Historic District Commission

NORWICH HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Minutes of the August 18, 2021 Regular Meeting The regular meeting of the Historic District Commission was held Wednesday August 18, 2021 at 5:30 PM via Zoom virtual meeting. Members Present: Regan Miner (Chairwoman) Timothy Dowhan Richard Guidebeck Gregory Farlow Nancy O’Neil Members Absent: Gregory Johnson Guests: Sandra Nadolny, Michelle Bosco and Chris Skelly Regan Miner reviewed the rules of a virtual meeting and clearly notified participants that the meeting would be recorded. I. Public Meeting The public meeting was convened at 5:33 pm. The order of COA presentations and discussions are at the discretion of the commission to accommodate all participants. ● COA 462 – 44 East Town Street (Shirlene Brashier) Reconstruction, Other The applicant was not in attendance. ● COA 463 – 6 Ox Hill Road (Sandra Nadolny & Michelle Bosco) Reconstruction, Roof, Other Sandra Nadolny stated that when the home was purchased, they were aware of the poor condition of the garage roof which was leaking in several places. They were seeking to replace the roof with like-for-like cedar shingles as well as some work to the facia. Sandra Nadolny stated the work would be completed by the same roofing company that worked on other portions of the house. Timothy Dowhan asked if the entire roof was being replaced with like-for-like materials to which Sandra Nadolny responded  was correct. Regan Miner clarified that the HDC had seen the application before from the previous homeowner, but that application had since expired. II. Regular Meeting The regular meeting was convened at 5:39 PM. A. Action on COA’s ● COA 462 – 44 East Town Street (Shirlene Brashier) Reconstruction, Other Richard Guidebeck made a motion to approve the COA as submitted. Timothy Dowhan seconded. Regan Miner clarified that the work had been discussed at the previous meeting and recommended the homeowner submit a COA post-work as it was an emergency. Regan Miner stated the work has been completed and looked good. Regan Miner added that the work should have been completed prior to the home being closed on that spring but it was not done and left the new homeowner under a tight deadline with their insurance company. Regan Miner stated the applicant had consulted with herself and Richard Guidebeck regarding the extenuating circumstances. Richard Guidebeck, Timothy Dowhan, Gregory Farlow and Regan Miner voted in favor. Nancy O’Neil abstained. The motion passed. ● COA 463 – 6 Ox Hill Road (Sandra Nadolny & Michelle Bosco) Reconstruction, Roof, Other Timothy Dowhan made a motion to approve the COA as presented and submitted. Richard Guidebeck seconded. Richard Guidebeck, Timothy Dowhan, Gregory Farlow and Regan Miner voted in favor. Nancy O’Neil abstained. The motion passed. B. Minutes of Wednesday July 21, 2021 Regular Meeting ● Gregory Farlow made a motion to approve the meeting minutes as written with some wording corrections. Richard Guidebeck seconded. Richard Guidebeck, Nancy O’Neil, Gregory Farlow and Regan Miner voted in favor. Timothy Dowhan abstained. The motion passed. C. Chairman Report ● None. D. Old Business  ● COA 446 – 69 East Town Street (The Norwich Historical Society) – Restoration, Roofing, Chimney Regan Miner stated that in February the Norwich Historical Society applied for a COA to replace the Lathrop Schoolhouse roof with cedar shingles, but the project had been delayed. Regan Miner stated the contractor should have the work completed by the end of August however the COA was approaching its six-month deadline, so the NHS was requesting an extension, with no changes to the COA, in case the work rolled into September. Nancy O’Neil motion to extend COA 446 beyond the sixth month standard period for an additional six months. Richard Guidebeck seconded. Nancy O’Neil, Richard Guidebeck, Timothy Dowhan and Gregory Farlow voted in favor. Regan Miner abstained. The motion passed. E. New Business ● Meet Consultant Chris Skelly introduced himself and stated he recently toured the historic districts with Regan Miner. Chris Skelly stated he was working on the design guidelines and presented a preview of the design guidelines table of contents. Chris Skelly shared some background information about himself and heard introductions from members of the commission. Discussion ensued on hosting a public informational forum in October regarding updating the design guidelines. Regan Miner discussed notifying historic district residents via email as well as city officials and local historic district contractors to inform them of the informational session. Discussion ensued regarding hosting the informational session during the regular meeting in October or during a special meeting. F. Next Meeting Date ● Scheduled for Wednesday September 15, 2021 at 5:30 PM. G. Adjournment ● Richard Guidebeck made a motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 6:39 PM. Nancy O’Neil seconded. All voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Katherine Rose Recording Secretary