Russellville Historic District Commission

RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting Thursday, November 5, 2015 — City Hall Council Chambers — Commissioners Present Greg Barborek—Acting Chair Linda Carnahan Suzanne Alford-Hodges Vice Chair — Kathy Keenan-Price Judy Galloway Commissioners Absent Gerald Hook Steve Newby Advisors Present John Cochran Fire Chief — Brian Holstein — Building Official Betsy McGuire MSR Executive Director — Call to Order & Welcome Acting Chair, Greg Barborek, called the November 5, 2015 meeting of the Russeliville Historic District Commission to order at 6PM and a quorum was established. Approval of Minutes from October 1, 2015 RHDC Meeting: No minutes — City Planner/Historic Preservation Officer, David Harris resigned effective October 30, 2015. Agenda: Not prepared because of HPO resignation. MSR Director, McGuire said that Kurt Jones had agreed to be the HPO but was unable to attend this meeting because of a prior commitment. Brian Holstein, Director of Community Development, was present to inquire about the necessity of a COA for replacement of the walk in freezer at the new Pasta Grill, site of the former Italian Gardens at the SE corner of S. Denver and West Main Streets. After a short discussion, the motion was made by Ms. Galloway and seconded by Ms. Carnahan that the freezer would not require a COA. Motion was approved by all in a voice vote. The owners are also interested I replacing a wood fence with a brick enclosure at the rear of the building to shield the freezer and a service area from street view and it was determined a COA would be required. Mr. Holstein has not attended an HDC meeting in the past and described to the commission his job and responsibilities as the building official. There was additional discussion regarding the importance of open communication between community development and the HDC. There is a flow chart used by the city as a guideline for developers to follow in obtaining the correct permits for projects. HDC also has a flow chart. It was decided that the two charts needed to be combined to clarify the process of permitting. MSR Director, McGuire, inquired about available CLG money for commission training. There is money available, but the exact amount was unavailable at meeting time. Ms. Galloway noted that training for commissioners needs to be mandatory. At our meeting, Thursday May t7 h, Commissioners reviewed the plans for 304 W. Main Façade Rehabilitation. The commissioners requested the following information from Mr. Christensen: Notations of all exterior materials, including whether existing or new on all drawings. Include alifinal finishes on materials, i.e. paint on brick. We have not heard from Mr. Christensen and he has not presented his windows as stipulated on his COA. Mr. Barborek will check with Mr. Hiegel, the architect, about this omission. Ms. Galloway brought up several items concerning the commission’s City of Russellville Website presence that need to be addressed. Missing items include meeting time and place, agendas, minutes, commissioners and advisers. She volunteered to contact Lyn Jacimore, IT Director, and ask her to add the missing information. Name plaques for commissioners were discussed and Ms. Galloway is going to check into having some made. Ms. Galloway inquired about creating the “West Main Historic District” to prevent further loss of historic fabric on this corridor. Several property owners are interested and prepared to put the request in writing to present to the commission. Sandra Taylor-Smith, Director of the NLR History Commission, has agreed to come and look at the area to determine if it suitable for a survey. Galloway hoped there is enough CLG money to pay for the survey, if appropriate. Ms. Hodges asked if her neighborhood in “Old Town” could be included in the same survey. Galloway thought the areas needed to be formed and listed separately. It was brought up by Ms. Galloway that she thought that our COA needed revision to a simpler form and that we needed a detailed information sheet for applicants describing design review procedures. Other cities have forms for “Notice of Public Hearing” and “Authorization of Representation Statement” that would also streamline the COA process. Commissioners will need to review the Little Rock and Conway documents and send their ideas to Ms. Galloway to aid in development of Russellville procedures. There was discussion of development of a logo for the RHDC for documents and correspondence. Mr. Barborek said he had some experience with logos and volunteered to see what designs he could develop for our review. Ms. Price suggested that we involve the art students at AR Tech. After short discussion, the commission decided to let Mr. Barborek proceed. Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 7:30PM. ( -! Greg Barborek, Acting RHDC Chair Date