Russellville Historic District Commission

RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting – Thursday, February 4, 2016 City Hall – Council Chambers 6:00PM Commissioners Present Greg Barborek – Chair Suzanne Alford-Hodges – Vice Chair Judy Galloway – Secretary Linda Carnahan Gerald Hook Kathy Keenan-Price Steve Newby Staff Present Kurt Jones, City Engineer / HPO Advisors Present Betsy McGuire – Director Main Street Russellville; Brian Holstein – Director of Development; Present at the regular meeting were Trey Smith – City Attorney and Mayor – Randall Horton Advisors Absent John Cochran – Fire Chief; Robert Wiley – City Council Liaison Call to Order & Welcome @ 6:00PM: Acting Chair, Greg Barborek, called the January 7, 2016 meeting of the Russellville Historic District Commission to order at 6:00PM and a quorum was established. Approval of Minutes from Thursday, January 7, 2016: Mr. Barborek asked if everyone had read the minutes of the January 7, 2016 meeting. Mr. Hook made the motion to accept the January 7th minutes as written. Mr. Newby seconded the motion and the minutes were approved unanimously by a voice vote. Staff Report: HPO Jones presented the “design in progress” that local Architect Bob Hiegel and Mason Toms, Preservation Service Design Coordinator for Main Street Arkansas, are collaborating on for Mr. Christensen’s façade rehab at 301 W. Main Street. He emphasized that he is not asking for a determination since it is unknown whether or not Mr. Christensen has approved the design. There was a short discussion on the COA for the door addition at the Shinn Bldg. 317-319 W. Main. The owners (TMA Holdings, LLC) of the buildings at 110-114 S. Commerce have been sent a COA application for retrospective approval of the new doors that were installed without HDC approval and were not noticed until the project was completed. The awnings were approved by staff before they were installed. RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting of February 4, 2016 Page 2 Ms. Galloway asked HPO Jones about the HDC using the “Authorized Agent Form” developed for the Planning Commission to expedite the COA approval process when the owner is unable to attend the meeting. City Attorney Smith indicated that this would be acceptable. The first item of business was the election of officers for 2016. Mr. Barborek was asked to remain as Chair and Ms. Alford Hodge as Vice Chair. Ms. Hodge asked if anyone would be interested in the position, stating she would relinquish Vice Chair but would continue if no one else was interested. No other commissioner volunteered. The Bylaws state that the Historic Preservation Officer “shall serve as Secretary”. HPO Jones indicated he would prefer not to be in charge of minutes and Ms. Galloway volunteered for the position. Mr. Newby made the motion to accept the three officers as presented. Mr. Hook made the second. Officers for 2016 were approved by a voice vote. The second item of business was the determination on Commissioner’s terms. Bylaws direct members serve three years each and the appointment arranged so that at least one member’s term expire each year. Mr. Barborek thought that he was appointed along with Ms. Price in 2013 and that their terms expire in 2017. We are not in possession of the list Commissioner’s terms kept by the previous HPO. The general consensus was that Mr. Barborek would come up with commissioner’s terms and present it to the Mayor for approval. The next item of business was review and determination on a retrospective COA for the Shinn Bldg. at 317-319 W. Main Street by Luke Duffield for a front door. The commission does not review interior work. In the past Mr. Duffield was approved for a temporary fire escape for the 2nd story on the west side of his building. He indicated to the HPO at the time of the fire escape approval that he was planning to renovate the original stairway to the upstairs and install a new front door. The commission was not aware or did not notice that the work on the stair had begun and the installation of the front door happened unnoticed. We asked for a retroactive COA to remedy the deficiency. No one was present to speak to the COA. Ms. Galloway moved for approval. There was a second by Ms. Price. The motion passed by a voice vote. The fourth item on the agenda was a presentation by Ms. Alford-Hodge of a packet to be sent to all property owners and tenants in the Downtown Historic District with information needed to work with the HDC. This information would help them avoid misunderstandings that create problems and educate them about the importance of good preservation practices in the district. Ms. Alford-Hodge asked commissioners to read, critique, amend the information and email her with suggestions. She also noted the necessity of have the information and photographs edited by a good graphic designer and put into an appealing, eye-catching format. A checklist and incentive programs were also suggested for this packet. The CLG Coordinator advised that CLG funds could be used for this project. Review of the revision to Ordinance 2023 was briefly discussed. Mr. Barborek said that he would set up another meeting next week to work on revisions and the commission would be notified. Mr. Eaton made some good points at the first meeting that the meeting did not address. Last item on the agenda was discussion of updates to the design guidelines to include correction of the header on the current COA Application to reflect Public Works Department, correct address, telephone number and fax number. Under “Period of Effectiveness”, the sentences requiring resubmission after one year and the next sentence indicating any work done out of the scope of work of the approved COA renders it null and void need to be removed. Clarification by the CLG Director indicated that only the unapproved part of the project must cease. Any approved work may continue. RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting of February 4, 2016 Page 3 The submission requirements for existing buildings, new construction, demolition of existing buildings, moving a building in or out of the historic district and signage or window lettering, need to be stated clearly so that there is no room for misunderstanding. Mr. Barborek is working on this application. The commission determined not to use proper names in the guidelines but to note only the title of the person, e.g. the Historic Preservation Officer is the HPO and not “John Smith”. HPO Jones asked if anyone had an editable CD of the Design Guidelines. Ms. Galloway said that she would contact Sandra Taylor-Smith who prepared the document and see if she can provide us with a copy. The previous HPO had a copy but no one has been able to locate it. Additional Business or items for discussion: Ms. Carnahan recognized two Arkansas Tech students in the audience, Corey Runion and Brianna Allen, who attended the meeting as a project for their Government Class. The commission thanked them for coming to observe. Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 6:40PM. Greg Barborek, RHDC Chair Date