Heritage Commission

ACCEPTED MINUTES – JULY 23, 2024 MEETING 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Marjory Wilkinson called the meeting to order at 4:06 PM. 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Marjory Wilkinson led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members present: Scott Ringer, Marjory Wilkinson, Jane Whitehead, Mark Haynes, Lois Kessin Members absent: None 4. RECORDING SECRETARY Jennifer Place 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE None. 6. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING 6.1. ACCEPTANCE OF MARCH 14, 2024 MEETING MINUTES – REVISED Chair Marjory Wilkinson took a moment to thank Recording Secretary Jennifer Place for her help with the Commission. Chair Marjory Wilkinson made a motion to change the order of business on the agenda, to allow for the review of a demolition permit application for 48 Lucerne Avenue prior to accepting the previous meetings’ minutes. Scott Ringer seconded the motion. All members voted in favor. Chair Marjory Wilkinson made a motion to accept the March 14, 2024 minutes with the addition of Catherine Tokarz’s letter with suggestions. Scott Ringer asked if that was the only change. Chair Marjory Wilkinson said yes. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place stated she added the entire letter to the minutes. It was noted that Jane Whitehead’s name was left off the roster. Scott Ringer made a motion to accept the minutes with the mentioned change of adding Jane Whitehead’s name. Jane made note of the misspelling of Cristina Ashjian’s name. The spelling was corrected. Cristina is the Chairman of the Moultonborough Heritage Commission as well as curator of the Weirs Museum. Lois Kessin seconded the motion to accept. All members voted in favor. 6.1.1 ACCEPTANCE OF JUNE 12, 2024 DRAFT MEETING MINUTES Chair Marjory Wilkinson made a motion to accept the June 12, 2024 meeting minutes. Scott Ringer stated he had a change to make. The annual meeting is listed as being on Wednesday, September 10th and that day is actually a Tuesday. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated that is the NH Primary and she will not be in town. Scott Ringer stated he will also be out of town. The Commission looked at different dates in September to see what would be the best day to hold the annual meeting and it was decided that it will be on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. The Commission also agreed to change the regular meeting time from 5PM to 4PM. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place said she would look at the room calendar and see if it was available. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated she will add the annual meeting date to the Rules of Procedure. Jane Whitehead had a concern regarding the term ex-officio on page 3 of the minutes. She stated people don’t know what ex officio means. The translation is “by virtue of the office.” Jane stated Mark Haynes is a full voting member with all the rights and duties of a full voting member, but he’s here not because the City Council voted him in, but by virtue of his office as being on the Council. It just means he can’t chair a meeting. Dean Trefethen used to attend all the meetings and he was there ex officio, but was not a member. He was there by virtue of his office. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place asked Jane Whitehead if she wanted that section removed from the draft minutes.  Jane stated she did not want it removed, but wanted to make sure it was clear what ex officio means. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated the Commission fumbled on the definition of that term. She stated Tara Shore had attended several meetings as a representative of the Historical Commission and was unable to vote on Heritage Commission items. Marjory asked if Tara Shore was an ex officio. Jane Whitehead stated she wasn’t sure. If you’re there by virtue of your office, and it's suggested that you’re a regular attendant of the meeting, like Rob Mora for example, that would be an ex officio. Lois Kessin stated Tara Shore would be an ex officio, but only if she attended regularly. Tara is no longer on the Historical Commission. Lois asked if the Heritage Commission merges with the Historic District Overlay will those people then be ex officio? Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated they haven’t gotten to that point and this was just in the discussion phase. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place asked Chair Marjory Wilkinson if she wanted to approve the draft meeting minutes with the time change for the September 4, 2024 meeting. Scott Ringer asked if the Commission wanted to make a permanent change of time from 5PM to 4PM. Lois Kessin made the motion. Scott Ringer seconded. All members voted in favor. 7. CITY COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Mark Haynes stated he had a few items to discuss. City Council had presentations from the Fire Department and the Planning Board. Mark directed the Commission members to review the Planning Department’s update handout. Planning Director Rob Mora mentioned they’re in the process of rewriting the Historic District Overlay and adding responsibilities to the Heritage Commission. They’re also looking at the RSA as far as the possibility of combining the two. They’re also in the process of rewriting the demolition ordinance and there’s been discussion of creating a demolition commission, but that’s just a discussion. Mark thinks the Planning Department, as far as the City Council is concerned, has many updates to come as they’re trying to update and bring everything up to 2024 standards. Scott Ringer asked about casinos. Chair Marjory Wilkinson asked who was rewriting the ordinances. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place stated it was Rob Mora, Tyler Carmichael and the City Council. Chair Marjory Wilkinson asked why there was no discussion or rewriting things without involving the Heritage Commission. Mark Haynes stated Rob Mora was unable to attend this meeting and this handout is what he provided as his Planning Department update. Mark stated the Planning Department is looking at rewriting all kinds of things and some of it has nothing to do with the Heritage Commission or the Historic District Overlay. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated she would like to bring that up when talking about adopting the Commission's Rules of Procedure. She’s trying to get a final copy to give to the City Council to approve, as every other commission has them, but the Heritage Commission does not. There was one specific change that she was concerned about. The current ordinance states that members cannot hold other offices and she’d like that to be changed. Mark Haynes stated he wasn’t sure if that needed to go before the Planning Board before it goes to the City Council. Recording Secretary stated the Planning Department looks at ordinances and offers changes that need to be made and then they’re presented to the City Council. Jane Whitehead asked who determines 2024 standards. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place stated that was a question for Rob Mora. Mark Haynes stated ADU’s (accessory dwelling units) were an example. The State passed a law regarding ADU’s and our ordinance no longer mirrored the requirements that are allowed by the State. The Planning Department had to go back to review and rewrite the City’s ordinance so it matched the State’s. Mark said unfortunately, we’re victims of the State. Chair Marjory Wilkinson asked if they’re updating the 2023 book. Mark Haynes stated he wasn’t sure. Chair Marjory Wilkinson had a copy of the 2023 state regulations. Mark Haynes stated that was the first time he'd ever seen that book. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated she was given a copy by Kalena Graham last year. Marjory stated the book has all the ordinances by the State for the Heritage Commission and the Historical Commission. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place stated there’s an updated copy for 2024 in the Planning Department. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated she was trying to use this book as a reference when writing the Rules of Procedure. Mark Haynes stated the Rules of Procedure can go before the Planning Board or the City Council. They’ll have to be rewritten anyway if the two Commissions combine. Mark stated the City Council got through the budget process and it was done quickly this year. 8. PLANNING BOARD UPDATE Rob Mora’s memo to the Heritage Commission provided an update from the Planning Department. Commission members reviewed the memo amongst themselves and discussed their concerns during the City Council update. 9. NEW BUSINESS 9.1. 48 LUCERNE AVENUE DEMO PERMIT APPLICATION Tobey Gamache with Deventry Construction and the property owner Kimberly Bolton were present to discuss this application. The property is a 3 bedroom cottage. The foundation is made of a wood timber support and they’d like to make this current seasonal home a year-round home. They would like to demo the home. Scott Ringer asked if the property he brought up on his phone was the property in question. He handed his phone to Tobey Gamache and Tobey confirmed that it was. Tobey had some photos and distributed them amongst the Commission. Chair Marjory Wilkinson asked if the new home would be built on the same footprint. Tobey Gamache stated the current cottage is 1,261 square feet and the new home will be 2,700 square feet. The new home will be further away from the water. Jane Whitehead stated that the home is from the 1920’s and that’s her favorite era of domestic architecture. It was the Art Deco period, and this home is a bungalow-style house. Jane stated she very much likes the design of this home and hates to see it disappear around the lake because it’s a well-documented history of the lake and its development. Jane asked if there were any problems with the house or any decay of the structure. Tobey Gamache stated that during the asbestos testing they were crawling underneath the home and noticed that all the sills are rotten and the log support system he mentioned earlier is also rotten. Those logs are sitting on blocks of wood that were used to level off the home. Most of the logs are buried in the dirt. Scott Ringer asked if there was anything in the home that was original. Kimberly Bolton stated there was a lot of pine inside, but she wasn’t sure about the beams below. Scott Ringer asked if any of the original doors or windows were still there. Tobey Gamache stated he did some research on permit history of the home and it looks like the entire home was renovated in the early 2000’s. Even the pine the homeowner was referring to was newer grade pine from the 2000’s. Chair Marjory Wilkinson asked what kind of home they planned on putting in its place. Kimberly Bolton told the Commission that at this time last year, they received permission from the Planning Board and the NH DES for shoreland permits. Tobey Gamache pulled up a set of plans on his phone and showed the Commission. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated she’s part owner of a cottage down in Massachusetts and she sees this happening to cottages there as well. She grew up going to special places like this. Lois Kessin stated that’s how she grew up too. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated this home looks like a very special place to go as it is. It’s got woods around it and has been updated inside. Marjory asked if there was a swimming pool on this property and Kimberly Bolton said there was not. Mark Haynes asked if they were planning on taking any trees down. Kimberly Bolton stated any trees that were taken down had been done over the last 8 years that they’ve owned the property. Mark Haynes stated the trees look like pine. Kimberly Bolton stated it was heavily wooded and pine trees were hanging over the house and the driveway. Before they bought the property, the beach never got any sun because of those trees. Mark Haynes asked Kimberly if she was aware of the history of pine trees in a storm. Kim stated yes, that several have fallen during storms over the years. Lois Kessin stated it was heartbreaking to see this 100-year-old home demolished. Kimberly Bolton stated that no new trees will be taken down when the new house is built. The photo that Tobey Gamache had distributed had 3 trees in the front. Those trees are no longer there. He stated that the roof shingles have been destroyed from the sun. Scott Ringer made a motion to approve the demolition permit for 48 Lucerne Avenue. Jane Whitehead seconded the motion. All members voted in favor. 10. OLD BUSINESS 10.1. RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE HERITAGE COMMISSION – SECOND DRAFT Recording Secretary Jennifer Place noticed that the Rules of Procedure that Catherine Tokarz created during the work session in January were in the same format as our ordinance. She suggested they mirror the format the other commissions used and referred to the examples she provided in the member’s packets. Chair Marjory Wilkinson reviewed the Town of Durham’s Rules of Procedure and ordinances to see what the Commission could or could not do. Marjory also went online and researched Belmont’s Heritage Commission and used that as a guideline when she made some suggestions during the work session in January. Marjory continued to read through the draft Rules of Procedure. All members had copies to review. The first area looked at was Commission: Establishment and Membership Qualifications. Marjory suggested they follow the Zoning Board’s format. The yellow highlighted areas are the proposed changes. The next section reviewed was the number of members. It states 3 to 7 full members. Marjory stated this is more of a range. Marjory said the current ordinance states you may not hold other offices and suggested changing that to may hold other offices. Marjory stated they’re changing the annual meeting to September. Marjory asked if the Commission wanted to remove the ex officio. Members thought it should stay. Alternate Members was the next section reviewed. Currently there are 3 alternates. Marjory asked if they’d like to increase that number to a range of 3 to 5 with the idea that the Commission combines with the Historic District Overlay. Terms of office will stay the same. It was 3 years from the date of appointment and the term can be renewed. Vacancies are filled by the City Council and the appointing authority shall act within 90 days to fill vacancies as they occur. Marjory asked the Commission if they should add no more than 2 appointments to be made annually. Marjory was not sure why that was a question when they were drafting the Rules of Procedure. Scott Ringer stated it’s to make sure not too many people leave on the same term. Jane Whitehead thinks the terms are staggered to prevent that from occurring. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place stated she would find out when each member’s term ends. Jennifer asked if someone needs to be appointed by the City Council, since it’s been more than 90 days since Catherine Tokarz has been gone. She left in March and it’s now July. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated no one has applied for the position. The 90 day requirement is only after someone applies. Marjory brought up removal of members. There’s been some discussion on that. The Commission could add a rule to handle that. One reason for removal could be non-attendance of meetings over multiple months and without notification. Other Commission members wanted the verbiage to be more definitive. Scott Ringer asked if that was a vote by the Commission. Chair Marjory Wilkinson said no, that was just something they had in the draft of the Rules of Procedure. It was brought up but there was no reference to removal of members, so we added it in. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place suggested researching how other boards and commissions handle that. Jane Whitehead suggested bad behavior or bad language could be a reason for removal. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated she would look through the other Rules of Procedures for examples. Scott Ringer stated the problem with that is what if you have 6 excused absences in a year. Lois Kessin said being excused is not the same as not showing up. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated if someone is missing that many meetings, perhaps they should question if they’re really interested in serving on the Commission at all. Officers: The Commission shall elect a chairperson and a vice chair at the annual meeting. Initially the idea of adding a treasurer was brought up, but the Commission decided against adding that position. The chair or vice chair shall provide a monthly agenda to the recording secretary on the Friday before the regularly scheduled commission meeting, held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place stated she received the agenda for today’s meeting earlier today. Chair Marjory Wilkinson suggested a change to the draft Rules of Procedure to state the re-election of officers occur at the first annual meeting in September. The schedule of meetings may be changed by the chair or at the written request of 3 members. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. All meetings are subject to 91-A. Only the chair has the authority to cancel a regularly scheduled meeting. Jane Whitehead agreed.  Adoption and amendments to the Rules of Procedure may be adopted or amended by a majority vote of the members at a regularly scheduled meeting unless otherwise stated or unless otherwise required by the context and reference to state law, regulation or code. Scott Ringer stated that as it reads now, only the chair can cancel a meeting. It should state the chair or vice chair. The vice chair can cancel a meeting in absence of the chair. Lois Kessin asked if anyone had their term expiration dates. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place said she would contact Nancy Brown and will get that information to the Commission at the next meeting. Jennifer also suggested a change of reference to “Planning/Code Department” to Planning or Code, as they are 2 different departments now. Scott Ringer asked who maintains the website for the Heritage Commission on the City’s website. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place stated she would update it tomorrow. Lois Kessin stated she will not be renewing her seat on the Commission. She said having 6 meetings a week is too much for her. Chair Marjory Wilkinson asked the members if they wanted to accept the Rules of Procedure as written and with the changes discussed at this meeting or would the Commission like to vote on them at the annual meeting on September 4, 2024. Marjory stated she would make the changes and submit the updated document at the next meeting. 10.11. TREASURER REPORT Recording Secretary Jennifer Place brought up the treasurer’s report from the previous meeting. She suggested the members look at the report from January 2024 in the packet. The amount in the account was $4,480.09. The report from June 2024 shows $750. She asked members to look at the donation account line on the report that showed “#REF.” She told the members that indicated a missing Excel formula and that the funds they thought were gone, were actually still there. It was a clerical error on the report. Jennifer included in the packet a copy of the updated June 2024 report showing $4,480.09. Glenn Smith provided Jennifer with an updated report this morning. Scott Ringer asked if the annual $750 is carried over if not used. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated it does not carry over. If the Commission doesn’t spend it, it does not compound. 11. PUBLIC COMMENT None present. 12. OTHER BUSINESS Recording Secretary Jennifer Place brought the member’s attention to the newspaper ad in their packet. The ad was for vacancies on local boards and commissions. Chair Marjory Wilkinson asked about the Historic District Commission and Jennifer stated there were 4 positions available. Mark Haynes stated Carl Reitz resigned. The only members on that Commission are himself and Charlie St. Clair. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place provided the members a copy of the NH Preservation Alliance membership form that she had previously emailed to the Commission. Jane Whitehead wanted to know if the funds for this membership come out of the operating budget. Jennifer stated she was not sure. Chair Marjory Wilkinson stated she was a member last year. Jennifer suggested they reach out to Glenn Smith, Director of Finance, for that information. Marjory stated she would speak to Glenn. Jane Whitehead stated years ago they attended a lot more workshops and public events than they do now and would like to see Commission members go back to that model. Lois Kessin mentioned the 250th anniversary of Shaker Village was taking place this August. She said there are so many fabulous programs and she visits a few times a week. Every Sunday afternoon at 4PM there’s music on the Common. Yesterday was 60’s music. Dudley Laufman will be there with contra dancers. He doesn’t do it very often anymore. Lois suggested going to their website to check out all the fabulous programs they offer. 12.1 200TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF LACONIA Chair Marjory Wilkinson noted the upcoming 200th anniversary celebration of the Congregational Church of Laconia. There are posters all around the church. Marjory stated it was nice to walk around and read about the history of the church including photos of it over the years. The celebration is on Sunday, July 28, 2024 at 9AM. Former Commission member Catherine Tokarz mentioned to Marjory that it would be nice if the entire Heritage Commission could attend the celebration. They’re also having brunch afterwards. Marjory asked that members make an effort to attend. 13. ADJOURNMENT Chair Marjory Wilkinson asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Jane Whitehead made the motion. Lois Kessin seconded the motion. All members voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 5:01PM. Chair Marjory Wilkinson asked if someone could be designated the Chair for the August 14, 2024 meeting, as she would be out of town. Lois Kessin stated she would not be in town that day either. Scott Ringer stated he will be out of town as well. Recording Secretary Jennifer Place stated there won’t be a quorum and a meeting cannot be held. The Commission members decided not to hold the August 14th meeting. The next meeting will be held on September 4, 2024 at 4PM. Chair Marjory Wilkinson thanked Recording Secretary Jennifer Place and asked for a round of applause for all her hard work on the minutes. Jennifer stated she worked 16 hours on preparing the minutes for the previous meeting.