Minutes: Historic Presevation March 2008

Evansville Historic Preservation Commission
Minutes
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 7:00 P.M.
3rd Floor, City Hall

Present: Dennis Wessels, Richard Modaff, John Decker, Steve Christens, Steve Culbertson, Betsy Ahner
Also Present: Chris Eager, Mayor Sandy Decker

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by chair Richard Modaff. Motion by Dennis Wessels, second by Steve Culbertson to waive the reading of February 20, 2008 minutes and approve them as read. Motion carried.

Applications – Appearances
16 W. Main Street – Eager Fox LLC – Renovation Plans (consideration of this item was delayed until Chris Eager could be present) Chris Eager explained the plans for the building at 16 W. Main Street and showed photos of what the building looked like without the brick addition on the front. He also presented drawings showing the proposed exterior and interior designs. They would like to remove the brick to restore the front of the building and add onto the rear of the building to expand the first floor retail space and make room for two apartments on the second floor. John Decker explained the importance of staying with the plans that were approved by the HPC and coming before HPC for approval of changes that are made to the approved plans. Motion by John Decker to approve the proposed project subject to the owners building in conformity with the drawings and renderings exhibited. Any changes made to the proposed drawings and renderings must come before the HPC for pre-approval. Second by Dennis Wessels. Motion carried.

Old Business:
a. Inventory of Pavers from Main Street Project
John Decker reported that there are approximately 67 pallets left of which 10 are the red street pavers and 57 are a buff/concrete color. The value is $.60 each or approximately $11,700 for the lot. There is a list of people who have expressed interest in purchasing the bricks and the HPC was asked their thoughts on who they should be sold to and for how much. Motion by Dennis Wessels that the buff/concrete bricks be sold to City of Evansville residents first for $.90 per brick with the proceeds going towards historic lighting. The red bricks to be retained by the City for use in patching and repair of the bricks on Main Street. Second by Steve Culbertson. Motion carried.

b. Standpipe Designation
Our standpipe is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and we are responsible for its preservation.

Administrative:
a. Grove Society: John Decker reported he will be submitting the 2007 Annual Report. The Chamber of Commerce has decided it does not want to relocate to the Historic Baker Office Building but the ECP is interested. The Chamber would like to use the whole building that they are presently sharing and ECP would like to relocate by May, but that can be somewhat flexible. John has talked to Rich Schuch of Paul Davis Restoration. They have a restoration person on staff and are interested in working on the project with us. They have agreed to provide free and reduced rate work and will try to get a discount on materials. The Chamber has also promised some financial help.
b. Redevelopment Authority: Betsy Ahner reported that the RDA met with Chris Eager to discuss the building at 16 W. Main and they are supportive of the project. They are also concerned about several vacant buildings in the downtown and are discussing ways to work with the owners to find purposes for the buildings.
-John Decker reported the Eager Building is being nominated by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce for the National Trust Housing and Urban Development Secretaries’ Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation. We will hear the results in September. Only one award is given for the entire country. An application is also going to be submitted for the State Historical Society Award for Restoration that is awarded in the fall. It is the same award that the Farnsworths won for their restoration on the corner of Main Street and Madison Street.
c. Plaque programs: there is some interest in the program
d. Management of Documents: the police have done one years worth of their records and are pleased with the results.
e. Second Historic District: a Letter of Intent to file is due in September and the application is due in October for a grant for funding to do the writing of the Historic District application. It was suggested we concentrate on South First Street and hold an open forum to let people know about the project and what the designation can mean to them. John will contact Tim Heggland to get a rough idea of the cost of the two districts and designation of 8 individual properties and then we will know if we can do it all in one grant cycle or if we have to do it in two or more. He will also ask Tim for a price to do a Saturday forum and if it is better to do a district first or the individual designations.

Comments and Concerns:

Banner for light poles: Mayor Decker explained that the current banners do not fit on the new poles. The price for a custom silk-screened banner is $75 and she estimates we have 13 poles on Main Street with 1 or 2 more on Madison Street. Motion by Steve Culbertson to earmark $1,350 towards banners for the City light poles. This is to cover half the cost (one banner per pole) in the downtown area. Second by Dennis Wessels. Motion carried.

Dennis reported that he asked for more information on the cost of installing the decorative light poles in the historic district and learned that state law requires the use of underground cables. He suggested that we might be able to use some of them on East Main where underground cables are already in place. The Mayor suggested using them on Madison Street. The Office of Energy Independence would like to see more LED lights in use. Can the decorative lights be retrofitted? The LED lights are much cheaper to run and the light doesn’t scatter as much as traditional lighting.

Motion by Dennis Wessels to adjourn. Second by Steve Christens. Motion carried.


The minutes of the Evansville Historic Preservation Commission are not official until approved by the Commission.