Historic Preservation Commission

MINUTES HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION TOWN OF BUENA VISTA, COLORADO December 1, 2022 3:00 PM In-person Meeting held at the Buena Vista Community Center. No zoom option was made available. I. CALL TO ORDER John O’Brien called the meeting to order at 3:06 pm. II. ROLL CALL Jo Reese, John O’Brien, Dan Courtright, Katy Welter, Nancy Locke, and Suzy Kelly attended the meeting in person. III. AGENDA ADOPTION Katy requested to add the HPC budget to Agenda. Vic moved and Dan seconded the motion to approve the agenda as amended. The motion carried unanimously. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – November 3, 2022 Melanie had previously identified a typo in item “G.” Suzy moved and Jo seconded the motion to approve the minutes as corrected. The motion carried unanimously. V. PUBLIC COMMENT There was none. VI. BUSINESS ITEMS A. National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Chaffee County Courthouse John explained that the purpose of the nomination is to expand the boundary to clearly include the Chaffee County Courthouse, Jail, McGinnis Gym, and County Maintenance Garage. The HPC discussed the nomination and will recommend to Joseph that the HPC and Town support the nomination. An official vote was not taken due to the fact that Suzy Kelly, Vic Kuklin, Melanie Roth and Nancy Locke serve on BV Heritage’s Board, and BV Heritage owns the Courthouse; also, Katy Welter and John O’Brien serve on Watershed Inc’s Board, and Watershed Inc. owns the Gymnasium. B. ADG update Katy lead a review of the comments from the Town attorneys, and the HPC agreed to suggest several additional changes, which will be incorporated into chapter 19 C. 206 W Sterling Ave. The owner of 206 W Sterling, Susan Stewart, along with her daughter, Mary McClurg, attended the meeting to ask questions about what kinds of alterations might be allowed, and what kinds of incentives are available. This Agenda may be Amended Posted at Buena Vista Town Hall and www.buenavistaco.gov  C. McGinnis Gym update Katy shared that the Gym design work is nearly complete, that the project was awarded $250,000 from the State Historical Fund today, and that Watershed Inc. applied for an EPA Brownfields grant last month to cover the costs of hazardous materials remediation and replacement of the roof. D. San Luis Valley conference discussion Jo and Nancy gave an update on the conference. Among other things, she was surprised to learn about the history of slavery in the valley. Jo and Nancy really enjoyed meeting many of the experts and public employees. Jo had several suggestions for HPC to consider: • She would like to come up with cool topics of human interest that Colorado PBS might want to cover to create a documentary about. • She would like to consider hosting a Saving Places Conference in our valley. • She would like to create a historical wall calendar. • She would to create more oral histories and share them with BV Heritage and the BV Library. HPC agreed to put these items on the agenda for our first planning meeting in 2023. E. Commissioner nominations and election for 2023 The next meeting will be held the first week of February. John, Katy, and Jo will work on materials for the HPC. F. Saving Places scholarship application and HPC 2022 Budget John will complete the February 2023 Saving Places scholarship applications by December 9, and will ask Joseph if we can use the remaining balance of our budget to offset costs for commissioners to attend the conference. G. Updates from related organizations and general discussion BV Heritage is hosting Christmas Opening on Saturday, December 3. The Town parade is at 5:30 and the annual meeting/Christmas party from 3 to 5 pm. The caboose interior has also been painted thanks to a generous donation. VII. STAFF UPDATES No staff updates. VIII. ADJOURNMENT John adjourned the meeting at 4:55 pm. John O’Brien HPC Chair This Agenda may be Amended Posted at Buena Vista Town Hall and www.buenavistaco.gov