Everett Historical Commission

Everett Historical Commission Meeting Summary July 28, 2020 Commissioners City Staff Guests Steve Fox, Chair Karen Stewart Gail Chism Arnold Morrison Eleonor and Daniel Orme-Doutre Dave Ramstad Jean S. Hewitt Glenn Hunter Ross Johnson Amelia Hieb Jack O’Donnell Laura Cameron-Behee Patrick Hall Andrea Tucker (excused) Neil Anderson (excused) Thomas Feeney (excused) The virtual meeting convened at 6:30 pm with Chair Fox beginning the meeting by role call of Commissioners and introduction of staff and guests. Staff reported the excused absences and that Commissioner Tucker may be able to join the meeting later. The meeting summary for the prior Historical Commission meeting held on February 25, 2020 was reviewed with no comments or corrections. A motion to approve the meeting summary was made by Commissioner Hall, seconded by Commissioner Cameron-Behee and approved by all Commissioners in attendance. A point of order was raised by staff to confirm that both alternate Commissioners would be eligible to vote at the meeting in place of Commissioner Anderson and Commissioner Feeney who were absent. The Chair notified Commissioner Hall and Commissioner Ramstad that they were voting members for tonight’s meeting. Citizen Comments Ms. Jean Hewitt reported on Rethink Zoning and encouraged Commissioners to review any changes to the draft code chapters relating to the role and duties of the Historical Commission. City of Everett 2021 Budget Presentation Executive Director, Lori Cummings, gave a presentation asking Commissioners to share their budget saving ideas in a survey that will be sent to them after the meeting. Lori also said she would provide the slide presentation to the Commissioners. She reported that all the City’s Boards and Commissions are having this presentation with either Lori or Mayor Franklin attending to discuss the large budget shortfall for next year. Chair Fox asked about the City-owned Culmback Building and Van Valey house. Lori reported that she and the Mayor had met with Ed and Betty Morrow’s sons to discuss early termination of the donation agreement. An agreement has not been reached. The Culmback Building is currently up for sale. 1 Nomination to Everett Register for the Killien Dutch Home in Lowell Staff introduced the nomination to add the Killien House located in the Lowell Neighborhood at 4918 S. 3rd Avenue to the Everett Register of Historic Places. The current homeowners, Eleanor and Daniel Orme-Doutre, prepared the nomination packet with excellent supporting research about prior owners complete with historic and recent photos of the on-going restoration. The public meeting was opened and individuals invited to speak. The homeowners spoke about restoration of the home. They incurred flood damage due to drainage undermining a portion of the foundation. Gail Chism talked about the beautiful restoration of the home that Daniel and Eleonor were doing and spoke in favor of the home being added to the local historic register. There were no other comments. Commissioner Hunter, seconded by Commissioner O’Donnell, made a motion to close the public hearing. The motion was approved by all. Commissioner Hieb asked about the timing of adding to the register while the restoration was still being conducted. There was discussion about the timing and general concurrence to move ahead with consideration of the nomination. Commissioner O’Donnell, seconded by Commissioner Hall, made a motion to recommend to the City Council that the home be added to the Everett Register of Historic Places. The motion was approved by all. Design Review for New ADU at 1501 Grand Avenue Staff introduced the proposal to construct a 411 SF accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at 1501 Grand Avenue behind the existing single family home that will be attached via a breezeway. A staff report evaluating the site plan and design was reviewed. Staff is recommending approval. The public meeting was opened and individuals invited to speak. There were no comments. Commissioner Hunter, seconded by Commissioner Ramstad made a motion to close the public hearing. The motion was approved by all. Commissioner Ramstad, seconded by Commissioner Hunter made a motion to approve the ADU design with a recommendation that the door on the north side and windows be in a similar style to the historic era of the existing home. It was also requested that the tree on the northeast corner of the site be saved if at all possible with the construction of the ADU. Historical Commissioner Comments The next meeting date was discussed with several Commissioners reminding staff that typically the Commission doesn’t meet in August due to summer vacations. Staff wanted to double check if there were any time sensitive items that necessitated an August meeting. Staff agreed to send a follow-up email to confirm cancellation of the August meeting tomorrow. It is anticipated that the next meeting of the Historical Commission will be Tuesday, September 22 at 6:30 pm. The meeting would still be a virtual one using MS Teams. A motion to adjourn at 8:00 p.m. was made by Commissioner Ramstad and seconded by Commissioner Hall, with unanimous agreement. 2