Historic Preservation Commission

TUMWATER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OFHYBRID MEETING February 16,2023Page1 CONVENE: 6:31p.m. PRESENT: ChairDavidShipley andCommissioners DonTrosper, Alex Rossiter, ReneeRadcliffSinclair, andMarnieSlakey. Absent: Commissioner DaveNicandri. Staff: Parks andRecreation Director Chuck Denney, Parks and Facilities Manager StanOsborn,andAnnCook. CHANGES TO Election ofofficers wasaddedtotheagenda. AGENDA: Director Denney advised oftheresignation ofCommissioner Jeremy Barclay. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF OCTOBER 20,2022 MINUTES: MOTION: Councilmember Rossiter moved, seconded byCommissioner Slakey, toapprove theminutes ofOctober 20,2022 aspresented. Avoicevoteapproved themotion unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT: Therewerenopubliccomments. ELECTION OFCHAIR Commissioner Rossiter nominated David Shipley toserveas2023 VICE CHAIR: Chair. Commissioner Slakeyseconded thenomination. Noothernominations wereoffered. MOTION: Avoicevote ofmembers unanimously elected David Shipley to serveas2023Chair oftheHistoric Preservation Commission. Commissioner Slakey nominated Alex Rossiter toserveas2023 ViceChair. Commissioner Sinclair seconded thenomination. Noothernominations wereoffered. MOTION: Avoicevoteofmembers unanimously elected AlexRossiter to serveas2023Vice ChairoftheHistoric Preservation Commission. BREWMASTER’ S Director Denney reported onSaturday, January 21,2023, the HOUSE ARSON: Brewmaster’sHouse/Museum wasthetargetofarsonatapproximately 6a.m. Thefirewasreported byamotorist driving along Deschutes Parkway. Tumwater policeofficers andfirefighters responded quickly closing Deschutes Parkway tothepublic andcontrolling thefire. The TUMWATER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OFHYBRID MEETING February 16,2023Page2 Tumwater FireDepartment wasabletoextinguish thefirequickly limiting damage primarily tothreerooms andfourdoors. Director Denney shared photographs ofthehouse. Damage occurred at therearofthehouse tothree rooms. Thefirstwasabasement room containing event supplies andcomputer/electronic equipment. Directly above thebasement roomisthebackporch. Thethird storyincludes a roomserving asanoffice forvolunteers who worked onarchiving materials andinformation. Thebackporch roomwasthemainarea affected bythefiredestroying mostoftheroom. Theupstairs room sustained damage tofurniture andtowallsafterfirefighters removed interior siding tocheck onthepotential spread offirewithinthewall cavity. Thelower storage room withsupplies, equipment, and materials wasdamaged byfireandwater. Staffisevaluating other rooms inthehouse toassess damage tothestructure andexisting furniture andstored materials. Thefirewasstarted byamanlivingacross thestreetnearthefreeway wall. TheCity hasvideo oftheman walking acrossDeschutes Parkway withatorch, lighting thetorch, andsetting thefireattherear ofthehouse. Themanwasarrested andadmitted tothearson. Facilities staffvisited thesite, completed somecleanup ofthesite, and secured thehouse withplywood, aswellassecuring alldoors. The building issecure atthistime. Director Denney shared aseriesofphotos ofareas damaged bythefire andwater. AnOlympia FireDepartment Inspector spenttimeatthe property andwasabletodocument howthefirestarted andspread to thehouse. ADeclaration ofEmergency wassigned bytheMayor onJanuary 31, 2023, andratified bytheCityCouncil onTuesday, February 7,2023. Thedeclaration enables stafftoimmediately contract forthenecessary repair andrestoration services. TheEmergency Declaration and Waiver ofCompetitive Bidding Requirements enabled stafftoact quickly. Director Denney reported hemetwithrepresentatives from theWashington CitiesInsurance Authority ontwodifferent occasions atthehouse. Thehouse isinsured upto $1million forboththe structure andcontents. TheCitycontracted withHeritage Restoration from Chehalis. Staffandrepresentatives ofthecompany metand reviewed thetimeline andscopeofwork. Thehouse haspartialpower restored withfullpower restored assoon aspossible toenable the operation ofboththefirealarm system andsecurity cameras. All rooms inthehouse wereaffected bysmoke fromthefiredamaging contents, floors, carpets, andsomeclothing storedwithin thehouse. Staffplans toevaluate allcontents. TheCitywasinstructed to TUMWATER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OFHYBRID MEETING February 16,2023Page3 complete testborings inwallstoascertain theextent ofsmoke damage