Heritage Commission

ACCEPTED MINUTES – NOVEMBER 15, 2023 MEETING 1. CALL TO ORDER Acting Chair Jane Whitehead called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM. 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Jane Whitehead led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members present: Scott Ringer, Catherine Tokarz, Jane Whitehead Members absent: Mark Haynes, Lois Kessin, Marjory Wilkinson 4. RECORDING SECRETARY Jennifer Place 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Joe Gray, Code Enforcement Officer 6. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING 6.1. ACCEPTANCE OF AUGUST 9TH MINUTES Acting Chair Jane Whitehead questioned the wording of item 7. The sentence was changed to “Steven Bogert has been appointed by the City Council to fulfill the vacancy in ward 5.“ Scott Ringer made a motion to accept the minutes of the August 9, 2023 meeting. All members voted in favor. 7. CITY COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT The City Council Liaison Report was not discussed, as Mark Haynes was not present. 8. PLANNING BOARD UPDATE The Planning Board currently has nothing new to report. 9. NEW BUSINESS 9.1. 271 SHORE DRIVE Code Enforcement submitted a Demo Permit Application for 271 Shore Drive. Property owner, Susan Chow, was in attendance and spoke to the Commission. Susan has owned the property for the last 15 years. Originally built in 1957, the home no longer fits the needs of her family. Susan stated there’s no historical significance, while acting Chair Jane Whitehead stated there wasn’t any architectural significance. Susan is proposing to demo the 1220 square foot ranch and construct a new 2200 square foot 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom ranch-style home. Catherine motioned a vote for approval, Scott Ringer seconded, and Jane Whitehead voted in favor. 9.11. 80 PAUGUS PARK ROAD Code Enforcement submitted a second Demo Permit Application for 80 Paugus Park Road. The property owner’s contractor, Charles Caverra, was in attendance and spoke to the Commission. Charles stated the 1960’s era home has a block foundation that’s leaking and sagging and is inadequately insulated. Catherine Tokarz mentioned the home was cosmetically remodeled in 2010. Charles Caverra stated the home cannot be remodeled on the current foundation. Scott Ringer motioned a vote for approval, Cathereine Tokarz seconded, and Jane Whitehead voted in favor. Charles Caverra asked if the Commission was in need of members. Catherine Tokarz stated we have 1 full-time and 2 alternate vacancies. Charles stated he would look into becoming a member. Jane Whitehead commented on the interview process for prospective new members of commissions. While waiting for her own interview, Jane was able to witness the interviews of two candidates and was impressed by their dedication to their town and found their commitment to be inspiring.  Jane Whitehead stated there’s a problem with the oath verbiage. The oath requires you to state that you’ll be “impartial.” Jane doesn’t think they should be impartial. She recently attended a meeting via Zoom given by the NH Preservation Alliance regarding the role of Heritage Commissions. You can’t be impartial. You cannot come to a demo permit meeting all “tabular rasa”, as Chris Bowles, attorney for the Diocese of Manchester, suggested. Impartial means you must be completely impartial. Jane thinks the word should be changed from “impartial” to “disinterested.” “Disinterested” is a legal term meaning you have no vested financial or personal interest in what’s being discussed and would like to speak to the City Council about changing the verbiage of the oath. Scott Ringer asked if we use a generic oath. Jane wasn’t sure. 9.111. POLICIES AND RULES OF PROCEDURE Jane Whitehead and Catherine Tokarz stated they’d like to table discussing the Rules of Procedure until there’s a full quorum or a work session. Joe Gray received confirmation that three is considered a quorum. Scott Ringer stated he’d like to iron out the Rules of Procedure, as the Commission has been talking about them for 6 months. He proposed doing so in a work session. Catherine Tokarz stated the next meeting is December 13th and suggested the Commission hold a work session in January. Jane Whitehead stated they could hold a work session but cannot vote on anything or email each other during the session. The members decided on the morning of Tuesday, January 9, 2024. Scott Ringer asked if the work session had to be held at City Hall. Catherine Tokarz stated they must allow the public to attend if they wish. Jane Whitehead stated if the public is allowed to attend, it must be held at City Hall. Catherine Tokarz asked Jane Whitehead to run the work session details by Marjory Wilkinson and mentioned she’d call Nancy Brown as well. Joe Gray stated this issue had been talked about at the last meeting and he doesn’t think the public has to be involved in work sessions. 10. OLD BUSINESS 10.1. STATE SCHOOL CONCEPTUAL REVIEW UPDATE No new information. 10.11. DEMOLITION FEES UPDATE Members discussed the increase of demo fees to $100 for residential and $250 for commercial. 11. PUBLIC COMMENT None present. 12. OTHER BUSINESS Scott Ringer asked why we use 50 years as the guideline for the Commission. Scott suggested looking at buildings 75 years or older, as he doesn’t know of any buildings in Laconia that have any historical significance. Catherine Tokarz stated it used to be 75 years, but they changed it to 50. Scott Ringer asked the members how to get the rule changed to 75 years. Joe Gray stated that the City Council would make that decision. Scott Ringer stated he’d like to discuss this further once there’s a full quorum and asked that the issue be added to the agenda for the next meeting. 13. ADJOURNMENT Catherine Tokarz moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:38 PM.