Everett Historical Commission

Everett Historical Commission Meeting Summary Jan 26, 2021 Commissioners Staff Guests Steve Fox, Chair Karen Stewart Seth Terry Amelia Hieb Dalton Arndt Andrea Tucker Stuart Kleiger Glenn Hunter Tom Neubauer Laura Cameron-Behee Paula Rhyne Patrick Hall Jean Satti Thomas Feeney Eva Parker Arnold Morrison (late) Neil Anderson (absence excused) Aria Jayne (absence excused) Dave Ramstad (absence excused) Liz Vogeli (Council Liaison) The virtual meeting convened at 6:30 pm with Chair Fox beginning the meeting with a roll call of Commissioners and introduction of staff and guests. Congratulations to Commissioner Hall for his appointment to a six-year term as a commissioner. Staff noted that the agenda should be amended to add a time for citizen comments for items not on the agenda. Chair Fox suggested that agenda item 3 to consider nominations for chair and vice chair be moved to later in the agenda and the commissioners agreed to do so. Citizen Comments (for items not on tonight’s agenda) Chair Fox asked if there was a member of the public with comments or questions for items not on the agenda. No one spoke up with any comments. Approval of Prior Meeting Summary The meeting summary for the prior Historical Commission meeting held on Oct. 27, 2020 was reviewed with one spelling correction noted by Commissioner Hall. A motion to approve the meeting summary, as corrected, was made by Commissioner Hunter, seconded by Commissioner Tucker and approved unanimously. Design Review of Proposed Rucker Mixed Use-Bldgs. A & C The applicant team made a presentation, staff reviewed their staff report and provided public comments to the Commission that were received prior to the meeting, members of the public made comments and asked questions. Commissioners also asked questions. The applicant team responded to the questions/comments. It was noted that the proposed Building B fronting Rucker Avenue was not within the historic overlay zone so was not subject to tonight’s meeting. Detailed findings were not prepared since the Commission’s design review was not concluded at this meeting. [Please note that the proceedings were recorded and are available by request rather than paraphrased in this meeting summary.] 1 A motion was made by Commissioner Hieb and seconded by Commissioner Tucker to not make a recommendation on the building’s design at this time and encourage the applicant to attend the upcoming Port Gardner neighborhood meeting on February 11, discuss the proposal with interested members of the public, and attempt to work out any revisions to the building design. The Historical Commission would consider any changes that may come out of the neighborhood meeting and then conclude their design review at their Feb. 23 meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Fire Station No. 2 Firefighter Monument Staff presented a photo of the proposed bronze monument that will be funded by the Everett Firefighters Association’s foundation. It will be installed outside just to the south of the garages at Fire Station No. 2, 2801 Oakes Avenue. Commissioner Hunter noted that the historic fire station has recently been renovated with historically correct new doors and windows. Staff explained they had worked with the renovation team and that a downstairs bathroom was also modified to be ADA compliant. Subcommittee Status Report Commissioner Hieb reported the subcommittee met three times to brainstorm on an overall mission statement and approaches to refreshed community-facing messaging. Discussions included suggestions to collaborate with other local groups, update and expand educational brochures, update and make the website for the Historical Commission more robust. A potential action item would be to update the Hands On! booklet as a guide to building renovators. Commissioner Hieb suggested that the Historical Commission write a forward in the publication describing their role and service as a resource to the community as an aspect of the update. Discussion ensued about whether the subcommittee should prepare a draft for the commission. No consensus was reached. Nominations and Selection of Chair and Vice Chair for 2021 After some discussion, Chair Fox and Vice Chair Hieb were thanked for their service this past year and agreed to be nominated to serve again for 2021. Commissioner Hall made a motion to accept their nominations which was seconded by Commissioner Morrison and approved unanimously. Commissioner and Staff Comments Commissioner Hunter noted that the former Virginia Market in the Riverside neighborhood located at 23rd and Virginia was being demolished following a fire. The former store had been vacant for some time. He asked if a store would be allowed to rebuild in the residential neighborhood. Staff didn’t think that was allowed with the existing residential zoning. Councilmember Vogeli offered to bring this up at the next Council meeting. It was generally agreed that a neighborhood grocery in residential areas was a nice amenity to promote walking/biking in the neighborhood. Commissioner Hall mentioned that he had worked with Paul Popelka to prepare and submit to DAHP a nomination to the National Register for the Longfellow Elementary School. He also noted that Kim Gant from DAHP will provide training on conducting design reviews at the March 23 meeting. Commissioner Cameron-Behee said her renovated 1910 kitchen will be featured in an upcoming book. A motion to adjourn at 8:35 p.m. was made by Commissioner Cameron-Behee and seconded by Commissioner Hall, with unanimous agreement. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 6:30 pm and will continue to be conducted virtually. 2