Heritage Commission

CITY OF LACONIA HERITAGE COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 MINUTES I. Call to Order: Jane Whitehead called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. II. Present: J. Whitehead (chair), D. Duffy, L. Kessin, C. Tokarz, M. Sweet, M. Haynes Staff:D. Trefethen, D. Wood (recording the meeting) III. J. Whitehead said she wanted to make an announcement that an e-mail was received from Christopher Boldt, representing the Diocese of Manchester, requesting that the Demolition Permit Application for St. Joseph's Church continue to remain "on hold". J. Whitehead said item VI.B.3 will be removed from today's Agenda. M. Hayes suggested the Commission consider tabling this item. L. Kessin made a motion to table item Vl.B.3. The motion was seconded by D. Duffy and passed unanimously. IV. Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting of August 14, 2019, were reviewed. C. Tokarz noted in item VIII.A. that the spelling of May Williams name should be Mae Williams. C. Tokarz made a motion to approve the Minutes with the correction. L. Kessin seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. V. City Council Liaison Report: M. Haynes said construction on the Colonial Theater should be starting in October. VI. Planning Board Update: D. Duffy said she attended the meeting, and there was nothing pertinent to the Heritage Commission. VII. Old Business: A. NH Department of Historic Resources Inventory, status: C. Tokarz gave copies of a letter from Mae Williams which included her resume and proposal for doing the inventory. C. Tokarz noted that there was not enough money in the budget to cover Mae's proposal. M. Haynes said he will check with the City Manager to see if the City can help. Mae Williams will be attending the October meeting. B. Heritage Commission Preservation Awards: M. Sweet checked prices for an engraved plaque and said the cost would be $100 or less. M. Haynes asked how many awards were anticipated. J. Whitehead said maybe 2 per year. J. Whitehead said the Commission needs to design the plaque and select recipients. C. Tokarz said at the August meeting, Tara Shore asked about the criteria for the awards. J. Whitehead appointed a subcommittee to look into this. The subcommittee members are J. Whitehead, D. Duffy and M. Sweet.  C. Meetings on establishment of Laconia Historic District - update: Tara Shore said they are still working on the Ordinances, and they should be ready to go before the Planning Board at the October meeting. D. Trefethen said there will also be a public meeting after the Planning Board approves the Ordinances. VIII. New Business: A. Recognition for retired Heritage Commission members: J. Whitehead said C. Tokarz had suggested recognition for Mary Jane Hoey and Mary Ellen Boudman. J . Whitehead said they will be invited to the October meeting. B. Demolition permit applications - new protocol: J. Whitehead said under advice of counsel, she will ask 5 questions of each Commissioner before a vote is taken to approve/disapprove the application. L. Kessin suggested J. Whitehead ask the questions as a group. C. Tokarz asked that questions be listed (see attachment - Demolition Permit protocol). J. Whitehead read questions 1, 2 and 3 and asked if all Commissioners understood the questions and .all Commissioners replied "yes". Questions 4 & 5 are specific to the structure to be demolished. 1. 37 Wentworth Cove Road: J. Whitehead asked if any Commissioner had any financial interest in either its demolition or preservation. All replied "no". J. Whitehead asked if any Commissioner had any personal interest in either its demolition or its preservation. All replied "no". L. Kessin said she visited the property and it looks like it needs a lot of work. J. Whitehead said the property doesn't have any architectural significance, C. Tokarz made a motion to approve the application. L. Kessin seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. 2. 242 Paugus Park Road: J. Whitehead asked is any Commissioner had any financial interest in either its demolition or preservation. All replied 'no". J. Whitehead asked if any Commissioner had any personal interest in either its demolition or its preservation. All replied "no". D. Duffy made a motion to approve the application, which was seconded by C. Tokarz and approved unanimously. C. C. Tokarz said Ann McKenney took some great pictures of downtown area structures in the spring and put them on a thumb drive which she gave to the Heritage Commission. C. Tokarz said these pictures should be put on the website. XI. Public Comments: None X. Adjournment: L. Kessin made a motion to adjourn. C. Tokarz seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.  Laconia Heritage Commission Demolition Permit protocol 1. Do you understand the purpose and duties of the Heritage Commission? (See 40-1 and 40-3, A-H). 2. Do you understand the limitations of the Heritage Commission's powers, namely that it has no legal or legislative force, merely advisory review authority? (See 40-3). 3. With regard to the demolition permit application specifically, do you understand that if a permit is denied, there is an appeal process that must be allowed to the applicant? (See 119-1 D [1-6]). The duties of the Heritage Commission include: a. public notifications within a strict timeline? (119-1 D [4] a-c) b. scheduling a public hearing? (119-1 D [4] c) This allows the public, the city and the applicant to meet together in order to express their views and to attempt to reach a compromise. c. scheduling a visit to the building in order to determine the viability of the structure, and if it is deemed not salvageable, to determine and photographically document the elements that might be preserved and/or commemorated? (119-1 D [5] b). 4. With regard to the specific building under review this evening, do you have any financial interest in either its demolition or preservation? 5. With regard to the specific building under review this evening, do you have any personal interest in either its demolition or its preservation?