Historic Preservation Commission

IDAHO FALLS HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting, February 4, 2016 Noon, Annex Conference Room Minutes Attending: Renee Magee, Hersh Mynarcik, Tom Nance, Kim Smith, Krisi Staten, and Graham Whipple. Staff Brad Cramer, Director, Brent McLane, Current Planner, and Debra Petty, Recording Secretary. Call to Order at 12:00 p.m. Minutes: December 3, 2015 January 19, 2016 Moved by Mynarcik to approve the minutes of December 3, 2015 and January 19, 2016, as presented. Seconded by Smith and passed. Tour of the Civic Auditorium: Tentative dates for the tour of the Civic Auditorium are: Option 1) Friday, February 26th at 4:00 p.m.; Option 2) Thursday, March 3rd at 4:00 p.m.; Option 3) Thursday, February 25th at 4:00 p.m. Significant elements for preservation will be determined for listing eligibility. Cramer will invite Chief Building Official Reggie Fuller. When a date is finalized, Cramer will schedule the tour with the General Services Administrator Chandra Witt. Staten would like to be familiar with the nomination information. Magee will send a link to the requested information. Tour of City Hall: The Commission may tour City Hall anytime. The tentative date for the tour is Friday, March 11th at Noon. Cramer said the space left vacant by the Fire Department will be repurposed. A committee is being created to determine options. Cramer said he and Chief Building Official Reggie Fuller are on the committee. He asked if any of the Commissioners would like to volunteer. Whipple, Smith, and Williams have an interest. When Cramer has details he will send the information out. Williams will determine who she would like to participate. Keefer Addition and Hughes Imperial Estates Inventory Form: Magee said Keefer Addition inventory forms are progressing. She and Smith researched the Polk Directories for Keefer Addition to determine the first occupant for each residence, their occupation, and where they worked. She provided a spreadsheet of the completed research to date. Magee said the information was gathered for the context should the Commission want to write a National Register nomination. SHPO wants documentation of first owner on submitted forms. Smith is currently working on Hughes Imperial Estates. Nance asked if Olson or Williams would be able to research INL records for residents associated with the Site. Staten said she was employed by the Site in Human Resources and the current software doesn’t list their occupation. Most likely it would require a records request if the information hasn’t been destroyed. June Walking Tour of the 11th Street Historic District: Mynarcik asked if there is funding for advertising the tour. McLane said the budget has not been approved. Staten said the Commission can apply for a Post Register advertising grant because they are a non-profit and it is a community oriented event. Cramer said there is enough money in the division budget to cover advertising. Another option is to advertise in the Parks & Rec publication(s). Mynarcik has made arrangements to advertise the event in the Idaho Falls Magazine. Staten had the information posted on the non-profit calendar. Mynarcik would like to begin the tour in Kate Curley Park. He will arrange to reserve a portion of the shelter or put up a small tent. Smith asked about having a booth at the Farmer’s Market. Petty will make arrangements for a booth as early in May as possible. Facebook is an additional opportunity for exposure. Mynarcik would like to organize the tour similar to the one held in Boise. The tour was self-guided from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and is a paid event. McLane said collection and management of funds for the tour would most likely be an issue. Donations might be more appropriate, but there is still the management of funds. Mynarcik would like to hand out a brochure similar to the one done for the tour of the Original Townsite. Staten said this would require the expense of brochures/maps. Mynarcik asked if the Commission could accept advertising from outside sources to help pay for the brochures. Magee believes it can be done, but you lose funding from the Federal grant. She said if you use the Federal grant to fund anything with the tour you cannot charge for the tour, however, donations are acceptable. Mynarcik is seeking volunteers/docents to safeguard homes open to the public. He asked for recommendations from members. He will also check with other organizations that have a similar interest. Staten said the INL may have staff interested in HPC 2-4-16 Minutes - Final.docx Page 1 of 2 volunteering and said www.justserve.org is a great site for locating volunteers. Whipple believes 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. is too long for the tour. The consensus is to have the tour from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Whipple said the 11th Street tour usually attracts 100-150 people. He said charging the public would change the dynamics of the tour. Many would attend assuming the tour is free. Mynarcik said the event needs to be advertised as self-guided. Mynarcik would like to have the blueprints for the Brady house available for public viewing. Commercial Mid-Century Windshield Survey: The survey is scheduled for Saturday, February 27th from 10:00 a.m. to Noon. McLane will make arrangements for a van. He will email the 1964 aerial photo/maps next week to identify locations to survey. Whipple would like to have the information ahead of time so he can explore the area. Appointment of Members: Tom Nance was appointed to the Commission by the Mayor and City Council. Roundtable Discussion: Magee said Preservation Idaho received their grant in the amount of $4,000 from Union Pacific Railroad for a tour and arch walk in Idaho Falls. The task is guiding the organization in the selection of locations. There will be a charge for the tour. McLane said Pete L’Orange from SHPO will be in Idaho Falls in May and would like to schedule training while he is in the area. McLane asked the Commission to email him some ideas for training. Magee said training is very important to Mortimer and requested McLane send Mortimer an email. McLane encouraged the members to think about what would be beneficial to the public and invite them to participate. Staten suggested holding two sessions, one for the Commission and one for the public. Whipple said the first of the lofts above Happy’s and Montgomery Ward are occupied. The next four lofts will be finished at the end of the month. All are pre-leased. Magee said the owner was concerned about public assistance for the Bonneville Hotel and the property at the corner of Broadway and Memorial She said in talking with the attorney at Elam & Burk regarding the length of the process was told it would most likely be the spring of 2017 before construction could start. Magee said RFP’s will go out soon, but the process is a lengthy one. Magee said information about the Bonneville Hotel can be found in the basement of the Public Library. Cramer said Division items stored in the basement are going to be relocated. He asked if the information about the Bonneville Hotel is something that should be included in the relocation. Magee said it would be better stored at the Museum of Idaho because staff is much better at organizing the information. Nance said Saturday, June 18th is the Butte’s Dust to Dazzle Tour for those interested. Several people involved in Butte historic preservation are interested in attending the 2016 Idaho Falls Historic Preservation Annual Walking Tour. Nance has two plaques for his historic home. One is a descriptive plaque of the house and one generic to the District. He will have them mounted on the pillars by the front door before the June walking tour. He will display them at the Farmer’s Market. The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Debra Petty, Recording Secretary HPC 2-4-16 Minutes - Final.docx Page 2 of 2