andsmelldamage toinsulation. Manyofthephoto archives havebeen moved toCityHalltoascertain anyfiredamage andlingering smoke. Therepairs willtakeapproximately ninemonths tocomplete. Director Denney reported hemetwithstafffromtheStateDepartment ofArcheology andHistorical Preservation toexplore thepossibility of applying forgrantfunding fromtheNational ParkService should the repairs exceedinsured costs. TheDepartment isoverseeing thework asthehouse islistedontheTumwater Register ofHistoric Places and theNational Register aspartoftheTumwater Historic District. StaffhasalsometwithJohnFreedman fromtheOlympia Tumwater Foundation whooffered tostorethephotoarchives. Commissioner Slakey askedabout thestatus ofthearsonist. Director Denney saidtheindividual wascharged with second-degree arson. Theindividual lacksanyresources toreimburse theCityfordamages butwilllikelyservesome timeinjail. Commissioner Slakey asked about anyadditional security measures thatmight benecessary toprotect thestructure. Director Denney replied thattheBrewmaster’sHouse andtheCrosby House are equipped withcameras that aremonitored bystaff. Thecamera identified asuspect duringthearson. Commissioner Rossiter asked aboutthepurpose oftheemergency declaration. Director Denney explained thatanyCityproject requires a bidding process thatrequires ascope ofworkandadvertising the project totheconstruction industry, which canrequire approximately onemonth. Dependent upon thetiming ofCouncil meetings, contracting canbedelayed foranother twoweeks. Another month is usually necessary todevelop acontract withtheselected lowbidder resulting inatimelapseofnearly threemonths sincetheprocess was initiated. Following finalization ofthecontract, thecontractor requires timetomobilize fortheproject. The typical process tohirea contractor canrequire nearly 4months. Declaration oftheemergency enabled theCitytoselectacontractor following thedevelopment ofthe scopeofwork. CERTIFICATE OF JohnFreedman, Executive Director, Olympia Tumwater Foundation, APPROPRIATENESS – commented onthearsonattheBrewmaster’sHouse. Oneofhisfears BREWERY PARK AT issomething similar occurring attheSchmidt House. TheSchmidt TUMWATER FALLS: House hasexperienced several break-insinthelastseveral months. Thehouse isclosely monitored withacamera system. Transient activity hasincreased recently intheareawiththecamera system documenting manytransients walking throughout theproperty. The TUMWATER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OFHYBRID MEETING February 16,2023Page4 system hasproved tobebeneficial andtheTumwater Police Department hasbeenveryresponsive whenincidents occur. Mr.Freedman reported ontherecent departure ofAssistant Director Megan Ockerman toacceptanother position. TheFoundation hiredEd Echtle, alocalhistorian withasocialmediabackground. Hereceived hisMaster’sfromCentralWashington University. Mr.Freedman presented theproposal fora10'x10'prefab gazebo to houseinterpretive panelsandadonation kioskintheBrewery Parkat Tumwater Falls. Hedisplayed anillustration ofthekiosk, a prefabricated gazebo atacostofapproximately $30,000toinstall. The facility willenable thebroadcasting ofvideos orslideshows on Tumwater history. Thepurpose ofthekioskistogenerate fundsfor theFoundation. Thestructure iscedar withacedar shake roofto mimictheshingle milllocated nearthesite. Heshared aphoto ofthe areaintheearly1900s oftheshingle mill. Contributions received for thestructure include $10,000fromtheOlympia Brewing Company, 10,000fromtheDepartment ofFishandWildlife, withtheremaining fundsfromtheFoundation. Commissioner Slakey askedaboutprotection oftheelectronics within thekioskfrom weather. Mr.Freedman explained thatthekiosk isa weatherproof system withallelectrical wiring underground withaccess forcreditordebit cards only. Typically, thepark attracts approximately 250,000visitors annually. If5%ofthevisitors donate 3,theFoundation would raiseapproximately $13,000annually. The kiosk willdisplay different historical exhibits ofTumwater and is capable ofdisplaying slide showsorbroadcasting videos, aswellas including announcements onupcoming events. Thedisplaywithin the kioskalsoincludes apaystation. Thelocation ofthekioskwillbeat theendofthelargerparking lot fromCStreet. Dependent uponthe success ofthekiosk, theFoundation mayinstall another kioskata futuredate. The location isdesigned toattract visitorstothekioskas theyenterthepark priortovisiting thehatchery orotherareasofthe park. MOTION: Commissioner Slakey