Everett Historical Commission

Everett Historical Commission Meeting Summary Sept 22, 2020 Commissioners City Staff Guests Steve Fox, Chair Karen Stewart Nicole Diedrich Amelia Hieb Andrea Tucker Arnold Morrison Jack O’Donnell Laura Cameron-Behee Patrick Hall Neil Anderson Thomas Feeney (excused) Dave Ramstad (excused) Glenn Hunter (absent) The virtual meeting convened at 6:30 pm with Chair Fox beginning the meeting with a role call of Commissioners and introduction of staff and guests. Staff reported the excused absences. The meeting summary for the prior Historical Commission meeting held on July 28, 2020 was reviewed with no comments or corrections. A motion to approve the meeting summary was made by Commissioner Cameron-Behee, seconded by Commissioner Tucker and approved by all Commissioners in attendance. The meeting summary for the Historical Commission meeting held on August 25, 2020 was reviewed with no comments or corrections. A motion to approve the meeting summary was made by Commissioner Hall, seconded by Commissioner Morrison and approved by all Commissioners in attendance with the exception of Commissioner Cameron-Behee who abstained because she had not attended the meeting. Citizen Comments No comments. Special Valuation review for Phase 2 Rehabilitation of Lee House (1332 Rucker Avenue) Staff gave a general description of the Special Valuation program which provides a financial incentive for property owners to rehabilitate historic buildings. In the subject application, this is an historic home that was added to the Everett Register of Historic Places in 2011. The applicants already have a prior approved special valuation tax status for Phase 1 rehab costs that will expire at the end of next year. A staff evaluation of the special valuation criteria and submitted receipts was reviewed. Receipts covering the expense of purchasing and installing a new refrigerator were disallowed as the cost of appliances is not eligible in the program. With the reduction of the requested total to $159,105.75, staff recommends approval. 1 Commissioner Hall asked about the extent of completion of the restoration with this phase of work. Staff reported that the applicant is working on a third phase of restoration of the home. There was discussion about whether “completion” of restoration work was required in order to qualify for the special valuation program. Commissioner Morrison asked staff to request photos showing the finished, interior rehabilitation work. Staff said they would make this request to the applicant and that Chair Fox could review these photos prior to signing the approval. Commissioner Hieb noted that the Historic Preservation Agreement signature identified the Chair of the Historical Commission as “Chairman”. Staff agree to modify the signature line to refer to the neutral gender “Chair”. Commissioner Tucker, seconded by Commissioner Hall, made a motion to conditionally approve the special valuation agreement for the Chair’s signature after review of more updated photos showing the completion of the rehabilitation. The Chair would have the discretion to call a special meeting of the Commission if further deliberation was needed. The motion was approved by all. Historical Commissioner Comments Commissioner Hall reported that the Downtown association/BIA was applying for the next level of the Main Street program with the application due October 1st. Preservation of our historic buildings was being given a greater emphasis. Historic Everett is working on a trains calendar led by our chair, Steve Fox, with Commissioners Anderson and O’Donnell also participating in the effort. Commissioner Hieb brought up the idea of rebranding efforts of historic preservation to strategically support economic development/redevelopment via an historic integration approach. The Commissioners discussed concern about tearing down houses to build taller buildings (i.e., Rethink Zoning) with hundreds of new, multi-story apartment buildings proposed. The Historical Commission would like to brainstorm and come up with a strategic message to integrate historic buildings as redevelopment of downtown Everett and its near vicinity occurs. This will be a discussion item at an upcoming meeting. A motion to adjourn at 7:35 p.m. was made by Commissioner Hall and seconded by Commissioner Morrison, with unanimous agreement. The next meeting will be on October 27 and will continue to be conducted virtually. 2