Historic Preservation Committee (Meets 4th Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m.)

HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF SUPERIOR MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, June 8, 2022, 5:30 p.m. The HPC meeting for the city of Superior was called to order by Tim Meyer at 5:45 p.m. The meeting was held at City Hall in room 270 and by web and phone conference. ROLL CALL Members Present: Kathleen Laakso, Tim Meyer, Tom Wondolkowski, Matt Osterlund Member Absent: Brian Finstad Staff Present: Jeff Skrenes Others Present: Council Member Mark Johnson There being a quorum present, the meeting was in order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION by Board Member Wondolkowski seconded by Osterlund, to approve the May 11, 2022 minutes, carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS None OLD BUSINESS 1. Updates on SLFRF Jeff Skrenes updated the committee that the Mayor had put forward a motion to purchase the Carnegie Library site for $175,000 using SLFRF funds. The Common Council had questions regarding certain aspects and decided to table it for one cycle. The plan involved acquiring the property and putting a new roof on immediately, then holding the site while looking for new investors. Operating the Carnegie in a manner similar to the Superior museums was also a possibility. Concerns from the council included an overall plan for the site, actual roof costs, other unknown costs, and whether the purchase price was appropriate. These were raised by CM Johnson at this time as well. One other question from the council was whether the HPC intended for SLFRF proceeds to be used for acquisition costs of this nature or only for restoration and renovation. At several HPC meetings, the mayor had instructed the committee to think broadly without putting too many restrictions on how funds would be used to achieve the goal of preservation; mainly the task was to identify priorities and have other elected officials and staff flesh out details. The committee agreed with this summary of events from Jeff Skrenes. Other roof solutions were discussed, and a tarp or similar temporary membranes would still be rather expensive and need constant monitoring. It was also not clear at the time whether all or any parties would be amenable to putting a roof on without the acquisition of the property by the City. The City may have concerns with direct assistance to a private entity, and the owner  may not want the kind of roof the City would be willing to pay for. A structural engineer has reviewed the site within the last two years, with some work being done. The City is also in the process of acquiring the Princess Theater from Douglas County. The first step will be mold remediation and debris removal. Once determined safe, staff will open the site for HPC members to tour, as previously requested. The City is moving forward with restoring the Hammond Park fountain. A plumbing company that has done such restoration has been identified. An architect will be needed to draw up plans, and then that company may be interested in putting forward a bid when appropriate. 2. Staff is still working with the state of Wisconsin on Certified Local Government status, and would like to bring forward possible code changes in 2022 for discussion at the Common Council. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 6:27 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jeff Skrenes