moved, seconded byCommissioner Trosper, toapprove theCertificate OfAppropriateness – Brewery Park at Tumwater Fallsaspresented. Commissioner Rossiter requested moreinformation ontheproposed kiosk intermsofdimensions orthestylereminiscent ofthelate1800s toearly 1900s. Mr.Freedman explained thatthestructure isa prefabricated structure ascustom-built systems aremuch more expensive. Thestructure isconstructed ofcedarwithcedar shingles withawestern motifroofline. TUMWATER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OFHYBRID MEETING February 16,2023Page5 Commissioners conveyed interest inensuring the roof features cedar shingles. Commissioner Rossiter askedaboutthetypeoffoundation housing the structure. Mr.Freedman saidthestructure would sitona12’ x12’ concrete pad. MOTION: Themotion carried unanimously. Mr.Freedman responded toquestions about theproject timeline. Shipment ofthestructure requires three months withinstallation scheduled forsummer 2023. Mr.Freedman offeredassistance tostaffwiththeBrewmaster’sHouse. TheFoundation isrenovating theSchmidt House andimproving the archive roomsfromagrant fromtheWashington Historical Heritage Fund. Therooms willbeclimate controlled withfire prevention installed throughout theentirehouse. Theproject should becompleted byJune2023. Mr.Freedman advised thatthedesign rendering ofthevisitor center is notthefinaldesign. Afinalwillbepresented totheCommission. OLDBREWHOUSE Manager Cookintroduced JimCary withCardinal Architecture PSto TOWER PHASE 2 provide theupdate onseismic improvements totheoldbrewhouse SEISMIC tower. Phase2oftheproject focuses onlyonseismic improvements. IMPROVEMENTS: Phase 1involved brickrestoration, masonry, androof replacements. TheintentofPhase 1wasprotecting thestructure. ByJune30, 2023, staffexpects tohaveanestimate forcosts forseismic improvements for theCouncil’sconsideration astowhether tomoveforward withnext stepsforrenovating theoldbrewhouse tower. Following ameeting withMr.CaryandCityAdministrator Doan, staffdetermined thatthe estimate of $2.5 million forseismic improvements completed in 2014/2015might beinsufficient. Mr.Carybriefed members onworkcompleted todateandthescope of theseismic project. Hedisplayed historic elevationaldrawings ofthe towerusedtoassist theproject teamindeveloping somepreliminary costestimates. Theproject teamisworking withdocumentation comprised ofconstruction drawings from1905/1906completed in Milwaukee. Itisuncertain whether thearchitect evervisited thesiteat thattimebecause itwascommon forarchitects toworkwiththe brewery team withbuilders responsible forinterpreting the construction drawings tobuildthestructure. Thefoundation ofthe building waslikelydesigned inMilwaukee forasitethatwould house aheavy masonry building. Thetypeoffoundation wascommon for TUMWATER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OFHYBRID MEETING February 16,2023Page6 displacing theweight ofabuildingon compacted soils. However, that soiltypewaslacking inTumwater. Mr.Carysharedbefore andafterphotosofthetoweraftercompletion ofthefirstphaseof masonry androofworktoprotect thestructure. Thebuilding’swindows anddoors havenotbeenreplaced. All masonry replaced wasproduced in2018/2019tomatch existing bricks. Newcornices protect themasonry alongwitharestored copper roof andothertemporary roofs. Toassess thecondition ofthefoundation, itwaspossible toaccessthe foundation through acrawlspacehatchonthesouthandnorthsideof thebuilding enabling theconveyance ofcamera totakepictures ofthe foundation which revealed severalfeetofconcrete onabedofwater. Itwasnotpossible toascertain whatwasbelow thewater. Because of theimportance ofidentifying thebase, theCitypumped waterfromthe crawlspacetoenable thestructural engineer andothers toassess the foundation. Thecrawlspacewasactually 14feetinheight. Theteam believes theoriginal architects anticipated hitting eithersuitable soils orbedrock (basalt) asasuitable basefortheheavymasonry building. During theoriginal digtocreate spaceforthebuilding, workers likely usedsteam shovels and dugtoadepth ofapproximately eightfeet whentheyencountered groundwater. Afterdigging toagreater depth, theworkers encountered morewaterandbelieved theyhadreached basalt butcould notcontend with thelargevolume ofwater. Subsequently, anew foundation planwascompleted inMilwaukee withapproximately 490pilesconstructed ofDouglas firtreesdriven intotheground untiltheyhitbasalt rock. Based ongeotechnical borings, thepilesareonly10’ to12’ feetlong. Following