Historic District Commission

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Council Chambers, City Hall 70 Maple Street Manistee, MI 49660 MEETING MINUTES November 1, 2012 A Meeting of the Manistee City Historic District Commission was held on Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 70 Maple Street, Manistee, Michigan. Meeting was called to order at 3:04 p.m. by Chair Kracht. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Teena Kracht, Jeremy Loveless, John Perschbacher, Mary Russell Members Absent: Dave Carlson, Maria DeRee (excused), T. Eftaxiadis (excused) Others: Travis Alden (DDA/Main Street Director), Jon Rose (Community Development), Mark Fedder (Manistee County Historical Museum) Steve Harold (Manistee County Historical Museum) and Denise Blakeslee (Planning & Zoning) and others APPROVAL OF AGENDA: MOTION by John Perschbacher, seconded by Mary Russell that the Agenda be approved as prepared. With a voice vote this motion pass unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION by John Perschbacher, seconded by Mary Russell that the Minutes of the August 2, 2012 Meeting be approved With a voice vote this motion passed unanimously. MOTION by Mary Russell, seconded by Jeremy Loveless that the Minutes of the October 12, 2012 Emergency Review Subcommittee Meeting be approved With a voice vote this motion passed unanimously City of Manistee Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes November 1, 2012 Page 1 NEW BUSINESS: Michigan’s Certified Local Government Program Members of the Commission were sent information about the Michigan’s Certified Local Government Program and the application process. The Commissioners discussed the program and additional responsibilities it would require from the commission. Staff was asked to contact Brian Conway, State Historic Preservation Officer to see if he would come and talk to the Commission about the program. Meeting Dates 2013 Staff has prepared a list of Meeting dates for 2013 for the Commission to review. Motion by MOTION by John Perschbacher, seconded by Mary Russell that the Historic District Commission schedules their meeting dates for 2013 as follows: January 3, 2013 February 7, 2013 March 7, 2013 April 4, 2013 May 2, 2013 June 6, 2013 July 11, 2013 * August 1, 2013 September 5, 2013 October 3, 2013 November 7, 2013 December 5, 2013 *Changed due to holiday With a voice vote this motion passed unanimously OLD BUSINESS None PUBLIC COMMENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS CONCERNING ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None City of Manistee Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes November 1, 2012 Page 2 CORRESPONDENCE None STAFF REPORTS Travis Alden, DDA/Main Street Director – spoke to the Commission about the Façade Grant Program, how funding for the program is allocated, changes are being made to make sure that heir is an alignment between the Design Committee and Historic District Commission and the program. Mr. Alden spoke of requests for reimbursement for projects and the need to have approval from the Historic District Commission as part of the process. Currently the Historic District Commission has a sub-committee that can close out permits. The process was discussed and it was noted that for large projects the sub-committee has the right to defer approval from the Commission as a whole. Mr. Alden said that Michael Cnudde, 335 River Street is requesting reimbursement for his project. Jon Rose and Chair Kracht had discussed with the Commission with the assistance of a photo from the October 27-28 issue of the News Advocate and some photos that Mr. Alden had taken. The photos revealed that several elements from the application were either altered or missing. This resulted in the Commission taking a close look of the original application and the request for an emergency meeting and the photos. The following discrepancies were noted:  The brackets are undersized – the design plan submitted with the application specified “Reconstruct wood cornice with brackets to match the cornice seen in the historic photograph (similar to existing cornice on adjacent building at 333 River Street) and paint.”  The brick was not properly cleaned and repaired before it was painted (the adhesive from the tile was not removed and brick was not repointed/repaired in some places) – the permit issued on June 18, 2012 specified “Remove plywood, furring strips and tile from upper façade and brick columns on either side of the storefront, repair, repoint and paint all masonry following recommendations from the Design Specialist, State Historic Preservation office.”  The wood panels, trim and the column between the front windows and entrance do not match the design plan that was submitted with the application.  The Commission scheduled an Emergency Meeting on October 12, 2012 to consider a change to the plan when it was discovered that there was not brick behind the tile. The plan that was submitted to the Emergency Sub-Committee was prepare by the Kelly Larson, Design Specialist, State Historic Preservation Office. Ms. Larson’s revisions were as follows: o Install wood panels and trim (simple design, not overly elaborate or detailed) on any City of Manistee Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes November 1, 2012 Page 3  areas of the storefront exposed by removing the plywood and tile. o Height of recessed entrance to extend up to original ceiling height (just below cornice) repair wood ceiling as needed.  All other recommendations for the façade outlined in the design services package (dated May 15, 2012) are to remain.  As shown on Revised Façade Improvements plan dated 10/4/12. The Commission noted that they were not being “picky”, they can only approve a plan as submitted with the application. Mr. Alden will contact Mr. Cnudde and explain the situation. Mr. Rose or Mr. Niesen will follow up. The Commission spoke of the assistance that property owners receive by using the Design Services (at no cost to them) for projects in the District. The Historic District spoke of their responsibilities to follow the Secretary of the Interior Standards for projects. Mark Fedder, Museum Director – Approved the following requests: Paint Colors for Rich Mosher 358 River Street this was issued permit PHDC12-017 Paint Colors for Rich Mosher 360 River Street this was issued permit PHDC12-018 Paint Colors for Ed Reed, 365 River Street this was issued permit PHDC12-019 Routine Maintenance for Ed Reed, 365 River Street this was issued Permit PHDC12-020 Signage for Shari Wild, 421 River Street this was issued Permit PHDC12-021 Jon Rose, Community Development Director – spoke to the Commission about getting some color palettes that can assist property owners in selecting appropriate paint colors for their buildings. Mark Fedder spoke of the problems he has encountered trying to determine where colors will be on the building and how they will look. There have been problems when requests are submitted and the applicant refers to paint numbers and have a rendering or have scanned the paint chips. Paint Chips are to be submitted with all applications to eliminate variations of colors. The Commission noted that the Museum Director has the right to defer to the Commission any requests that he feels does not meet the guidelines. Discussed the need to review the process and develop a palette. It was noted that Brian Conway spoke about color palettes at the Workshop and when staff contacts they are to ask him if he has anything that can help. Travis Alden said that Kelly Larson may also have color palettes. The Commission will schedule a Worksession after Mr. Conway is contacted. City of Manistee Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes November 1, 2012 Page 4 MEMBERS DISCUSSION Commissioner Perschbacher – spoke about the Kendall Building in downtown Grand Rapids and the grant funds they have received for renovation and asked staff to look into the funding they received. The Next meeting of the Historic District Commission will be on Thursday, December 6, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 70 Maple Street. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Mary Russell, seconded by John Perschbacher that the meeting be adjourned. Motion passed unanimously. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 4:25 P.M. MANISTEE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION __________________________________________ Denise J. Blakeslee, Recording Secretary City of Manistee Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes November 1, 2012 Page 5