Russellville Historic District Commission

RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES Council Chamber City Hall – Thursday, October 28, 2021 6:00PM Commissioners Present: Betsy McGuire - Chair Leo Cantu - Vice Chair Judy Galloway – Secretary Suzanne Alford Polly Hardin Beverly Hooten Steve Newby Commissioners Absent: Greg Barborek Nathan George City Council Liaison Absent: Phyllis Carruth Staff Present: Victoria Marchant - Historic Preservation Officer and Planner 1 Advisors Present: Sara Jondahl - City Planner, Iain Montgomery - State CLG Director Liaisons Absent: Danielle Housenick - MSR Director, Trey Smith - City Attorney, T. Kirt Sloan - Fire Chief, Richard Setian - Deputy Building Official Call to Order, Roll Call & Welcome: Ms. McGuire called the October 28, 2021 meeting of the Russellville Historic District Commission to order at 6:00PM. The roll was called and a quorum was established. The new CLG Director for the commission was introduced and welcomed. Approval of Minutes: Ms. McGuire asked if everyone had read the minutes of the August 26, 2021 meeting. Ms. Alford made the motion to accept the minutes as written and Ms. Hardin made the second. The minutes were approved by a voice vote. Agenda: The first item on the agenda was review of a COA for awning material replacement at 312 West 2nd Street, Garage Arcade, by Emily Young. No representative was present for questions. The existing black material will be replaced by marine grade black and white striped "Sunbrella" fabric. HPO Marchant reported that awning met the specific guidelines in Section 10.4 of the Russellville Downtown Historic District Design Guidelines Part A. appropriate set- back, C. appropriate supporting mechanisms, E. fabric, G. rigid frame, and I. appropriate color. She did bring to the attention of the commission that Part J. states that shed or flat awnings are appropriate for rectangular openings, semi-circular are appropriate for arches and odd shape awnings are inappropriate. If the awning structure is replaced, it should be replaced with a shed or flat awning. Mr. Cantu made the motion to approve based on the recommendation made by HPO Marchant and Mr. Newby made the second. The motion was approved by a voice vote. The second item on the agenda was for review of a COA for replacement of a steel front door with a single light wood door and relocate signage from one door to the north to the present business location at 109 S. Boulder Avenue by Steve Newby. Since Mr. Newby is a commissioner, he recused himself from the voting. HPO Marchant RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting October 28, 2021 Page 2 reported the proposed door complies with Section 10.14 regarding Entries Parts B. and C. and Section 10.34 regarding Windows and Doors Part A. The single light wooden door maintains the original opening size and contributes to the integrity of the historic commercial building. Recommendation for the sign relocation meets the guidelines for Signage in Section 10.27 of the Russellville Downtown Historic District Guidelines Part A. meets size limit and if not detracting, B. is of appropriate material to meet the intent of the design standards, C. color in harmony with the façade of the building, D. does not obscure façade detail or interfere with pedestrian traffic, E. no lighting, F. not scrolling or flashing and G. is located appropriately projecting from the wall. Mr. Cantu made the motion to approve the COA based on the recommendations of the HPO and Ms. Hooten made the second. The motion passed by a voice vote. Unfinished Business: The first item of unfinished business concerned the addition of a check box to indicate whether or not the applicant has a tax credit project or if receiving grant money for the project. HPO Marchant said that the check box had not been added as of today's meeting, but she would make a note and make sure to take care of the addition. The second item of business was discussion of graffiti on the east side of 314 West "B" Street and the west side of 220 N. Commerce and other areas of the Russellville Downtown Historic District disfigured by unknown artists and should products for removal work be approved by the commission. Ms. Jondahl informed the commission that graffiti removal would require a COA to be filed by the affected property owner and the process would require approval by the commission. Molly Walden is the Technical Advisor for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. Ms. Galloway asked if the applicant needs to be advised to check with Main Street Russellville Executive Director, Danielle Housenick, and then Ms. Housenick would contact the Main Street Exterior Design Consultant, Hannah Ratzlaff for direction. It was Ms. Galloway's impression that building issues under the Main Street umbrella were supposed to go through the MSR Executive Director. After much discussion, Ms. McGuire pointed out that the question before the commission involved commissioners approving products for removal and correct methods for removal to prevent historic fabric from being damaged. Mr. Newby made the motion that products and methods must be approved by the HDC. Ms. Harding made the second and the motion was approved by a voice vote. Some research will need to be done in order to determine which products are appropriate. Mr. George was to give an update of the letter to property owners and business owners and the updated brochures but he was absent. Mr. Montgomery said that he had been working on a brochure that would be concise and in lay man's terms for the AHPP. He said he would provide the commission with the information. The City and the HDC has now received the list of contributing and non-contributing properties in the Old Town survey area from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. 63% of surveyed structures are contributing. Ms. Jondahl told the commission that the decision to continue with development of an historic district would be up to the property owners in the surveyed area and could not be advocated for by the Russellville Historic District Commission. However, the two commissioners on the HDC, Ms. Alford and Mr. Cantu who live in the neighborhood can be advocates and arrange Q&A meetings with residents. AHPP and HDC members are able to attend meeting, but only in an observational position. Ms. McGuire gave a report on the progress with Latimore Tourist Home. Several members of the Friends of the Latimore Tourist Home have been giving presentations to various civic groups, clubs, churches and businesses about the home. They presented to Coldwell Banker's Realty and received a $1000 check that day. A past resident of Russellville, Ashley Bell who lives in New York City, heard about the fund drive and intended revitalization of Latimore and has promised donation. FOTLTH will have a presence at the upcoming Downtown Fall Festival on October 30th. Informational packets about the project were provided to commissioners. New Business: RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting October 28, 2021 Page 3 Ms. Galloway asked if electronic signatures were legally acceptable. Ms. Jondahl assured the commission they were legal. Mr. Newby was concerned about the Ghost Sign on the east side of the Shinn Building on the south corner of Denver and W. Main Street. The AHPP had advised that the sign should be left to age gracefully. Unfortunately the sign is about to age away and Mr. Newby wanted to restore it. Mr. Montgomery said that districts had to be very careful about restoring signs. If too much is done to the sign, it will be considered a new sign. He recommended Preservation Brief #25 on Ghost Signs and said that Fort Collins, Colorado had addressed them and to check their website. More research will be required. The next two scheduled meetings of the Russellville Historic District Commission fall on Thanksgiving in November and Christmas in December. The commission needed to vote on alternative dates for the meetings. Ms. Jondahl proposed the dates of Tuesday, November 16th and Tuesday, December 14th for the meetings. All commissioners agreed. Adjournment: Mr. Cantu made the motion to adjourn at 7:20PM and Ms. Alford made the second. The motion was approved by a voice vote. Betsy McGuire - Chair Date