the installation ofthepilings, workers poured theconcrete foundation on topofthepilesandcontinued with completing thebuilding. That information represents significant consequences forseismic mitigation fortheproject. Mr.Carydescribed theproposed seismic improvements usingaseries ofbuilding elevation illustrations from thenorth, east, west, andsouth. Thestructural changes necessary tomake thebuilding safeinclude adding vertical anddiagonal micropiles or smalldiameter steeldrilled andfilledwithrebarandconcrete thatarecapped andtiedtonew concrete added inthe crawlspace along thewallstocreate shear resistance andtiedtonewconcrete wallsonthelowerfloors. Aseries ofsteelbracings willbeplaced oneachfloorofthestructure tothetop ofthetower. Themitigation design isintended toreflect theshear forces ofthebasetiedtotheground belowusingsteelbracestoabsorb anddisseminate theforcesthatcontinue uptothetopofthestructure. TUMWATER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OFHYBRID MEETING February 16,2023Page7 Mr.Caryshared 3Ddrawings prepared fortheproject representing the north elevation ofthetower facing Capitol Lake. Thedrawings identify themultiple levelsofthetowerbeginning fromthebasalt layer below, timber piers (footings), ground level,andeachstoryofthe structure. Thedrawings reflect thenewstructure imposed uponthe existing masonry structure. Thenewmicropiles servetobracethebase ofthebuilding tothebasalt belowwithnewconcrete inthecrawlspace andtwo newconcrete walls onthewestandeast sideofthestructure, followed bytheframework ofsteel thatcontinues uptothetopofthe structure. Mr.Caryreported theproposed mitigation isarelatively standard practice forseismic mitigation byusinga combination ofreinforced concrete andsteelstructures toabsorb theseismic loadsasthey accelerate tothetopofastructure. Someofthediagonal steelbracings willcrosswindows; however, thereare waystolimit theamount of steelcrossing windows, which tendstoincrease theamount thesteel necessary thereby increasing thecostoftheproject. Theteam’s proposal isdeemed themostefficient pathforseismic mitigation ofthe building. Thebuilding willinclude newconcrete shearwalls atthe mainlevelofthebuilding aspartofthestructural reinforcement ofthe building. Currently, thearchitects areattheendofschematic designwith the structural engineering delving further intheworktoreachthepoint of schematic design because ofthenecessity ofanalyzing theforces to develop adesign thatmeetscurrent building codes. Some designwork wasundertaken toidentify potential placeholders forfuture usesofthe building. ChairShipley asked foradescription oftheinterior building afterthe improvements. Mr.Carysaid aperson would viewanexisting masonry building behind thenewsteelstructure withthestructure limited tothenorthandsouthwallswith newconcrete wallsonthe westandeastsideoftheground floor. Thenew structure isdesigned toprevent thebuilding fromcollapsing from seismic activity. Shear concrete wallswillalsobeadded tothecrawlspaceagainst theexisting foundation. Commissioner Trosper inquired about theextent ofthehistorical research completed insupport oftheproposed design. Theareahas beenprone topriorearthquakes sincethebuilding wasconstructed. He askediftheteam wasabletoreview anyofthearchives foranynews reports aboutanydamage tothebuilding frompriorearthquakes. Mr. Cary saidtheteamdidnotresearch anymaterials on thehistory of earthquakes; however, duringtheworktorestore masonry onthe building, theteamdiscovered significant damage atthetopofthetower TUMWATER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OFHYBRID MEETING February 16,2023Page8 causedbyearthquakes manifested intheformofmajor cracks leading tosomeseparation oftheroofstructure from themasonry wall. The cracks wererepaired when theroofwasreplaced, whichwastiedtothe masonry usingdragstrut connectors. Considering thestrength ofprior earthquakes, itwasimpressive thedamage wasonlyevident fromthe fourthfloortothetop. Commissioner Slakey asked whether theteamhasidentified the maximum earthquake thebuilding couldwithstand withnewseismic improvements. Mr.Caryadvised thatstructural engineering does not usetheRichter magnitudeas itisbased onthebehavior ofaspecific typeofinstrument atsomespecific distance. Structural engineering consider moment magnitude, which ismoredirectly related toenergy thebuilding couldsustain. Additionally, thetypeofcriteria fordesign isbasedonhuman safety. Thebuilding codeincludes energy forces to assistengineers