly compromised the integrity of the house. Slater suggested requesting wood windows in the main house and allowing vinyl in the addition.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no historic properties affected but stipulating that wood, double-hung windows are preferred and that the front window if divided, as it appears to be in the pictures, should be replicated. (Flemmer, Leach)
Motion to amend: to include in the motion that the bay windows be replaced with three 2 over 1 double-hungs. (Slater)
Amendment accepted by Flemmer and Leach.
Motion as amended carries.
Jelliff arrived at this time.
  515 23rd Ave. S., built in 1957 – Proposed exterior work includes roofing repair, landscaping, fencing, driveway replacement, rear door replacement, and rear deck construction. It was determined that the house has been resided in steel. The door to be replaced appears to be the original front door, rehung in the rear when a new front door was installed. Slater questioned whether the deck would be attached to the house; Severson said he thought so since that would give it more stability.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no adverse effect for the proposed work at 515 23rd Avenue South. (Flemmer, Slater)
Discussion: Flemmer noted that, even though the door is now on the back of the house, it’s very appropriate to the house and it would be nice if the owner kept it .
Motion carries.
  1006 19th Ave. S., built in 1957 – Owner proposes to replace a gravel driveway with a cement driveway.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no adverse effect for the proposed work at 1006 19th Avenue South. (Jelliff, Slater)
Motion carries.

28 Conklin Avenue – Sharon and Tom Bures
Gunderson provided background: this house was moved from 1502 Lewis Boulevard as part of the historic mitigation for the dike work in Riverside and a historic covenant was placed on the house when the city sold it. The owners are requesting approval, under the terms of the covenant, for exterior work on the house. Pictures of the property were distributed and Sharon Bures said they propose to install gutters and downspouts, and replace the existing, non-original storm doors. She displayed a sample of the gutter/downspout material and a picture of the proposed storm/screen door. Color, in each case, would match the existing cream color of the trim. Some of the original bead board soffit will be repaired with like material. Tom Bures noted that the gas line to the attic fireplace was not reconnected after the house was moved; they would like to run a gas line up the back of the house in a spot where the downspout will mask its existence.
Motion: to approve the proposed work at 28 Conklin Avenue. (Jelliff, Sickels)
Motion carries.

Grand Forks City Hall – Curt Siewert, Urban Development
The city procured a grant from the State Historical Society of North Dakota to continue rehabilitation work on the historic front façade of City Hall (on 2nd Avenue North). Two years ago, the entrance was reconstructed from historic photos. The current grant will fund the replacement of the glass block windows at ground level with double-hung windows also in keeping with the historic photograph. The Commission provided a letter of support for the project when it was proposed.
Motion: to concur with a determination of no adverse effect resulting from the proposed work on the National Register listed Grand Forks City Hall. (Sickels, Jelliff)
Motion carries.

Community Development Block Grant Proposal – Curt Siewert
  3302 Gateway Drive, built in 1950 – The proposal is to demolish two buildings at this address.
Motion: to take this item from the table. (Flemmer, Leach)
Motion carries.
Siewert provided pictures of the two buildings to be demolished: a metal building that’s a composite of two or more earlier structures and a house. The house is unoccupied. The work is part of a program to help clean up Gateway Drive; CDBG funds are used for the first $10,000 of cost and are provided as a 1:1 match for the next $15,000 of cost on a project. Siewert said the buildings are in poor condition. He is conducting an Environmental Assessment on the project.
Motion: to concur with the determination that no historic properties are affected by this project. (Slater, Sickels)
Motion carries.

Chair Report – Marsha Gunderson
  Preservation Month – May is Preservation Month and HPC usually awards the Griggs Award at this time, although not every year. Gunderson asked that members call or email her or O’Leary if they have suggestions for the Griggs. O’Leary will prepare a list of previous awardees to send out with the minutes.
  Lonnie Laffen – Laffen filmed an interview about historic preservation for airing on PPTV’s Prairie Pulse, on June 2, 2006.
  1614 Lewis Boulevard – Gunderson authorized O’Leary to write a letter to the Grand Forks Inspections Office requesting that the owner not be required to put railings on the stoop of this house because of the historic nature of the property. The letter was read and is attached. Members concurred with the action.
  Near Southside Historic District Brochure – The brochure is nearly ready for the printer. Gunderson asked the members for final input regarding content, property inclusion, etc.
  Los Angeles Times Story – Gunderson read a portion of a news story regarding the effectiveness of the dikes in place around New Orleans.

