Historic Preservation Commission

100 Riveredge Road, Tenafly, NJ 07670 MINUTES THURSDAY, February 4, 2021 Chairwoman Karen Neus called the Webex meeting to order at 8:15 pm. The announcement was made regarding compliance with the Open Public Meetings Law. Roll Call Members Present: Karen Neus, Mike Barone, Rita Heller, Dave Wall, Emily Yang, Richard Bennett & Council Liaison Jeff Grossman Members Absent: Reno Danese Members of the public: Former Chair, Kevin Tremble & Evan Hecht Approval of Minutes The minutes for January were so approved. Moved by: Mr. Wall, Seconded by: Ms. Heller. Unanimously approved. Certificates of Appropriateness Ms. Neus states that the HPC has not received any new Certificate of Appropriateness applications. Old Business a. Roosevelt Monument—Ms. Neus informed the Commission that she had a meeting with Maser Consulting and the new Borough Administrator, Jimmy Homsi to discuss the next steps. Ms. Neus said that she is also going to have a phone meeting with Borough Administrator in the coming weeks to hand over the management of the project. Ms. Neus invited Administrative Assistant, Amanda Booth to the conference call to provide any assistance to the operation of the project. The next steps include getting the bid documents together so that the town can hire an electrical contractor to do the installation, finalize the contract with Bob Carpenter, whom is ready to get working on the project as soon as we give him the go-ahead. Maser Consulting has reached out to the Bergen County Grants Administrator to ask for an extension to the deadline of the grant due to COVID till hopefully the end of December of this year. b. Tenafly Walking Tour —Ms. Yang informed the Commission that she, Ms. Neus and Mr. Wall will be meeting with the graphic designer, Ms. Youn tomorrow morning. Ms. Youn is ready to present a sample of the brochure. The details of the lettering, number of photos, photo placement and the overall look of the page will be discussed. c. Railroad Station—Ms. Neus stated that they had a meeting the owner, Isaac Ben-Avraham of Café Angelique. She was told that he spoke with the owner of a vacant restaurant across the street to use their refrigeration during the renovations. Councilman Grossman said it was a productive meeting. d. Historic Markers Status Report—Ms. Neus informed the Commission that orders for three new historic markers which was submitted to Sewah Studios of Marietta, Ohio in late 2020, is in progress. The production time is approximately 12 weeks (an increase from the previous 6-8 weeks due to COVID) which will allow for delivery and installation in the spring when the ground has thawed out. Updates from Council Liaison Councilman Grossman informed the Commission that there is nothing new to report on. He mentioned that there was some discussion at Council level about possibly purchasing the movie theater building, but this is not likely because the building will require extensive renovations to equip it for public use, in that laws governing publicly-owned buildings require many more accommodations than for privately owned buildings. Ms. Heller inquired if any progress was being made on the repairs to the Demarest-Lyle house. Ms. Neus stated that the owner said at this time due to the weather the project would be on hold. Mr. Wall suggested that the tree which fell down due to the storm not be replaced in efforts to save the house from any further damage. Mr. Barone asked if the Inness Road Gates were discussed in regards to fundraising or bringing the neighbors of the Gates to our meeting. Ms. Neus stated that she drafted a letter with a summary of the history to the Mayor so he could respond to the gentleman or possibly just send the letter herself on the Mayor’s behalf. Members of the Public to Speak—Former Chair, Kevin Tremble asked Councilman Grossman if historic status for buildings on West Railroad Avenue was discussed again with the Council in that historic status would provide possible relief from certain code requirements for renovation projects of historic buildings, which would then have a beneficial effect on renovation costs. Councilman Grossman said that funding may be hard during these times. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm by Ms. Neus. Moved by: Mr. Bennett, Seconded by: Mr. Barone. Unanimously approved. Respectfully submitted, Amanda Booth Secretary | Administrative Assistant