Historic District Commission

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Council Chambers, City Hall 70 Maple Street Manistee, MI 49660 SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES July 27, 2009 A Special Meeting of the Manistee City Historic District Commission was held on Monday, July 27, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 70 Maple Street, Manistee, Michigan. Meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Chair Kracht. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dave Carlson, Maria DeRee, Teena Kracht, Nathaniel Neider, John Perschbacher Members Absent: T. Efaxiadis, (excused), Vacancy Others: Kevin Mulvihill (Abonmarche), Elbert Purdom (369 River Street), Vanessa Buhs, Travis Alden (Main Street/DDA Director), Jon Rose (Community Development), and Denise Blakeslee (Planning & Zoning) APPROVAL OF AGENDA: MOTION by Dave Carlson, seconded by Maria DeRee that the Agenda for the July 27, 2009 Special Meeting be approved. With a voice vote this motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION by Nathaniel Neider, seconded by Dave Carlson that the Minutes of the July 13, 2009 Special Meeting be approved. With a voice vote this motion passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS: Elbert Purdom - Big Bear Investments, 369 River Street Chair Kracht called a Special Meeting for the Commission to discuss the project at 369 River Street. City of Manistee Historic District Commission Special Meeting Minutes of July 27, 2009 Page 2 It was called to staff’s attention that the contractor was adding brick to the building at 369 River Street. The addition of new brick over existing brick was not disclosed to the Commission during the application process. It was shown on the construction drawings, but these were not submitted with the application to the Historic District Commission. It was also noted that the brick on the second, and third story has been patched not following the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines. These issues resulted in a suggest to stop the work and a phone call to Robb McKay, State Preservation Office. Mr. McKay recommended that the applicant remove the patches and follow the guidelines in Preservation Brief #1 Assessing Cleaning and Water-Repellent Treatments for Historic Masonry Buildings and Preservation Brief #2 Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings. Copies were given to the applicant. Mr. McKay, State Preservation Office said that there are two ways to address the inclusion of new brick to the front of the building covering the piers that were revealed during demolition process. < First the Historic District Commission could require the brick be removed and a new plan be submitted for approval. This results in a hardship for the owner and delay to the completion of a significant improvement to our downtown. < Second would be for the Historic District Commission to not issue a Certificate of Compliance when the project is completed. Instead a Notice to Proceed can be issued that allows the project to be completed but does not indicate compliance. This stays on file and states that a project was done that did not meet the requirements of the Secretary of the Interior Guidelines, but did not result in irreversible damage to the integrity of the building. Kevin Mulvihill, Abonmarche - Mr. Mulvihill is the Architect for the project. Mr. Mulvihill explained that the building originally had an EFIS system attached to the first floor. There was no documentation that could be found on how the building originally looked. This resulted in having to drill holes into the EFIS system to try to determine what was behind it. Remodeling to the lower portion of the building was done in 1986 that altered the floor level and gave the building a continuous plane. The brick on the side piers has had spalling and were damaged. Anchor points were drilled into the brick when the EFIS system was added to the building. The brick that is being added to the side piers and new brick base will provide a continuous plane for the first floor of the building. The building design was to cover the historical column. Until demolition took place they did not know if it was a metal post or decorative column. The plans were to maintain a cohesive line of the building. If the piers did not have the brick on them then the building would be stepped back on the ends and changes would need to be made to insure waterproofing. City of Manistee Historic District Commission Special Meeting Minutes of July 27, 2009 Page 3 Mr. Mulvihill spoke with the Contractor who said that the brick restoration will be brought into compliance. Jon Rose, Community Development Director - Mr. Rose spoke of his conversation with Mr. McKay and how a Notice to Proceed can be issued instead of Certificate of Compliance. This would allow the project to continue but indicates that compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Restoration was not met. This does not stop the Building Inspector from issuing a Certificate of Occupancy. Elbert Purdom, 369 River Street - Mr. Purdom said that he wants Historical Tax Credits for this project and wants a Certificate of Compliance. Jon