Russellville Historic District Commission

RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES Council Chamber City Hall – Thursday, April 27, 2023 5:00PM Commissioners Present: Betsy McGuire, Chair Leo Cantu, Vice-Chair Judy Galloway, Secretary Suzanne Alford Polly Hardin Beverly Hooten Kelly Jones Commissioners Absent: Greg Barborek, Steve Newby City Council Liaison Absent: Emily Young Staff Present: Victoria Marchant - Historic Preservation Officer and Planner 1 Advisors Present: Sara Jondahl - City Planner Liaisons Absent: Trey Smith - City Attorney, T. Kirt Sloan - Fire Chief, Richard Setian - Deputy Building Official, Danielle Housenick - MSR Director Call to Order, Roll Call & Welcome The April 27, 2023 meeting was called to order at 5:00pm, the role was called and a quorum was established. Approval of Minutes: Ms. McGuire asked if everyone had read the minutes of the March 23, 2023 meeting. Mr. Cantu 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 for review of a COA for a 24 X 50 inch sign for "Burrito Bank" located at 216 W. Main Street (The Jenkins Building) and requested by Salih (Johnny) Kanuk. HPO Marchant recommended approval of the COA because the sign meets all the applicable guidelines of Section 10.27 regarding signage. Specifically, the signage (a) meets size guidelines and is not so large as to detract from the architectural integrity of the structure, (b) is of an appropriate material of painted metal, (c) it color is in harmony of the façade, (d) the sign does not obscure ornament and does not interfere with pedestrian traffic or obscure transom windows and (g) is in an appropriate location projecting from the wall. Ms. Hooten made the motion to approve based on the stated guidelines and Ms. Alford made the second. The motion passed by a voice vote. Ms. McGuire had asked the liaison from the City Council, Emily Young, to give the commission a report on the proposed Downtown Entertainment District. Ms. Young was not able to come at this meeting, but will attend the meeting in May. Ms. McGuire said that she understood that some businesses in the downtown had opted to be excluded from this district. Those opting out are the County Courthouse, Knight Investments and Bank OZK. As the third agenda item, Ms. Galloway asked Ms. Marchant, HPO, to provide the commissioners with the list of RUSSELLVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting April 27, 2023 Page 2 qualified RFP recipients provided by Certified Local Government Coordinator, Iain Montgomery. The person or company to complete the Old Town Neighborhood's nomination to National Register of Historic Places will be selected from the recipients who reply to the RFP request. Ms. McGuire asked if Antoinette Johnson, who had contacted her and City Planning inquiring about the RFP, would be included in the list. Ms. McGuire knows of her work personally and wanted to make sure she would have a chance to respond. Ms. Marchant said that she is included and that the RFP had been posted on three list serves, Ms. Galloway asked if the commissioners would be included in the selection process. Ms. Jondahl said that one commissioner could be included in the City selection committee. Ms. McGuire will attend the selection process. Unfinished Business: Commissioner Assistance and Mentoring (CAMP) is coming up on May 5th in Fort Smith. Commissioners in attendance are Ms. Alford, Mr. Cantu, Ms. Galloway and Ms. McGuire. Ms. McGuire will send out the agenda and the letter from CLG Coordinator Montgomery that includes the address and other information regarding the meeting. Ms. McGuire reported on the Latimore Tourist Home Phase 1B. The site has been prepped and the shale fill has been added. The plan is to move the house to its permanent site the last of May or first of June. The Spring 2023 edition of Preservation Magazine has a half page with photo and article featuring the moving of the Latimore Tourist Home. Ms. Alford provided a handout to commissioners that FOTLTH is using in seeking monetary support for Phase 2 of the project that initially includes exterior restoration and when complete, interior restoration. New Business: Ms. Marchant reported there were no staff approved COA's since the last meeting. May is National Preservation Month and the RHDC will host an Ice Cream Social at the Russellville Train Depot on May 11th from 6-8PM. Commissioners are expected to attend the event. Mr. Cantu suggested that the Friends of the Latimore Tourist Home host some sort of fund raising event at James School Park in conjunction with the solar eclipse of April 8, 2023. There is a large crowd expected and it might be a good time to raise funds for the project. Adjournment: Ms. Alford made the motion to adjourn at 5:50PM and Ms. Hooten made the second. The motion was approved by a voice vote. Betsy McGuire - Chair Date