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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Landmark Commission - 01/28/2010 MINUTES RECEIVE® LANDMARK COMMISSION MEETING CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER JANUARY 28, 2010 FEB 2 4 2010 MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. David Brown, Chairman CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE Ms. Mary Lou Berven Ms. Kris Cardona Ms. Kim Charba Ms. Laura Commons Ms. Marie Guajardo Ms. Susan Kesler Dr.James Klein Mr. Herb Morrison Dr. Mark Robbins Ms. Susan Rucker Mr. Craig Thompson Mr.Alan Wahlstrom MEMBERS ABSENT: Ms.Anita Eisenhauer (Excused) Mr. Leo Rios (Excused) STAFF PRESENT: Mr.Andrew Dimas, City Planner Ms. Linda Williams, Recording Secretary The meeting was called to order at 4:37 p.m. by Mr. David Brown, Chairman. The roll was called and a quorum was declared. Mr. Brown welcomed new commissioners to the Landmark Commission and asked them to introduce themselves. Ms. Laura Commons stated she is a realtor with REMAX Metro Properties and is a native Corpus Christian and a graduate of W. B. Ray High School. Ms. Commons continued she was excited about being a member of the commission. Dr. Mark Robbins stated he is an Assistant History Professor with Del Mar College and has always been interested in history. Dr. Robbins continued he was also excited about being on the commission. Mr.Alan Wahlstrom stated he is a firefighter-EMT with NAS Corpus Christi Fire and Emergency Services. Mr.Wahlstrom continued he has been in Corpus Christi for three years and was excited about serving on the commission and doing his part in helping to maintain its history. ACTION ITEM: Approve December 3, 2009 Minutes: The December 3, 2009 minutes were approved with the following corrections: Page 3, fifth paragraph: Spelling of Ms. Berven's name was corrected; 501 C was corrected to read 501 C- 3, the number of members present was corrected to seven; committee members present was corrected--Mr. David Brown and Ms. Marie Guajardo were shown as present and Ms. Susie Rucker was added. DISCUSSION ITEMS: Old Bawiew Cemetery Nueces County Festival Project: Mr. Andrew Dimas, Staff Liaison, addressed the commission. Mr. Dimas stated he received an email from Karen Howden with the Nueces County Commission outlining their proposal to sponsor a Cemetery Tour of the Old Bayview Cemetery. Mr. Dimas continued that as part of the tour, the activities included having a festival in the cemetery. The date of the first tour is scheduled for Saturday, March 27, 2010 and possibly another one in November. The theme for the March festival will be "The Voices of South Texas - Old Bayview Cemetery Comes Alive" and it will include a performance by the South Texas Historians, a re-enactment group. The re-enactment group is working on costumes and props that will represent the Mexican War. More information will be made available once the plans are finalized. SCANNED Landmark Commission Meeting January 28,2010 Page 2 Mr. Thompson stated he would like to obtain a copy of the presentation given by Mr. Brown, commission chairman, on the Old Bayview Cemetery that was given to the City Council. Mr. Thompson asked staff if any of the requested information had been received on the restoration project of the fifteen (15) headstones in the Old Bayview Cemetery and Mr. Dimas answered no, but Mr. Henson stated previously that it would be about a six-month turn-a-round on the Veterans'schedule for funding new projects. Ms. Cardona asked if the cemetery festival would be opened to the public and if the project was something that the Friends of Heritage Park could be involved with. Mr. Dimas answered that the festival would be opened to the public, but he was unsure if there was a cost associated with in attending and Ms. Berven responded that the Friends of Heritage Park would not be involved in the project since the group was established specifically for activities for the Heritage Park complex. After further discussion, no action was taken. Boy Scout Volunteers: Mr. Dimas stated he was contacted by a co-worker, who is one of the local Eagle Scout Leaders, inquiring about the possibility of his troop volunteering to help in a historical project that the Landmark Commission might need assistance. Mr. Dimas continued that most recently, the Eagle Scouts has created a new patch for "archeology." Mr. Dimas continued that may be the troops could assist in cleaning the headstones in Old Bayview Cemetery once the project got underway. Mr. Dimas requested commissioners to thinking of possible projects or activities that the troop could participate in. Ms. Commons stated that her son's scout troop helped build benches in the park on Louisiana Parkway and they were hoping to have another project identified in November. Ms. Kesler shared with commissioners about a project the Holy Cross Church created to identify markers in the Rose Hill Cemetery. Ms. Kesler continued they created a website with posted pictures of the markers and headstones they were trying to identify. Members and friends were requested to go to the website to see if they could help identify any of the markers. Ms. Kesler added that this project maybe something the scouts could assist in doing research. After further discussion, no action was taken. Mr. Morrison question asked staff if the construction plans for the Heritage Park bond program had been returned for stamping with the Certificate of Appropriateness and Mr. Dimas answered no. Mr. Brown commented that even though no response has been received from Mr. Anaya, the architect proceeded with incorporating the changes onto their plans and work was underway. Mr. Brown asked Mr. Morrison if he had a status report on the work that had been done and Mr. Morrison answered that he had been not gone on-site to the park, but he knew that the Gugenheim and McCampbell Houses had been painted. He didn't have a detailed status report, but he knew work had begun. After a further discussion, no action was taken. For benefit of the new commissioners, Mr. Brown gave a brief overview of what the commission was discussing with regard to the bond program for Heritage Park. Mr. Brown continued that several months ago,several commissioners came together with a proposed plan for Heritage Park and presented to Park and Recreation staff to get their input and approval. Based on several meetings by commission members and staff, the overall vision plan was created with the primary focus to provide more land for expansion. The plan was in conjunction with previously approved bond monies that were allocated for repairs and maintenance to the park, Mr. Brown went on to say that out of a need of trying to find various venues to create financing, the "Friends of Heritage Park" group was established. At this point, Ms. Berven was requested to update the commission on what was happening with the group. Ms. Berven stated the group met on January 5, 2010 and, after that meeting, the Park and Recreation Department was contacted to see if the group could be scheduled for the next board meeting. