Historic Preservation Commission

Lafayette Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes November 23, 2020 7:00 p.m. This meeting of the Lafayette Historic Preservation Commission took place online via GoToMeeting due to the COVID- 19 pandemic and Governor Holcomb’s shelter-in-place orders beginning Tuesday, March 24. All government offices are closed to in-person public activity until further notice. All nonessential City employees are working remotely whenever possible and are continuing to provide core functions online and by phone. All necessary meetings are being conducted observing safe practices, including conference calls and online streaming (https://www.youtube.com/user/CityofLafayetteIN/live). Commission Members in Attendance: John Burns, Julie Ginn, Kevin Klinker, Sean Lutes, Shawna McCully, and Kurt Wahl Absent: Patti Morgan, Amy Paget, Glen Vick Staff in Attendance: John Collier, Michelle Conwell, Dann Keiser (Rob Blue from City IT Department for technical support) Call to Order Noting a quorum, President John Burns called the meeting of the Lafayette Historic Preservation Commission to order at 7:00 pm. John Collier thanked everyone for joining the online GoToMeeting and gave a brief overview of the online meeting process and stated that all votes must be by roll call to be in compliance with Governor Holcomb’s guidelines for online public meetings. Approval of the Minutes Sean Lutes moved to recommend approval of the of the October 26, 2020 meeting minutes. Kurt Wahl seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote. New Business Public Relations and Education Committee The Public Relations Committee met on November 9, 2020 to discuss the idea of a historic signage program in the downtown area. This is similar to an idea that was implemented in Traverse City, MI. The concept is for signs to be added on the backs of existing signs downtown, where possible, that show a historic image of a place where the sign is posted with some additional historical information about the historic image. The PR & Education Committee members thought that the addition of QR codes to the signs could provide additional information in written and perhaps audio formats. The sign also provides an opportunity for sponsorship by groups, businesses or individuals as well as publicity for the Historic Preservation Commission and potential sponsors The Committee will strive to meet again in January with the hope of implementing a prototype in late spring or summer. District Committee New Local Historic District Petitions: 1. A petition to expand the existing Local Upper Main St. Historic District to include 813 Ferry Street was submitted by owner Helene Cornilis. John Collier presented on behalf of the petitioner and stated that the property is a beautiful Italianate home with what appears to be original doors and windows and is located on the south side of Ferry St. between 8th and 9th Streets. Historic Preservation Officer, Dann Keiser, confirmed that it is worthy of designation as an historic property. Julie Ginn made a motion to approve the petition, Kevin Klinker seconded. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote. 2. The next petition is for a new individual property local historic district at 1327 Columbia Street in what will be called the Local St. Mary’s/1327 Columbia St. Historic District. This property is currently a vacant lot as the original (and then modified) structure on that lot was destroyed by fire a few years ago and subsequently demolished. The property is currently owned by the City which would like to have this property designated as a local district to ensure that whatever  gets built there in the future will be appropriate for both the national and local districts. Julie Ginn made a motion to approve the petition, Kevin Klinker seconded. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote. COA Committee report COA applications: 619 Ferry Street-New Pavilion in the west garden A motion to table the petition due to time constraints was made by Kurt Wahl, and seconded by Sean Lutes. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote. Staff Report John Collier reported that due to the upcoming holiday, next month’s COA Committee meeting will be held virtually on December 9, with the full HPC meeting on December 14. The Commission will be voting on meeting dates for next year at this meeting. John shared a draft of the meeting dates get a sense of the Commissioners’ preference for meeting dates around the holidays in November and December of 2021. Public Comment No public comment was received via email to web-ed@lafayette.in.gov prior to the meeting. (Public comment by email is consistent with Governor Holcomb’s guidelines for public comment during the COVID-19 crisis.) Adjournment There being no further business to bring before the Commission, Kevin Klinker moved to adjourn the meeting. Julie Ginn seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously with a roll call vote and the meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission was adjourned at 7:17pm. Respectfully submitted Michelle Conwell, Recording Secretary Approved: _______________________________ Glen Vick, Secretary Historic Preservation Commission