Heritage Commission

CITY OF LACONIA HERITAGE COMMISSION November 13, 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, C. Tokarz, M. Sweet, M. Haynes Absent: L. Kessin Staff: D. Trefethen (Director) D. Wood (recording the meeting) III. Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting of October 10, 2019, were reviewed. D. Duffy made a motion to approve the Minutes. M. Sweet seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. IV Public Meeting: Demolition Permit Applications A. 630 Elm Street (Public Hearing): Glenn Welsh spoke on behalf of his brother Todd Welsh who is employed by Mark Woglom, owner of 630 Elm Street. Both Todd Welsh and Mark Woglom were unable to attend today’s meeting. Glenn Welsh said Mark Woglom is building a new home at 640 Elm Street and purchased 630 Elm Street when it came on the market. His intention was to renovate 630 Elm Street but when doing exploratory work, found a lot of rot. Therefore he decided to demolish the structure and not rebuild, but instead landscape and have more privacy for his property at 640 Elm Street. Members of the Commission were concerned that demolition had occurred before the DEMO permit was issued. Glenn Welsh explained that this was due to the exploratory work they were doing. J. Whitehead said the Commission should reconsider this DEMO application. Therefore, J. Whitehead, following the new protocol, read questions 1, 2 & 3 and asked if all Commissioners understood the questions, and all replied “yes”. J. Whitehead then asked questions 4 & 5, which were specific to this property. All Commissioners replied “no”. D. Duffy moved to approve the application. M. Sweet seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. B. Following the new protocol, J. Whitehead read questions 1, 2 & 3 and asked if all Commissioners understood the questions and all replied “yes”. Questions 4 & 5 are specific to the structure to be demolished. 1. 73 Leighton Ave. South: 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”. M. Sweet made a motion to approve the application. C. Tokarz seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously.  2. 148 Union Ave: 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”. C. Tokarz made a motion to approve the application. D. Duffy seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. 3. 27 Clinton Street: J. Whitehead said since the Commission just received the application the day before their scheduled meeting, there was not enough time for the Commissioners to review the application. Therefore, she moved that that this be tabled until the next meeting, December 11, 2019. All Commissioners agreed. V. City Council Liaison Report: M. Haynes said the historic district passed to the City Council and date not set yet. Discussion about Airbnb will be at the Council’s next meeting on November 25, 2019. VI. Planning Board Update: D. Duffy said she thought the Congregational Church should be included in the historic district VII. Lakeshore Redevelopment Commission report: Jane Whitehead said she attended the meeting, and it was mostly about contaminants, and they will be cleaning up those areas and doing a hazardous waste study of the building to be saved. They are also doing a study of Ahern Park to increase the scope of services. The next meeting will be on December 3, 2019, at 9 am at the Rist Frost office on Water Street VIII. Old Business: A. NH Department of Historic Resources Inventory: C. Tokarz said she had talked to Mae Williams who said the estimate would be around $6500 for the Inventory. M. Haynes said he would talk to the City Manager about funding. B. Heritage Commission Preservation Awards: C. Tokarz said she checked the building permits that were recently issued and then went around to see the improvements that were made. IX. New Business: J. Whitehead said they will add a request for $6500 (in addition to the regular funding) for the 2020 – 2021 budget. X. Public Comments: None XI. Adjournment: D. Duffy made a motion to adjourn. C. Tokarz seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:18 p.m.