Historic Preservation Commission

BOROUGH OF WESTWOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Minutes, Wednesday, September 12, 2018 1. OPENING OF THE MEETING - 7:37pm 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL a. Present: David Hohmann, Lauren Letizia, Maureen Murray, Michael Malatino, Grace Pesenti, Erin Collins b. Not Present: Alena Bohacova, Lisa Marinkovic, James Murphy, Gregory Dietrich 4. MINUTES a. August Minutes - Tabled for proper attendance. 5. PROCEDURAL a. Discussed registration for @westwoodnj.gov email addresses which should be used for all HPC communications moving forward b. David Hohmann will be resigning as of October 1. He will be moving across the country so can no longer attend meetings. L. Letizia thanked him for his time and valuable contributions to the HPC, including most recently, his hard work on the nomination of the Train Station and research on digitization options. 6. CORRESPONDENCE a. None 5. STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS and VOUCHERS a. YTD Spending Report - Tabled; Not received 8. OLD BUSINESS a. Train Station Nomination Status Update - L. Letizia reported that Gregory has been in touch with State Reviewer Bob Craig regarding submission to the National Register, however no updates from Craig at this time. i. Purchase of a Sign / Dedication - L. Letizia reported on various options for vendors and suggested we wait for a few more estimates to arrive before deciding 1. E. Collins noted that there are several different sign projects going on in Westwood including the “Welcome to Westwood” signs under the Heritage Society and Rec Department. Perhaps we can get a discount? b. 84 Washington Ave - J. Whelan not present to update on project. c. Digitization Project - D. Hohmann summarized his research including having contacted the State Librarian who suggested several companies which he then further researched, prioritizing scanning speed and ease of use. The most economical options that get the job done well are 10-15k. He recommends the Zeta, vended by Crowley, which could handle a lot of what we have to get done. i. The Library Director Martha Urbiel & Heritage Society secretary Jim Gines attended a meeting with D. Hohmann and L. Letizia on August 23 to discuss options including whether or not public access makes sense, and what types of materials the Heritage Society and Library have to scan (they would be the bulk  BOROUGH OF WESTWOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Minutes, Wednesday, September 12, 2018 material providers). Any of the scanners would still need software packages for metadata. J. Gines had expressed issue with the optics and DPI of the scanners presented, however D. Hohmann maintains 300 DPI is photographic quality and sufficient as most print is lesser quality. There are additional type-specific scanners that could be considered as needed, included flatbed for documents, postcard scanners, or book scanners, like the Zeta, which fits A2 or larger format (A1 is newspaper sized). ii. L. Letizia expressed concern that the Heritage Society seemed to have changed their interest in the project, noting that they were content with the current flatbed and home-made camera mount they had been using. E. Collins and L. Letizia had been present at a Heritage Society meeting on September 5 where J. Gines expressed similar concerns. L. Letizia to follow up and reassess Heritage Society’s interest. iii. L. Letizia makes a motion to reach out to F. Rella and ask him to look into possible grant opportunities to fund a scanner, computer, and software for the entirety of a digitization project that would preserve Westwood archives currently stored at the Library and held by the Heritage Society; D. Hohmann second; All in favor. d. Certified Local Government - Ordinance Review Subcommittee - D. Hohmann and M. Malatino reported that discussion was had over email and more discussion was needed. D. Hohmann suggested that “reconstruction” not be an included element. M. Malatino to work in the subcommittee’s suggested changes and send them to Jonathan Kinney at the State Department of Historic Preservation for his approval. Once approved, we will present to Borough Attorney. e. Training Status & Opportunities - None at this time. 9. NEW BUSINESS a. M .Murray asked if there had been any update on a Lafayette property. There was not. b. D. Hohmann asked if there was an update from the planning board about the Master Plan, E. Collins said maybe by October. c. G. Pesenti asked if we could consider changing the day of meetings. L. Letizia said we could reconsider our schedule in December for 2019 planning. 10. ADJOURNMENT - Motion by L. Letizia, Second by D. Hohmann 8:23pm.