Coordinator Report – Peg O’Leary
  Riverside Nomination – Work has begun.
  Granitoid Street Repair – No new information. Engineering has not scheduled a meeting to discuss the issue.
  Riverside Pool – O’Leary visited with Bill Palmiscno, Park District Superintendent of Recreation, about the future of Riverside Pool. Palmiscno said that if the pool is retired and if the Park District is in charge of the retirement, the Park Board has said it would revert to the 2003 Mitigation Agreement. Stipulations of that agreement saved the bathhouse intact and converted the pool to a sand-filled volleyball court.
  St. Michael’s Hospital Chimney, Lewis Boulevard – O’Leary visited with Terry Hanson, Director of the GF Housing Authority, regarding the status of the broken chimney. Hanson indicated that the chimney will be repaired when the Corps is done with the flood wall.
  Donor Reports – Members were asked to complete and sign donor reports for December 2005 through February 2006.
  HPC Appointments – Pending appointments appeared on the GF Committee of the Whole agenda on Monday, May 22. The Mayor proposes to appoint all of the currently serving members and to appoint Dave Vorland to fill the seat vacated by Ken Polovitz. Council members passed over the item with no discussion. Appointments will come up for a final vote at the June 5 Council meeting.
  GF County Fairgrounds Beautification Project – While we have not received formal notice, O’Leary reported that City Council deleted this project from the budget. O’Leary will contact the subcommittee with this information and discuss whether they want to pursue some form of the project with the County Commission.
  Mid-century Properties – The SHPO has supported HPC’s efforts to keep mid-century properties from being refaced but has requested that we provide them with site form surveys on the properties we review. O’Leary will begin this procedure, starting with the two properties evaluated on May 9, 2006.
  608 18th Ave. S. – Discussions with Jack Dekker and Bev Collings indicate that Inspections will not provide a variance for the small windows.
  Alliance Review Article – O’Leary handed out copies of an article on New Orleans’ recovery for the members to read.
  It’s a Sprawl World After All – This book, by Douglas E. Morris, has been acquired for the HPC library.
  GF INFO Center Video – An INFO Center intern, Suzanne Schmidt, will be working on a video to highlight historic Grand Forks. The video will focus on downtown and is to be aired on Channel 2. Schmidt may contact some HCP members for input. Jelliff said he has already visited with her.
  Office Scanner – The new scanner is up and running, but it won’t win any races. It does a nice job with slides and negatives but is much too slow for daily work. O’Leary will request that we be allowed to keep both scanners instead of returning the old one for use at the state.
  Buxton Bank – Brochures detailing the preservation efforts at the Buxton Bank were distributed. The project is highly commendable.

Other Business
  Policy Session – Gunderson suggested that the time has come for the Commission to review the status of the mid-century homes in Grand Forks. It has been apparent in just the last two weeks that these homes will be the subject of many upcoming remodels. The Commission decided to hold an additional meeting, on June 27, to look at policy regarding this generation of housing and to establish some basic guidelines for reviewing these projects. Members will receive a list of neighborhoods that have concentrations of mid-century housing so they may tour these neighborhoods before the policy meeting.
  Masonic Center – Lien mentioned that he is on the building committee for the Center and wondered what information he might pass on to them regarding funding and/or restrictions on projects. General discussion ensued regarding grant availability and restrictions.

Motion: to adjourn. (Sickels, Flemmer)
Motion carries. Meeting adjourned. 8:45 p.m.
The next meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 13, 2006, in room A101, City Hall.

Respectfully submitted,



Peg O’Leary
Coordinator