Heritage Commission

CITY OF LACONIA HERITAGE COMMISSION Wednesday, February 12, 2020 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. Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting on January 8, 2020, were reviewed. C. Tokarz made a motion to approve the Minutes. M. Sweet seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. . IV. City Council Liaison Report: Mark Haynes said it was a short meeting because of election night. Progress is being made on the Colonial Theatre interior restoration. M. Haynes said the Council was moving forward with RFP for companies interested in managing the restored Colonial Theatre. V. Lakeshore Redevelopment Commission: J. Whitehead said the next meeting will be on Monday, February 24, 2019, at 9 a.m. at the Rist Frost office. She said they were going to start talking about the buildings on the property. VI. Planning Board Update: D. Duffy said there were a lot of items on the agenda, but nothing really pertained to the Heritage Commission. Barton’s Motel at 1330 Union Ave. was on the agenda for a sidewalk waiver, and there was a motion to continue it to the next meeting. VII. Old Business: Property Restoration Recognition Awards – J. Whitehead said that at the January meeting 4 properties were identified as potential recipients for the award. She said she will draft a letter for each property, announcing that the property is being considered. She will also include in the letter that this is the first year for the award, and it would be helpful if the property owner could list improvements that were made to the property. VIII. Demolition permit application: 1330 Union Ave. – Barton’s Motel: The engineer for the project, Jon Rokeh, spoke on behalf of the owner and gave a brief synopsis of the project and handed out current and proposed site plans. He also brought along Lisa Mausolf, a historic preservation consultant who was hired to prepare the property inventory form for the Division of Historical Resources in Concord. Lisa Mausolf said she has gone through all the buildings on the property, talked extensively with the owner about the history of the property and is in the process of preparing the inventory form, which should be completed in about 2 weeks. She said she will give a copy of the inventory form to the Heritage Commission. Discussion ensued between the Commissioners, Dean Trefethen, Jon Rokeh and Lisa Mausolf regarding the project, including approving the DEMO application, tabling the application to the next meeting, and calling for a public hearing. C. Tokarz made a motion to table the DEMO application and schedule a public hearing for the next meeting on March 11, 2020. L. Kessin seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously. IX. Public Comments: None X. Adjournment: L. Kessin made a motion to adjourn. M. Sweet seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 5:58 pm.