Heritage Preservation Commission

AGENDA Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting 4:45 PM - Monday, May 19, 2025 City Hall Council Chambers Page 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 2.1. February 20, 2025 Meeting Minutes 2-4 HPC Meeting Minutes 2-20-25 3. DESIGN REVIEW 3.1. Graze Coop - Awning Installation - 3 South Minnesota Street 5-8 Graze Awning Design Review 4. OLD BUSINESS 4.1. HPC September, 2025 Conference discussion 5. NEW BUSINESS 5.1. Remove George's Ballroom from the downtown historical district 5.2. Garden Street Information 6. REPORTS FROM CITY AND CHAIR 6.1. City Report 9 2026 Budget Request 6.2. Chair Report 7. ADJOURNMENT Page 1 of 9  MINUTES NEW ULM HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 4:45 P.M. City Hall Council Chambers Present: Chair Deb Zahn, Al Stabenow, Peter Baganz, Cara Knauf, Peg Sundell, Ron Brutlag, and Building Official Ellwood Zabel Absent: Councilor Tom Schmitz 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair, Deb Zahn at 4:45 P.M. 2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS 2.1) Election of Officers for 2025 • Mr. Brutlag nominated Deb Zahn for Chair of the HPC. There were no other nominations. All voted aye, the motion carried. • Mr. Baganz nominated Ron Brutlag for Vice Chair of the HPC. There were no other nominations. All voted aye, the motion carried. • Mr. Brutlag nominated Al Stabenow to remain the Secretary of the HPC. All voted aye, the motion carried. 3. APPROVE MINUTES 3.1) December 16, 2024 Mr. Baganz made a motion to approve the minutes of the December 16, 2024, meeting. The motion was seconded by Ron Brutlag. All voted aye. The motion carried. 4. DESIGN REVIEW 4.1) Sota Street Studio – Sign – 103 North Minnesota Street Mr. Zabel presented the design review application for Sota Street Studio, LLC submitted by Tamara Hanson. • Ms. Hanson stated that the idea for the name came from the location of Minnesota Street. This is a paint your own pottery studio where customers can pick their item, paint it and leave it at the studio to be fired in the kiln. Customers can then pick up their item after 2 weeks. They opened for business on Sunday, February 16th with the grand Page 2 of 9  opening taking place on Saturday, February 22nd. The hours of business are Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Wednesdays through Fridays 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. They will remain closed on Mondays and Tuesdays for firing. The pottery is purchased from an outside source. There are plans to partner with a local artist who has molds for New Ulm specific items. The paint color of the store front will be the same, just freshened up. Ms. Knauf made a motion to approve the sign as submitted. Mr. Brutlag seconded the motion and all voted aye. The motion carried. 5. OLD BUSINESS 5.1) SHPO Fall Conference 2025 discussion Mr. Zabel began discussion, including: • Dates of the conference are September 10-12, 2025 • Walking tour hosted by Terry and Sarah Sweeney or Brown County. • Coach bus tours to Herman, Flandrau State Park, and Schells Brewery. There are two buses scheduled for those tours. The number of participants is unknown. • Historical German Street Home Tour on South German guided by Lisa Bessmer. This tour would be via horse drawn wagon. The capacity for this tour is 30-45 people. They are looking at touring 1 or 2 of the homes. • Tours would end at Black Frost to tour the distillery and learn the history of the building. • Additional possible locations for the bus tours are the Wanda Gag House, the Lind House, the cemetery, the Music Hall of Fame, The Way of the Cross, Herman Heights, and Riverside Park. • Afternoon tours would be from 1-3 p.m. The goal is to have all tours end at Black Frost by 3 p.m. • Registration will be at Schells on Wednesday night. Thursday the sessions will be at Turner Hall and State Street Theatre. Tours will be on Friday afternoon. • Lunch will be provided on Thursday and Friday at Turner Hall. • Topics for breakout sessions will be determined mid-March. • Food is the only cost not included in the grant money. • Bus tour guides are to be determined. Possible bus tour guides include someone from the Chamber, someone from the Brown County Museum, or Professors from the College. • Businesses haven’t been notified of this event yet. • Expected attendance is between 175-200 people. • Black Frost has a new room in the back of the building, and if the weather is nice they can open the garage doors to expand seating. Page 3 of 9 6. REPORTS FROM CITY AND CHAIR 6.1) City Report: Mr. Zabel reported an update on the Herman Monument. The Park and Rec Director was approached by an individual who wants to work with the City and the Legislature to see if they can get a Heritage and Legacy grant. This would potentially expand the amount of available funds for this project. The deconstruction could cost up to 2 million dollars. The reconstruction would include materials from the same pit as the original materials from 1889 using the same tools that were used from that time. The goal is to mitigate the groundwater, rainwater and condensation that comes in. The reconstruction costs could be from 8 to 12 million dollars. Another option would be building an interpretive center while funds are being obtained for the reconstruction. Mr. Brutlag asked if the New Ulm Tire building was part of the Historic District. Mr. Zabel believes the building itself is a historic building, however, will check to see if the location falls within the Historic District. 6.2) Chair Report: Chair Zahn had nothing to report. 7. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 5:30 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Secretary Heritage Preservation Commission Page 4 of 9  Graze Greta Alms 3 South Minnesota Street New Ulm MN 56073 651-747-7155 contact@graze.coop gealoft@gmail.com X X 3 South Minnsota Street Adding an awning to the front of building Sid’s Signs 700 North Broadway X Amy Gulden 5/12/2025 Page 5 of 9 Page 6 of 9 Page 7 of 9 Page 8 of 9  CityofNew Ulm Heritage Preservation Commission 100 North Broadway Telephone: (507)—359-8245 New Ulm, MN 56073 wwwcinew—ulmmn.us April 21, 2025 Chris Dalton, City Manager City of New Ulm 100 North Broadway New Ulm, MN 56073 RE: 2026 Budget Dear Mr. Dalton: On behalf of the New Ulm Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC), l would like to request $10,000 for the 2026 operating budget of the HPC. This is the same amount that has been requested for many years to cover the sign and awning grant program as well as education and training for HPC members. if you have any questions on this matter, please contact me. Sincerely, Deb Zahn HPC Chair Page 9 of 9 DZ/bfw