Heritage Preservation Commission Meetings and Work Sessions

City of Excelsior Hennepin County, Minnesota Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Tuesday, April 26, 2022 1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Interim Chair Tyler called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Commissioners Present: Bolles, Brattland, Caron, Noll, Salita, Tyler Commissioners Absent: O’Hanlon Also Present: City Attorney/Assistant City Manager Staunton 2. AGENDA APPROVAL Caron moved to approve the agenda. Bolles seconded. Motion passed 6/0. 3. CONSENT AGENDA – Caron asked to remove both items for discussion a) APPROVAL OF MINUTES – HPC Meeting, March 22, 2022. Caron noted a misspelling of former Commissioner Macpherson’s name and asked that references to plans in the sketch plan presentations for both the 300 Water Street and 10 Water Street be modified to more accurately reflect that the 300 Water Steet presentation shared a concept for redevelopment and that the 10 Water Street presentation presented goals and objectives associated with potential redevelopment of that property. With those amendments, Caron moved approval. Bolles seconded. Motion passed 6/0. b) 634 Third Avenue – Resolution Approving an Extension of Time to Act on a Site Alteration Permit and Approving an Amendment to the Site Alteration Permit. Caron suggested an amendment to the resolution that adds detail regarding the addition of horizontal wood lap siding all the way up to the top of the structure with a similar reveal shown in the historic photo of the garage that was presented to the commission. Caron moved approval with that amendment. Bolles seconded. Motion passed 6/0. 4. CITIZEN REPORTS OR COMMENTS – Resident Peter Hartwich made comments regarding record retention, the hotel concept presentation, the HPC bylaws, ethical obligations, the 50-year rule, and the concession building proposal. The commission presented a plaque to Mark Macpherson recognizing his service to the community as a member and chair of the commission from 2011-21. Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission April 26, 2022 Page 2 of 3 5. NEW BUSINESS a) 201 2nd Street (HPC No. 22-06) – After discussion of the application and the draft resolution, Salita moved to approve an amended version of the draft resolution in te commission packetthat substituted “repair” for “maintenance” throughout the document, imported standards from the Design Manual into the conditions, required plans from the masonry contractor to be submitted before work commences, and appointed a subcommittee to work with the applicant to ensure that the scope of the project is consistent with what was proposed in the application. Brattland seconded. Motion passed 6/0. b) 345 Water Street (HPC No. 22-07) – Marshall Morehead, owner of Truffle Hill Chocolates, appeared to discuss his proposed project. Mr. Morehead plans to make several modifications to the building to facilitate moving his business into Excelsior. His initial request is to secure approval for removal of the façade so that the conditions of the façade behind the wood can be evaluated. The Commission direct staff to draft a resolution providing for a Site Alteration Permit for the limited purpose of authorizing removal of the wood façade. Caron moved to continue the item to the Commission’s May 24 meeting. Salita seconded. Motion passed 6/0. c) Wai Nani – Commons Review and Recommendation (HPC No. 22-08) – After a discussion, Caron moved to approve an amended version of the draft HPC Review and Recommendations on Wai Nani Non-Permanent Structure Proposal that included changes clarifying that the location should be the 2nd option (not in the 1st Street Fire Lane), that there should be additional design features included in the blank side of the building o beak up the mass, that the city’s historic color palette should be the basis for the color selection and that it should be consistent with the colors of other structures in The Commons, that the smaller size (i.e., 8 ft x 1 ft) should be used with a deck in front, and that it should be oriented parallel with the sidewalk with the deck side toward the lake and the kayak rack on the side opposite from the sidewalk. Brattland seconded. Motion passed 6/0. 6. ANNUAL MEETING – (Continued from the March 22 meeting). a) Election of Officers – Caron moved to nominate Rob Tyler as Chair and Dean Salita as Vice Chair. Brattland seconded. Motion passed 6/0. b) Review of Bylaws – The commission discussed the bylaws and potential amendments thereto. Caron moved to approved the bylaws as amended. Brattland seconded. Motion passed 6/0. c) Formulation of List of Major Topics – The commission discussed a draft list of major topics and other issues that should be addressed by the commission. Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission April 26, 2022 Page 3 of 3 7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS – Staff updated the commission on the status of the work by Pigeon Consulting on behalf of the city with respect to the 2021 Grant from SHPO. Staff also noted that the owners of 173 2nd Street had reached out to staff to explore next steps. Staff and commissioner Caron updated the commission on the status of efforts to engage an outside consultant to conduct a forensic evaluation of the WPA-era seating at the ballpark in The Commons. Commissioner Caron also reported on the subcommittee’s efforts to identify signage for the National Register Downtown Commercial District. 8. COMMUNICATIONS and REPORTS a) Next City Council Meeting – May 2, 2022. b) Next HPC Meeting – May 24, 2022 c) Administrative SAP Approvals – Staunton reported that an administrative approval had been granted to the Guest House (371 Water Street) for signage. d) Recent City Council Actions e) Other Updates – Commissioner Caron updated the Commission on the efforts to better understand the history of the ballpark seating, citing Commission Bolles’ outreach to those who had worked on the project and his discussions with the City Manager regarding engaging McDonald and Mack to conduct forensic research. Staunton updated the Commission on the status of the City’s consultant’s efforts on evaluating the various city resources pursuant to a grant from SHPO. 9. Future Agenda Items – commissioners discussed agenda items for the work session before the May 24 meeting, deciding to discuss the downtown commercial district signage and converting the list of Major Topics discussed during the Annual Meeting to a series of Goals and Priorities for the commission. 10. ADJOURNMENT – Brattland moved to adjourn. Salita seconded. Motion passed 6/0. The meeting was concluded at 9:34 PM. Respectfully submitted, Kevin Staunton City Attorney/Assistant City Manager