Rose - Explained the difference between the Environmental Review that was conducted by the State of Michigan for the MSHDA Grant -vs- the Tax Review that is done for a Historic Tax Credits. Because the State had approved the Environmental Review for the Grant does not mean that it qualifies for Tax Credits. Elbert Prudom - Said that he wants Tax Credits for this project and wants to know what to do. Commissioner Perschbacher said that he had worked on a possible solution. He had found postcards that of the Bank Building that included a portion of this building. He has reviewed these postcards and from that review wrote out the three options he discussed during the meeting for the Recording Secretary to include in the minutes. The three options that are available and Option B may allow Tax Credits: A. As owner proposes. B. Piers to remain as exposed. 1. New added brick to be removed. 2. New added brick under windows - street level up- to be left and continued as planned. 3. Piers to be patched - piers to have the new brick removed along with fasteners and either paint removed or repainted. C. Same as “B” but brick matching piers to be used instead of current new brick under windows to street level. Kevin Mulvihill - It was asked if the columns could be left exposed. Mr. Mulvihill said it would require redesign and time is a factor. Changes to the plan would need to include design to make sure that the building would be waterproof, the contractor is already on site and there are construction costs to be considered. Vanessa Buhs - Ms. Buhs is administering the MSHDA Grant for this project. She said this grant was written and a Notice of Interest was done. They were unable to find pictures and evidence of what was under the facade. Numerous times they came to the Commission and made exhaustive efforts to bring information to the Commission. To bring in full construction drawings for each Commissioner would have cost $3,000. The Commission never asked about the brick and the project received approval from the Historic District Commission, State and Downtown Development Authority. They were never told the project could be stopped. Who is going to pay the additional expenses? City of Manistee Historic District Commission Special Meeting Minutes of July 27, 2009 Page 4 Jon Rose - The Historic District Commission and the State only received a copy of the 8 ½ x 11 colored rendering. The application and presentation to the Commission did not make any mention of new brick being added over the old brick. The Commission did not receive construction drawings that detailed that new brick was being added. Kevin Mulvihill - said that they did not know what the columns would look like, they could have been a metal beam or support post. They were not incorporated into the plan. Vanessa Buhs - how are you suppose to incorporate an element if you do not know what it is? Jon Rose - This is an issue that is dealt with all the time during Historic Preservation. When a new element is discovered then the State or Historic District Commission are notified for direction on how to proceed. The issue here is that if Mr. Purdom wants Historical Tax Credits then the State needs to be contacted with how to proceed. Mr. Rose also asked about the brick repair that was done on the back of the building and wanted to know what type of mortar and repair was done. Kevin Mulvihill - said that he would get a copy for file. The Commission asked if Robb McKay could come here to review the building. Mr. Rose said that the State has cut their Travel and Training Funds. Discussed if the Commission could pay to have him come here. Mr. Rose said he did not believe they had and budgeted funds. Discussed if the DDA Design Committee had any funding available. Kevin Mulvihill - said that he would be willing to go to Lansing to meet with Mr. McKay to discuss the project and a solution. Elbert Purdom - said he would contact Robb Mc Kay about the Historical Tax Credits. He can live with the delay but would like to keep the arches in the plan. He is very disheartened on how this project has gone but he wants the Historical Tax Credits. MOTION by Nathaniel Neider, seconded by Maria DeRee that this item be postponed and placed on the August 6, 2009 agenda under Old Business. With a voice vote this motion passed unanimously. In the event that information is before the next meeting then Chair Kracht will schedule a Special Meeting. OLD BUSINESS None City of Manistee Historic District Commission Special Meeting Minutes of July 27, 2009 Page 5 PUBLIC COMMENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS CONCERNING ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None CORRESPONDENCE None STAFF REPORTS None The Next meeting of the Historic District Commission will be on Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 70 Maple Street. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Maria DeRee, seconded by Nathaniel Neider that the meeting be adjourned. Motion passed unanimously. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 5:30 P.M. MANISTEE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION __________________________________________ Denise J. Blakeslee, Recording Secretary