Russellville Historic District Commission

RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES Council Chamber City Hall – Thursday, October 22, 2020 6:00PM Commissioners Present: Betsy McGuire - Chair Suzanne Alford-Hodges – Vice-Chair Judy Galloway – Secretary Greg Barborek Nathan George Commissioners Absent: Beverly Hooten, Polly Hardin, Steve Newby City Council Liaison Absent: Chris Olson Staff Present: Victoria Marchant - Historic Preservation Officer and Planner 1 Advisors Present: Sara Jondahl - City Planner 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 October 22, 2020 meeting of the Russellville Historic District Commission to order at 6:00PM. The roll was called and a quorum was established. Approval of Minutes: Ms. McGuire asked if everyone had read the minutes of the September 24, 2020. Mr. Barborek made the motion to accept the minutes as written and Mr. George made the second. The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote. Staff Report: Ms. Marchant reported that the application for the 9th commission member, Leo Cantu, had been sent to the Mayor for approval and he has not acted on it yet. Agenda: The first item, a COA for B street Bakery and Deli at 311 West "B" Street, was pulled from the agenda because legal notice was not obtained timely. Item two on the agenda was a COA for a 48" x 22" blade sign for Garage Arcade at 312 West 2nd Street. Ms. Marchant, City HPO, reported that the sign complied with section 10.27. The sign does not (a) detract from the architectural integrity of the building, (b) was constructed of appropriate materials, (c) the colors were in harmony with the building and (d) it does not obscure ornament or detail of architectural features. Ms. Galloway pointed out that the lighting on the sign was out of compliance with 10.27 (e) exterior lights should be concealed with no bare bulbs and should not exceed 60 watts incandescent. It was understood that the lights RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting October 22, 2020 Page 2 were installed by a previous owner without a COA application, but the lights needed to be shielded. Mr. Barborek thought the commission could provide photos of appropriate fixtures. Ms. Young indicated that it was her intent to shield the bulbs. Ms. Alford-Hodges made the motion to approve the COA with the condition that the bulbs be shielded and of the appropriate wattage. Ms. Galloway made the second. The COA was approved by a voice vote. Ms. Galloway was concerned about all of the overhead and window signs installed in the Russellville Downtown Historic District that had not had a COA submitted to the commission. Ms. Jondahl and Ms. Marchant had walked the area and noted all signage that had no COA. It was suggested by Ms. Jondahl that unapproved signs placed by businesses in the historic district beginning January of 2020 would need to complete a COA so that they would be documented by the City. Window signs could receive staff approval without a COA unless there was a question about the appropriateness of the sign. Mr. Barborek made the motion regarding signs placed beginning January 2020 and Ms. Alford Hodges made the second. The motion was approved by a voice vote. Ms. McGuire had questions for Ms. Jondahl regarding "Reimagine Russellville 2020". She was concerned about the lack of walk able neighborhoods that were indicated on the current map of the City suggested by the plan. The proposed Old Town Neighborhood Historic District proposed by the commission was not listed as a walk able neighborhood. Ms. Jondahl said that since it is now 2020, the plan had been renamed "Reimagine Russellville 2040" and the current plan is not in the final form. Ms. Alford-Hodges reported an update on the proposed Verizon cell tower to be located at 634 West 5th Street between James School Park and the proposed Old Town Historic District. There was a lot of opposition to the tower organized by Sarah Hann and there was support of the city officials to deny the location. Verizon had previously approached the school board in 2018 to try and get approval for a tower on their property and it was denied. There is now an entirely different school board and Verizon is in negotiation with the school district to locate the tower in a wooded area to the south of the school. Ms. Alford-Hodges referenced a letter from Eric Mills on the staff of the Section 106 review for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program indicating that in the initial letter sent to Kurt Jones, HPO, on August 15, 2019 never received a response from the City and the AHPP's previous concurrence for the cell tower was rescinded. Ms. Jondahl reported on the status of the contract between the City and Terracon, the company proposing to complete the survey of the proposed Old Town Historic District. When Terracon returned the signed contract, they had made unapproved changes not approved by the City Council by striking two paragraphs of Section 6.4 of the contract regarding legal representation. The contract must now be reviewed by the City Council a second time for their approval. Ms. Jondahl believes that the City will be able to meet all deadlines required by the CLG Grant Number 20-CLG-09. Ms Jondahl said that Mayor Harris was concerned that the residents of the Old Town Neighborhood were not getting to have any input about the proposed historic district. Ms. McGuire explained that the Terracon contract was for a survey only and would not make the area a district. Historic districts occur by ordinance and approval by the City Council. The survey is to determine if the area is eligible to be formed as an historic district. Ms. McGuire addressed the update on the Latimore Tourist Home. The New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church has agreed to donate the building to the City. The Reverend Tyus is waiting to have a meeting with Mayor Harris to finalize the decision. RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting October 22, 2020 Page 3 The last item on the agenda concerned an update to the Historic District Commission's page on the City website. Past commissioner Kathy Keenan-Price needs to be removed and Nathan George needs to be added. The new meeting time of 6:00pm needs to be added. Ms. Marchant will take care of the revision. Unfinished Business: Reminder that the November meeting will be on November the 18th and the December meeting will be on the 16th because of the holidays. New Business: Ms. Jondahl asked that Staff Report, currently a separate part of the agenda, be included in agenda items, as it is for the Planning Commission and the City Council. Ms. Galloway agreed to make the change. Adjournment: Ms. Alford-Hodges made the motion to adjourn at 7.05PM and Mr. Barborek made the second. The motion was approved by a voice vote. Betsy McGuire - Chair Date