Historical Commission

Sterling Heights Historical Commission August 4 , 2016 40433 Utica Road Sterling Heights, MI 48313 Minutes of Meeting I. Call to Order Meeting was called to order at 6:03 p.m. by Mott. II. Roll Call Present: John Connor, Frank DiMaria, Douglas J. Harvey, Meghan Mott, Ruthann Schinzing, Scott Townsend Absent: none Staff Present: Tammy Turgeon III. Approval of Agenda Mott requested item VII.F. Replacing Michael Lombardini be added to the agenda. Motion was made by DiMaria to approve the agenda as amended, seconded by Connor. Motion carried. IV. Minutes of May 5, 2016 Minutes of the May 5, 2016 meeting were approved on a motion by DiMaria, supported by Harvey. Motion carried. V. Communications/Reports/Correspondence Commission members continue to receive local historical groups’ newsletters forwarded to them via email. Michael Lombardini notified Turgeon and City Council that he was resigning from the Historical Commission. VI. Unfinished Business A. Names Project No one is currently working on this. B. Oral History Conversion Project No update. C. Wikipedia Page Mott will look at this. D. Historical Display in Library Connor’s toy display is now in the display case. Townsend will do a display for January – June 2017. Mott suggested the Detroit Historical Society  providing us with some items for a display starting in July 2017 regarding the 50 year anniversary of the Detroit riots. E. Clippings and Scrapbook Debbie Vercellone can provide instruction to anyone interested in assisting. We need volunteers. Maybe the replacement commissioner can start with this project? F. City of Sterling Heights Book Debbie Vercellone is continuing to work on the book. The deadline to the publisher is June 2017. Since Lombardini resigned, Turgeon will talk to Vercellone about the intro to the book and report back at the November meeting. G. Historical Marker Program Mott and Turgeon visited the Leonard family, who was presented with their plaque. Turgeon took photos. Commission asked Turgeon to promote the program by putting photos on the website. Turgeon will also contact SHTV to do a story about the program. H. Sterlingfest 515 attended the Upton House tours this year. $44 was collected in donations. 55 participated in the scavenger hunt quiz. Turgeon will ask SHTV if they can sell DVD copies of the Upton House video to benefit the Historical Commission. I. City’s 50th Anniversary Turgeon will let the Commission know when the first meeting is set. VII. New Business A. Winter/Spring City Magazine Article Turgeon will publicize an essay contest for residents to write about their history of living in Sterling Heights. Mott will look up contest disclaimers. The winner will get a $50 gift card. Turgeon will also advertise the community tree at A Sterling Christmas in the next magazine. Schinzing brought up doing an article about the city and/or Upton House anniversaries for the Michigan History magazine. Turgeon will look at criteria for article submission. B. A Sterling Christmas Event is on Saturday, December 3rd. Turgeon will create a display board announcing the upcoming book. Turgeon will ask Vercellone what pictures she needs to complete it. The same tree will be used for the Community Tree until we get more ornaments. The Commission will decorate the house November 10th. C. Sterling Heights Bus Tour  Mott provided information about an idea to have a bus tour of the city, pointing out landmarks, street names, etc. This could be a joint Parks & Recreation / Historical Commission event on one day. The Commission likes the idea and would like to move forward. Commissioners also suggested a city scavenger hunt. Turgeon suggested bringing this up at the 50th anniversary meeting, which would be a great tie-in. The Commission is interested in doing this. D. Traveling Trunk Mott provided information about an idea to do a traveling trunk for teachers in the area to use for students studying local history. Commission was interested, but thought local teachers should be surveyed. Mott will survey them. E. Utica Sentinel Digitization Grant Turgeon will work with Utica Public Library/ Historical Society to apply for the grant. It is due in the September – October timeframe. F. Replacing Michael Lombardini Turgeon explained the process of getting a new Commissioner on board. If Commissioners know of someone that would be interested, they should have the individual complete the form with the city. VIII. Communications from Citizens DiMaria congratulated Tammy Turgeon on her Michigan Library Association Librarian of the Year award. The Upton House is 150 years old next year. Commission would like a banner to be hung indicating this fact. Commission let Turgeon know that the Facilities department should be informed of the warped front porch and rotted wood on the north side, outside of the house. Mott indicated that ideas to celebrate the Upton House birthday should be brought to the next meeting. IX. Adjourn A motion was made by Schinzing to change the next meeting date to November 10, 2016, seconded by Connor. Motion carried. Turgeon will have the listing changed on the website. A motion was made by Connor to adjourn, seconded by Townsend. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Next meeting: November 10, 2016 at 6 p.m.