Russellville Historic District Commission

RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES Conference Room City Hall – Thursday, August 27, 2020 5:00PM Commissioners Present: Betsy McGuire - Chair Suzanne Alford-Hodges – Vice-Chair Judy Galloway – Secretary Greg Barborek Steve Newby Polly Hardin Beverly Hooten Commissioners Absent: Nathan George City Council Liaison Absent: Chris Olson Staff Present: Victoria Marchant - Historic Preservation Officer, Sara Jondahl - City Planner Advisors Present: None Advisors Absent: Danielle Housenick - MSR Director, Trey Smith - City Attorney, T. Kirt Sloan - Fire Chief, Richard Setian - Deputy Building Official, Catherine Barrier - AHPP CLG Director Call to Order, Roll Call & Welcome: Ms. McGuire called the August 27, 2020 meeting of the Russellville Historic District Commission to order at 5:00PM. The roll was called and a quorum was established. Approval of Minutes: Ms. McGuire asked if everyone had read the minutes of the May 28, 2020. Ms. Alford-Hodges made the motion to accept the minutes as written and Ms. Hooten made the second. The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote. Staff Report: None Agenda: Julie Paladino addressed the commission as an advocate for the 1 cent sales tax renewal to be voted on in a special election on September 8th. Early voting begins September 1st. There is a special election because the renewal must be approved by October 1st or the required timeframe for implementing the ordinance could delay the ordinance implementation until the 2nd quarter of 2021 and could cause a lapse in infrastructure funding. The 1 cent tax allocation is 70% for streets and drainage, 10% for Fire/Police vehicles, equipment and other capital assets, 10% for Recreation and Parks and 10% for Economic Development. This tax was used for the Convention Center until it expired in 2010. It is no longer used for this purpose. RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting May 27, 2020 Page 2 Stephanie Warwick was scheduled to speak on the upcoming Oakland Cemetery Workshop. She had something come up and was unable to attend. The workshop will be conducted by Jonathan Appell on September 23rd from9and will demonstrate good preservation practices for historic cemeteries. You need to bring a chair, wear work clothes and bring waterproof gloves. To register contact Stephanie Warwick at 479-857-4074 or swarwick@rsvlar.org or email Jonathan Appell at 48states48days@48 state tour. There will be a portable facility on property and water will be provided. Lunch is on your own. This program is not sponsored by the AHPP. Ms. McGuire will email further information and a link to Jonathan Appell's Facebook page. Kathy Price's resignation was announced. She has moved out of the county and is no longer eligible to be a commissioner. The general consensus was the need for a realtor as indicated in the ordinance. Ms. Jondahl will reach out to the Board of Realtors before the City advertises for the position. Ms. McGuire gave an update on the Latimore Home. The State Review Board has approved the move to James School Park and the home will remain on the National Register. The request will be forwarded to the National Park Service for their approval. The Board of New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church has approved the move and board members are currently calling all members of the congregation to ensure agreement among them. The Verizon cell tower proposed for the lot across from the new location for Latimore Tourist Home was briefly discussed. Verizon is appealing the City Code ruling to the Planning Commission. Verizon does not think there is another viable location for the cell tower. It is unknown whether or not the issue will be tabled again. Those who are against the proposal need to be prepared for any contingency during the Planning Commission meeting. They do not need to be caught off guard in case the issue does move to a vote, instead of being tabled again. There was a proposal received from Terracon for the Old Town Neighborhood historic survey. This was the only proposal received but seemed like a good choice. Mr. Barborek said that he had worked with Terracon on multiple occasions in the past only in a different capacity. It is a well known and respected company and has been in business for a long time. Ms. Galloway made the motion to accept the Terracon proposal and Mr. Barborek made the second. The motion was approved by a voice vote. Ms. Jondahl has contacted the mayor to see if this proposal needs approval by the City Council. She has not had a reply. There is worry that the HDC doesn't need to wait until the City Council meets. Ms. Jondahl understood that all of the HDC's deadlines are flexible. Ms. McGuire understood that all are flexible except the final deadline. She will check with Catherine Barrier. Virtual FORUM was discussed and several commissioners explained important information learned at the different presentations. The commissioners agreed that the most important presentation was the opening plenary session given my Joe Minicozzi regarding flaws in property tax laws that allow large sprawling buildings with spacious parking lots to pay less tax per square foot than smaller property owners and that cities would benefit from a revision in their property tax laws. Old Business: None New Business: None Adjournment: Mr. Newby made the motion to adjourn at 6:05PM and Ms. Hardin made the second. The motion was approved by a voice vote. RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting May 27, 2020 Page 3 Betsy McGuire - Chair Date