Historical Commission

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION MEETING NOVEMBER 8, 2018 MINUTES Moultrie Middle School Present: Rick Gutowski, Chairman; Patrick Morrissey, Heidi Schless, Brittany Lavelle-Tulla, Marc Fountain Staff: Kate Dolan, Michael Robertson, Lynnette Lynes, Jane Yager-Baumrind Also: Walter Brown Mr. Gutowski called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. and welcomed the Eighth Grade Students of Moultrie Middle School. He asked for a moment of silence for the recent loss of Ms. Mary Julia Royall. 1. Approval of Agenda Mr. Morrissey moved for approval of the agenda. Mr. Fountain second the motion. All in favor. 2. Approval of Minutes Approval of the minutes was deferred. 3. Public Comment There being no public comment, Mr. Gutowski continued with the agenda. 4. A Brief History of Mount Pleasant Mr. Gutowski introduced Mr. Michael Robertson from the Planning Department who gave a brief history of Mount Pleasant through a PowerPoint presentation. 5. Discuss Fiscal Year 2018/2019 Annual Budget The Commission reviewed the annual budget and agreed to the following initial allocation:  Historical Commission November 8, 2018 Page 2 of 7 ➢ Black History Month $3,000 ➢ Cresco Award $1,500 ➢ Historical App and website $1,612 ➢ Preservation of Minute books $ 900 ➢ Re-print of rack cards $ 500 ➢ Town Hall History Room TBD ➢ Oral History Program TBD Total $7,512 Mr. Gutowski moved for approval of the proposed initial budget. Mr. Morrissey second the motion. All in favor. 6. Consideration of Cresco Historical Stewardship Award Ms. Dolan stated that a nomination for Alhambra Garden Club was received for the preservation work done at Patjens Post Office. She stated that the application for the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association could be considered as well, if desired. Ms. Schless suggested a Commission member should be assigned this project since Mr. McDonald is no longer on the Commission. Ms. Lavelle-Tulla stated that she would be willing to coordinate the Cresco Award on an interim basis until the vacancy is filled. Ms. Schless stated that the oral history project should be re-assigned as well. Mr. Fountain stated that he would be willing to work on the oral histories on an interim basis until the seat is filled. Ms. Dolan asked if given the timeframe, the Commission desired to present the Cresco Award at the December Town Council meeting. She stated that the medallion has not been ordered yet and she would have to check with the new vendor to determine if it could be cast in time for the December meeting. Mr. Gutowski moved to approve the Alhambra Garden Club for the Cresco Award with the presentation at the December Town Council meeting. Ms. Schless  Historical Commission November 8, 2018 Page 3 of 7 seconded the motion. Motion passed on a 4 to 1 vote, with Mr. Gutowski, Ms. Lavelle-Tulla, Ms. Schless, and Mr. Morrissey in favor; Mr. Fountain opposed. 7. Discuss Black History Month Mr. Gutowski asked Mr. Brown to update the Commission on the Black History Month presentations. Mr. Brown stated that a panel discussion on the racial disparities in Charleston would be held on February 2nd. He stated Dr. Patricia Williams Lessane, Executive Director of the Avery Research Center, Barney Colliers, Darien Calvin, and Heather Hodges, Executive Director of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission would be some of the panelists. Mr. Gutowski asked where the event would be held. Mr. Brown stated that he has not finalized a location to date, but should have a location finalized by the next meeting. Mr. Brown stated that the Plantation Singers would perform on February 9th, at Christ Church. He stated that he is working on the possibility of having Mr. Talbert former Head Librarian for the Library of the US Supreme Court, speak on February 16th along with citizens relating the history of Lincolnville and the establishment of the Emanuel AME Church. Mr. Brown stated that he is in discussion with a Gullah Band, Racky Tacky, to perform on February 23rd and seeing if Alhambra Hall would be available. Mr. Brown mentioned he is working on the possibility of having a presentation on the History of Sea Island and Mosquito Beach for next year. Ms. Lavelle-Tulla mentioned she is the architectural historian working on the history of Mosquito Beach along with Michael Allen. She stated that she would contact Mr. Brown about coordinating efforts and sharing information. 8. Committee Reports A. Communications Committee Ms. Lavelle stated that she and Mr. Fountain are working on updates to the history pages of the Town’s website. In addition, the Cresco Award application is now online. She asked about the possibility of having a blog. Ms. Lynes suggested Ms. Lavelle send any posts or social media requests to staff and they  Historical Commission November 8, 2018 Page 4 of 7 would then be forwarded to the Communications office for approval and dissemination. Ms. Schless also asked about advertising the vacancies on the Commission. Ms. Lynes answered that the vacancies are announced at the Town Council meeting. Ms. Lavelle-Tulla stated that she contacted Cleveland University regarding changes to the historical app and historical website. She stated that any changes completed by Cleveland University would incur additional charges. Ms. Dolan stated that any changes can be submitted to her and she would be able to update the website and historical app. Ms. Lavelle-Tulla asked about having an intern