Heritage Commission

CITY OF LACONIA - HERITAGE COMMISSION Wednesday, June 6, 2018 M I N U T E S, Accepted August 8, 2018 I. CALL TO ORDER: Jane Whitehead called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. II. PRESENT: J. Whitehead (Chair), D. Duffy, M. Hoey, M. Boudman, C. Tokarz, M. Haynes. STAFF: D. Wood (recording the meeting). III. MINUTES: The Minutes of the meeting on May 9, 2018, were reviewed. C. Tokarz made a motion to approve the Minutes. M. Hoey seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. IV. INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS: J. Whitehead said she had been calling potential new members and was able to get in touch with one person who wanted to attend tonight’s meeting, but had a previous engagement. V. CITY COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: Mark Haynes said he was sorry he was unable to attend the May meeting. He also said the Code Department officer apologized to the Heritage Commission regarding notification about the demo application for 23 Elm Street (old fire station). M. Haynes said the councilors discussed receiving numerous complaints about code and some zoning violations. He said that the Council wants to clean up Laconia. VI. PLANNING BOARD UPDATE: D. Duffy said she watched the meeting on TV and gave a brief synopsis of the meeting, and said nothing pertained to the Heritage Commission. VII. REPORT ON PRESERVATION DAY MEETING: On May 19, 2018, J. Whitehead said she attended the meeting in Center Harbor. Heritage Commission members from various towns were represented at the meeting. She said the old Laconia fire station was brought up and she was asked why the Heritage Commission didn’t do more to prevent the demo. Meetings will be held twice a year. All were in agreement that there should be more communication between Heritage Commissions in the different towns/cities. VIII. OLD BUSINESS: A. Area Studies/Photography: J. Whitehead asked how the photography went. C. Tokarz said that they were unable to take the pictures because of the rain. After the rain, all the leaves came out so now they plan on taking pictures in November, when the leaves are gone. B. Property Restoration Recognition: D. Duffy said there was nothing new. C. St. Joseph’s Church: M. Haynes said that he noticed they seem to slowly be moving everything from St. Joseph’s Church to Sacred Heart Church. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. State Preservation Activities: 1. Dorothy Duffy – Tour of Riverbank House: D. Duffy said she has been unable to contact Randy Bartlett so she suggested the tour be postponed until early fall. 2. Recent Newspaper Articles: J. Whitehead called attention to several articles in the Daily Sun about preservation and one about the Unitarian Church. She passed around copies of the newspaper for Commissioners to review. B. 125th Anniversary Celebration and other projects: J. Whitehead asked for suggestions. D. Duffy suggested maybe concentrate on buildings that are on the register. M. Hoey suggested maybe concentrate on homes that were built 125 years ago. C. Tokarz suggested maybe do a write-up on 4 homes, either random or those built 125 years ago. C. Historic Structure Directory: C. Tokarz gave J. Whitehead copies of the form for developing a list of buildings to add to a Historic Structure Directory. Commissioners should give the form to anyone they know who owns a historic structure and ask them to fill out the form. It was also suggested that maybe put a notice in Laconia Links and/or Laconia Daily Sun. The purpose of the directory is to have a data base of historic buildings. X. Public Comments: None XI. Adjournment: D. Duffy made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by M. Boudman. The meeting was adjourned at 5:55 p.m.