HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-10-12 - Minutes -CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS MEETING MINUTES Meeting of the Historic District Commission October 12, 2023 5:30 PM RM 111 City Hall NOTE: The October 12, 2023 Historic District Commission meeting was held in person and online, with commissioners attending in person and online. Staff were present in person. Members: Christine Myres — Chair, Meredith Mahan — Vice Chair, Alex Lee, Mark Harper, Joann Goodley, Tommie Flowers Davis, Julie Preddy City Staff: Sherry Griffith — Long Range & Preservation Planner, Britin Bostick - Long Range Planning & Special Projects Manager Call to Order: The chair called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM. In Attendance: Christine Myres, Meredith Mahan, Tommie Flowers Davis, Joann Goodley, Alex Lee, Britin Bostick, and Sherry Griffith. Approval of Minutes from the August 10, 2023 Meeting: Motion to approve by Commissioner Mahan, second by Commissioner Harper. Motion passed 5-0-0. Announcements: None. Unfinished Business: 1. University Heights/Haskell Heights Historic Context Statement: Bostick announced that staff and the consultants are actively collecting information from the community regarding the University Heights and Haskell Heights area. Emails have gone out and we will continue to go out to let the community know that we are doing this project and seeking information. There is a project webpage, so people know where to go to get more information and how to contact Bostick or the project manager for Stantec, Sandy Shannon. The HDC will have a draft of the historic context statement to review by late February and it will be discussed in the March meeting. Stantec will be doing a lot of deep investigatory work for this project. They will visit the University collections, the Shiloh Museum, and conduct more research when they come here at the end of the month. Staff is working on setting up a meeting with the neighborhood, and will hopefully have a date, time and location for that by the middle of next week. Staff will also be talking with the neighborhood about Phase II. HDC voted last year for the University Heights/Haskell Heights project to be completed in two phases, and Phase II is the second phase of the University Heights/Haskell Heights project. It will be one of the City's asks for the 2024 Certified Local Government Grant (CLG) and is like a preliminary registration to the National Register, called a Multiple Property Documentation Form. In this way, multiple properties are submitted like the way they Mailing Address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701 would be submitted for the National Register. Staff has identified around a dozen properties that are not already on the National Register, but Stantec will help determine if they meet the eligibility criteria. Then, staff will work with the owners to see if they would be comfortable being nominated. It does require owner consent. Staff have discussed applying for Phase II with the CLG office at AHPP. Myres asked for information regarding how to access the project webpage and if this information could also be emailed out to everyone. Bostick noted that she will put that information in the email she sends out next week about the project meeting. Bostick then went to the webpage at httl)s://www.favetteville- ar.gov/Search?searchPhrase=Historic%20Preservation%2OPromects and explained to everyone that the easiest way to get to it is to go to the City's website and type "historic preservation projects" or "University Heights" into the search bar on the top right of the screen. The title of the page is Historic Preservation Projects. At the top of the page is the current project, which is the Historic Context Statement of University Heights and Haskell Heights, with some pictures, the map of the project area, some history of the area, details of what this project entails and some information about the project schedule. Below the current project is the section for former projects. Currently this section only has a link to the Heritage and Historic Preservation Plan, but ultimately this page will be a home for links to all City preservation projects. This page will be updated as this project and other projects go forward. And, when the draft context statement is ready, it will be put on this page. There will also be a social media blast about it, to let everyone know this is where they can find the draft. 2. Historic Marker Design Discussion: Bostick presented images she had received from several marker manufactures illustrating what the respective companies can do with the marker design HDC has proposed, as well as ballpark prices for some of the renditions. The companies she presented work from were Centec Cast Metal Products (no prices), Atlas Signs & Plaques ($1,600 - $2,000), Healy Plaques ($1,208.99 with freight but without tax, and only presented option that can be mounted to a wall), American Sign Letters ($1,417 - $2,272 without tax), Paul Zimmerman Foundries ($1,800 without tax), Eagle Sign (no prices, but unique mounting options). The commissioners decided to eliminate American Sign & Plaques from consideration because this company would not be able to recess the stream/road. The primary takeaways were that the Commission would like: • The stream/road to be recessed • The stream to be a different color than the text, or a lighter shade than the text • The letters to be raised without any gradient of color • To see different texture options for the plaque as a whole and for just the stream/road • The marker to be capable of being mounted on a post • There to be a discernable edge around the marker, that the words do not pass over 0 To see a finished steel option and a bronze option Some favorites were: Both, the brown and green options from Centec (although they did not feel they were as readable as they would like, and this was especially true of the green) The black and white option from Paul Zimmerman Foundries The aluminum finish from Atlas Signs and Plaques 3. Ground Scanning of Oaks Cemetery: Bostick shared that after speaking with Dr. Lockhart from the University and with the State preservation office she no longer believes applying for a grant to scan Oaks Cemetery is a viable option for the 2024 grant cycle, although it may be possible for a series of future grant cycles. After she shared the details of how little of the cemetery can be scanned at a time, how long it takes to scan each section, the need to hire a professional to do the work and to get cost estimates for the grant. However, work should be done to consider this project for next year's grant cycle and to phase the work for other grant cycles as well. 4. Webpage Updates: The previously discussed website updates have been submitted to Communications and they should be ready to see by HDC's next meeting. New Business: 2024 CLG Grant Application: Bostick asked if the Commission would like to make a recommendation to City Council for the 2024 CLG grant application. She shared Phase II of the University Heights Haskell Heights project would include asking the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program (AHPP) for about $20,000 and asking the City to fund a match of $5,000. The second project that Bostick proposed, a historic context statement for the Spout Spring neighborhood, would also require an ask of $20,000 from AHPP and $5,000 from the City Council. Davis reported that she and Emma Willis are doing some community engagement to create a local historic district of the area and Bostick explained that if enough signatures were acquired to create a local historic district, HDC would then make a recommendation to City Council and hold a public meeting, but that is separate from the context statement project. Lee made a motion to recommend to City Council that the City apply for the 2024 CLG from AHPP for the above -mentioned projects and the second came from Harper. A roll call vote followed, and the motion passed 6-0-0. Other Business: None. Adjourned: The chair adjourned the meeting at 6:49 PM