for the Commission. She stated that as a professor at the College of Charleston, many of her students are looking for intern opportunities for college credit (without pay) and suggested that this could be a valuable resource for the Commission. Ms. Lynes stated that typically internships are not funded from the Commission budget, but rather the Planning Department budget. She suggested that Ms. Lavelle-Tulla forward the internship criteria and information on students in need of internships so they can be reviewed and considered by the Director of Planning and Development. Ms. Lavelle-Tulla stated that one aspect of the communications committee is to review the Planning Commission agenda items to determine if there are any changes proposed for historical properties. She asked about demolitions and how she can be notified when a demolition permit is issued. Mr. Robertson stated that no research is done, and a permit can be issued regardless of historical designation. Ms. Lynes suggested that Ms. Lavelle-Tulla could submit a freedom of information (FOIA) request for a list of all demolition permits that have been issued. Ms. Schless asked Mr. Robertson how properties outside of the Old Village Historic District can be deemed historic. Mr. Robertson stated it must be requested by the property owner. He stated that there is a survey of historic properties that was completed in 1988. Ms. Dolan stated that she has a copy of the 1988 survey.  Historical Commission November 8, 2018 Page 5 of 7 Mr. Morrissey suggested that preserving historic properties should be part of the Commission’s mission. Mr. Robertson suggested that the Commission should determine a mechanism on how historic properties could be preserved. Ms. Lavelle-Tulla stated that she will be attending a conference on preserving historical properties and suggested that she could work on this issue and report back to the Commission. B. Archives and Artifacts Mr. Morrissey suggested the Commission visit the archive room and provide feedback at the next meeting on how the archive room can be better organized now that furniture has arrived. He stated that he has some suggestions that would require budgetary consideration. He stated that he and Ms. Dolan met with legal counsel regarding the form for receiving items for the archive room. Mr. Morrissey stated that as previously reported with the budget review, there are minute books that need restoration. Ms. Dolan suggested that she and Mr. Morrissey schedule time to pick up the restored minute books from the Library Society and determine which books should be restored next. C. Christ Church Line Mr. Morrissey stated that Mr. Bostic is still in negotiations regarding the easements for extending the Christ Church Line protection, and Mr. Bostic will inform the Commission when these negotiations are completed. Mr. Gutowski ask about the historical markers. Mr. Morrisey stated Mr. Bostic has not provided an update on this. D. Historical Marker Program Mr. Morrisey stated that the substation building the Commission suggested be named for Edmond Jenkins has already been dedicated and named for Conrad Benton by Town Council in 2003. Mr. Morrisey suggested that a small sculpture might be appropriate that could be displayed at Town Hall. He also suggested that the historical information provided by the family be verified as the Commission moves forward.  Historical Commission November 8, 2018 Page 6 of 7 E. Quick Fact Friday Ms. Schless stated that staff has temporarily taken on the task of developing the quick fact Friday (QFF) posts for November and Mr. Fountain would be working on the QFF posts for December due to the recent Commission member vacancy. She stated that the Commission originally made a two-year commitment in 2017 to produce QFF content and suggested that the Commission should determine how to proceed with the QFF posts for 2019. She suggested that there could be a collection of the QFF posts displayed or added to the website. F. Rack Cards Ms. Schless asked if those assigned to distribute rack cards have completed the distribution. She asked that the Commission utilize Microsoft One Drive or some other shared drive to expedite information. Ms. Schless asked if a college student could be appointed to the Commission if they meet the criteria for consideration. Mr. Gutowski answered that the members are appointed by Town Council. Ms. Gutowski stated that a proclamation for Mary Julia Royall, Town Historian, who recently passed away would be presented to her family at the November Town Council meeting. He expressed concern that the Commission had not been notified or asked to review the proclamation. He stated that there would be a service for Ms. Royall on November 30th and ceremony on December 1st. He stated that he would send additional information to the Commission. 9. Staff Update Ms. Dolan stated that she has reached out to Doug Bostic about the Primus Tract. Ms. Dolan also reached out to Gary Ponder about the One Hand Sanders historical marker that will be paid out of the project budget. She suggested the Confederate flags in the Archive Room need to be restored. Mr. Gutowski asked staff to get an estimate on the flag restoration.  Historical Commission November 8, 2018 Page 7 of 7 Mr. Gutowski noted that he and Ms. Dolan came across documents in the Archive Room pertaining to Dr. Dupre, for whom the quilt displayed there was made. There being no further business, meeting adjourned at 11:00am. Submitted by, Jane Yager-Baumrind November 8, 2018