inanalyzing seismic forces. Nationally, energy forces have increased, especially inthePacific Northwest. Anewbuilding codeupdate isscheduled foradoption in2023. Thecriteria for evaluating buildings willincrease inthenewcode. Chair Shipley saiditisinteresting thattheconcrete shearwalls are located ontheeastandwestsidesofthebuilding whilethestructure faces northandsouth. Mr.Carysaidthelocation wasbased onthe capacity toaccess thetopofthebuilding anditwas important notto placeconcrete shearwallsalong wallswithmanywindows. Commissioner Trosper inquired astowhether thefirstfloorcontaining ceramic tilesinthefloorandonthewallswould bereplaced asthe building isremodeled. Director Denney asked whether themicropiles wouldbeanchored from thefirstfloororfromthecrawlspace. Mr.Carysaidthemicropiles willbedrilled fromthecrawlspace. In terms ofthetiles, theteamhasreviewed ways toretain thetiles; however, theconcrete wallswillprovide ashearbackbone forthesteel structure. Theteamplanstodevelop aplanfortileworktomaintain a senseofthehistorical nature. ChairShipley referred tothestate capitol inCalifornia withatilefloor incorporating adesign. Hehadaskedabouttheprocess thestate used topreserve thefloor andlearned howeach tile hadbeenremoved, numbered, andreattached. Mr.Carydisplayed twoversions ofconceptual designs reflecting ways thebuilding couldbeoccupied. Tooccupy thebuilding safely, two setsofstairs fromeachfloor willbenecessary, aswellasanelevator. TUMWATER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OFHYBRID MEETING February 16,2023Page9 Theoriginal design ofthebuilding reflected abuilding predisposed to vertical gravity brewing butnotforregular occupation formodern uses. After adding stairs andanelevator, thefloorplan was significantly reduced leaving insufficient programmingspace. The upperfloorsessentially limitusesonlytoaccess. Asecond conceptual design reflects oneinternal staircase uptothegrainroom andan external elevator andstaircasewith thewarehouse structure totheeast connected bytheaddition ofanentrance pavilion connected to the towermaximizing moreprogram space inthetower. Commissioner Sinclair questioned whether theCityowns the warehouse building. Director Denney advised thatthewarehouse building isnotownedbytheCity. Chair Shipley acknowledged otherinherent issues ofownership and limited access tothebuilding, aswellasvirtually noparking. Mr.Caryexplained thatthedrawings wereintended toidentify afuture project withprogramming options insupport ofseismic mitigation of thetower. Commissioner Rossiter thanked Mr.Caryforthepresentation asthe proposal makes muchmoresense. Hecansupport theplacement of steelbeams inthewindows; however, healsosupports preservation of theexisting tilestotheextent possible. Thespaceinthetower along theconcrete wallscould serve asaplace toproject videos orthe concrete couldbestamped inapattern thatisreflective ofthehistoric design. Heasked about anyupdate ontheprojected cost ofthe mitigation project. Mr.Caryexplained thatthenextstepiscompleting thecostestimate as theintentwaspresenting theinformation totheCommission toreceive feedback. Acostestimator isontracktostarttheestimating process. Manager Cookreported sheasked Mr.Caryandtheteamtodevelop a future usethatincluded anewbuilding toconnect theexisting buildings. Shealsorecently metwith thenewowner ofthehistoric properties andpresented theproposal. Conversations arecontinuing on ownership issues andpotential waystoconstruct theconnecting building. Commissioner Slakeysuggested consideration offundraising similar to howtheAmtrak Station wasconstructed usingfunds donated by private individuals andcompanies through thesaleofengraved bricks andtiles. OTHER BUSINESS: Commissioner Trosper commented onapresentation byCommissioner TUMWATER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OFHYBRID MEETING February 16,2023Page10 Nicandri totheCityCouncil toadvocate forthedesignation ofthe Cowlitz Trail segment oftheOregon Trail alongOldHighway 99. The Council adopted theresolution, which willmove forward tothe Thurston County legislative delegation toadvocate andraisetheprofile oftherequest totheU.S.Congress. NEXT MEETING Thenextmeeting isscheduled onMarch16,2023. DATE: ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Slakey moved, seconded byCommissioner Trosper, toadjourn themeeting at8:14p.m. Avoicevoteapproved the motion unanimously. Prepared byValerie L.Gow, Recording Secretary/President PugetSound Meeting Services, psmsoly@earthlink.net