Russellville Historic District Commission

RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES Council Chamber City Hall – Thursday February 25, 2021 6:00PM Commissioners Present: Betsy McGuire - Chair Suzanne Alford-Hodges Judy Galloway – Secretary Steve Newby Polly Hardin Nathan George Leo Cantu Commissioners Absent: Greg Barborek, Beverly Hooten City Council Liaison Absent: Phyllis Carruth Staff Present: Victoria Marchant - Historic Preservation Officer and Planner 1 Advisors Present: Sara Jondahl - City Planner Liaisons 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 February 25, 2021 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 welcomed attendees. She asked if everyone had read the minutes of the January 28, 2021. Ms. Alford- Hodges made the motion to accept the minutes as written and Ms. Hardin made the second. The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote. Agenda: The first item on the agenda was a COA for 115 W. Main Street (the Jenkins Building) for window lettering and a 22" X 30" hanging sign on behalf of Friendship Foundation presented by Michael Hutchison, President of Friendship Foundation. Ms. Marchant reported that the signs were in compliance with Section 10.27 (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F) and (G) of the Design Guidelines and with the condition that Friendship Foundation received a sign permit from the City of Russellville. Mr. Newby made the motion to approve and Mr. George made the second. The motion was approved by a unanimous voice vote. The second COA was for 110 N. Commerce Avenue for exterior changes to the façade that were made without a COA or a building permit. This section is a part of the same building as 112-114 N. Commerce Avenue. The work was completed by Russellville Downtown LLC. There was no COA application as required by Ordinance 2023, Section 5: Certificate of Appropriateness Required (a), (b) and (c). Mr. Streett was not at the meeting, but asked the HPO to please table until next month. He is working with the exterior design consultant, Hannah Ratzlaff, at Main Street Arkansas. Mr. George made the motion to table and Mr. Newby made the second. The motion passed by a voice vote. RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting February 25, 2021 Page 2 Unfinished Business: Masonry resources available for projects like Jackalope cycling 112-114 N. Commerce Avenue. There are more resources available than Acme brick. There is Antique Brick and Block in Little Rock that has a warehouse of antique brick at 1609 East 9th Street in Little Rock and Godfrey & Black Brick & Stone at 6001 S. Zero in Fort Smith. Ms. Alford-Hodges made the motion that the commission should be able to review the brick that is planned for use on the Jackalope Building to approve that it matches existing brick. Ms. Galloway made the second. The motion was approved by a voice vote. Status with Terracon was updated by Ms. Jondahl. She reported that Terracon employees are pre-filling as much of the survey forms as possible and they plan to be in Russellville on March 3-6 to perform survey work. They will meet with the commission at our convenience. Ms. Jondahl will schedule and let the commissioners know about the date and time. Ms. McGuire reported that the Board of Latimore Tourist home had met, bylaws have been approved, officers elected and application for 501(c)(3) status applied for. The next step is to obtain an EIN for the corporation. New Business: Commissioner terms were discussed. Ms. Jondahl said that she had recommended to Mayor Harris that the three commissioners whose terms are expiring, Betsy McGuire, Judy Galloway and Beverly Hooten, be reappointed. She recommended that election of officers be postponed until after the appointments. Ms. Galloway made the motion to postpone and Mr. George made the second. The motion passed by a voice vote. Election of officers will be postponed until the March meeting of the Russellville Historic District Commission. Ms. McGuire brought information about 16 Things for HP Commissioners to Avoid and information about the Certified Local Government Program of which Russellville is a part. She noted that the 2nd week in March is Historic Preservation Week. Ms. Alford-Hodges brought up her e-mail about contacting your state representative, Joe Cloud, about HB1555 that is now in committee. This bill would increase Arkansas Tax Credit Money from 4 million to 10 million dollars a year. Money for FY21 was expended on the first day of the year. Please contact him and advocate for the passage of this bill. Mr. Cantu inquired about how this commission was going to address owners and renters lack of knowledge about necessary procedures to follow when in the historic district. Ms. Alford-Hodges told him that in the past the commission had sent out certified letters to owners and renters in the district to let them know about COAs and their obligation. Mr. George suggested a post card since it is less expensive. Ms. McGuire mentioned that she had received example letters from Brian Minyard, Planner II City of Little Rock. He emails these to property owners once per year and to salesmen, realtors, contractors and new property owners. Ms. Alford-Hodges will send the previous letter to Mr. George for editing and we will review it at the next meeting. Adjournment: Mr. Newby made the motion to adjourn at 7:16PM and Ms. Hardin made the second. The motion was approved by a voice vote. Betsy McGuire - Chair Date