Heritage Preservation Commission Meetings and Work Sessions

City of Excelsior Hennepin County, Minnesota Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission Work Session Wednesday, September 25, 2019 1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Macpherson called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. Commissioners Present: Bolles, Brabec, Caron, Chair Macpherson Commissioners Absent: Finch, Reece, Salita Also Absent: City Planner Becker 2. AGENDA APPROVAL Commissioner Caron moved, Commissioner Brabec seconded, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 4/0. 3. DISCUSSION ITEMS a) Review of Draft of National Register Downtown Eligibility Study Rachel Peterson of Hess, Roise and Company presented a draft eligibility report. She stated that Excelsior does have a National Register-eligible district in the downtown area under Criterion A. The Period of Significance is 1858-1965. Her report recommends a revised district boundary for the National Register District, which would capture two additional resources. The district is commercial in nature and therefore excludes a number of non-commercial structures that are within the local district. The Commission asked questions about the recommended boundary, the properties included and excluded, and the contributing/non-contributing sites. Peterson agreed to consider certain Commission suggestions regarding these items in finalizing the report. Bolles proposed a few corrections to the text—the train depot is not a wood frame building, and Water Street’s pavers were removed around 1990. He offered to provide a photo of the Blue Line Ticket Booth for the report. Caron agreed to email a few additional minor corrections to Peterson. Macpherson and Brabec noted that there are remnants of history throughout the downtown that should be catalogued, including streetcar electric poles and rails in the parking lots and horse bridle ties in the curb near the Congregational Church. Peterson stated that the next steps in the process would be a site visit by the SHPO National Register staff within the next 6 weeks and then a nomination application will Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission September 25, 2019 Page 2 of 2 need to be prepared and submitted. Peterson agreed to provide an estimate of the cost of the application to the City. Owner notifications would then be required, with any objections submitted to SHPO for response. 4. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Caron moved, Commissioner Bolles seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 11:16 a.m. Motion carried 4/0. Respectfully submitted, Tim Caron Acting Secretary