Historic Preservation Commission

IDAHO FALLS HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting Thursday, August 2, 2018 12:00 p.m., Annex Conference Room Minutes Attending: Renee Magee, Hereschell Mynarcik, Graham Whipple, Julie Williams, Rachel McMurtrey, Kim Smith, Carrie Athay. Meeting called to order at 12:00 p.m. Minutes: Julie made a motion to approve minutes from June 14, 2018 with corrections. Kim seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Renee made a motion to amend the agenda to move Commission Training from the last item on the agenda to the next item on the agenda. Julie seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Julie stated that the newer members on the Commission would like more training. Julie proposed that the last 15 minutes of each meeting the Commission should go through a section of the binder. After some discussion the Commission agreed to go through a section of the binder. The first session would include the explanation of how the Historic Preservation Commission came to be and then go through the ordinance, the bylaws and the districts. The binders will be reviewed for completeness and updated if needed. Naysha was asked to include training as an agenda item at the beginning of the next meeting. Historic Preservation Plan Renee went over a summary she put together for the first and second round of questions from the public outreach that was done at the Farmers Market and the Library (see Exhibit A). A lot of people surveyed were new to Idaho Falls. Renee explained that she grouped the results together based on themes. After Renee went over the summary, Julie asked if she thought if the results would have been different had the outreach been done at different locations, other than the library and the Farmers Market. Renee explained that with past experiences she had when she visited the grocery stores, the zoo and other locations the results are always similar, but it could still be done. The Commission discussed how to get information out to the public. One of the suggestions that was discussed, was to get the schools more involved. Brent indicated that some of the schools had been in contact with him asking about the coloring books and bringing students to tour downtown. Graham suggested a flyer go out to the schools with the resources listed. Other options discussed to get the information out to the public included an official Facebook page and reaching out to the Post Register more often. Also, having the website revised with a brand or logo and color and easily accessible. Right now you have to know where to go on the City’s website to find the website for HPC and it takes clicking through 4 webpages. Brent mentioned that the City’s public relations person does a good job with getting information out. Brent went on to state that some great information has been collected and he wanted to discuss the next step. He feels that the Commission should come up with some broad goals and specific steps to accomplish those goals. He would like to create guidelines so that as the Commission looks at that every year, the Commission can determine what they will work on for that year. There was discussion among the Commission to get on the Mayor and City Councils agenda to go over the results of the public outreach that was done and go over the goals once they are established with them. Brent would like to see each individual member of the Commission go back and look at the information collected and the mission statement and come up with a list of goals and a specific process to achieve those goals and compare and discuss them as a group at the next meeting and narrow them down. Brent will send out portions of the ordinance that have the purposes and responsibilities with the other information. The e- mail will include Renee’s summaries, the hard data that Brent put together and the ordinance so that the Commission will not have to dig through various e-mails to find everything. Brent asked that everyone come prepared to next month’s meeting so that we can make some progress. Julie mentioned that Brad sent a few of them the South Downtown Plan (SODO). She explained what is considered south downtown according to the plan and went on to say that the surveys, inventory and nominations should be tied to what’s happening. Julie stated, if we know what’s coming up we can stay ahead of it, instead of always lagging behind. Julie feels that area is eligible as a district. Doing a survey of that area will be time consuming. There is a lot of information about how the City started and it is related to the river. There was additional discussion regarding the structures in south downtown and tying specific goals to specific areas like south downtown. Brent talked about adding this as a goal in the plan and then prioritizing the goals and then getting the Council to adopt the plan. Another goal discussed was “demolition by neglect.” Brent explained that it is part of the maintenance code, and one of the goals could be to strengthen the maintenance code. He indicated that Pocatello has a good maintenance code. The enforcement of the maintenance code is usually in low income areas and Pocatello ties it to CDBG money. Updates Civic Auditorium: Brent stated that he has not been getting notices for the meetings, but they have started construction and the chairs were for sale, however nobody purchased them so they were recycled. The sign will be removed and most likely be replaced with a message sign. The ordinance is in the process of being revised to allow message center signs in that area. There was additional discussion regarding some public outreach regarding the history of this building, and possibly nominate it for the National Registry. Carrie stated that the Commission needs to reframe the way they communicate with the public. The Commission needs to recognize the value and history of the building and tie personal stories to make a connection with people. Recognize why the building is important and why it was built. Instead of using the word “preserve” the Commission should use the word “recognize.” No update on the City Building. Downtown Event Center (DEC): the Nana walls are in and the original brick was left on the south side of the building. No other updates. Roundtable Discussion: Brent indicated that timesheet need to be completed. Do not worry about documenting normal meeting hours, only special meetings and projects like work on the plan, the tour, and farmers market. The projects don’t end until May of next year. Hersh went over what he will be doing at the NTHP conference and also stated that a contractor will be walking through the Methodist Church. There was discussion regarding the history of Highland Park. The park has a long history. It was the first park in the state of Idaho and was established in 1893. The remainder of the meeting was spent discussing the expansion of the museum. Adjourned: 1:12 p.m. Respectfully, Naysha Foster, Recording Secretary  ACTION ITEMS : Brent E-mail the summaries Renee put together from the surveys, the hard data from the surveys and portions of the ordinance. Commission Go through the information Brent sends out and come up with general goals and specific ways to achieve those goals. Naysha Add training to the agenda for next month.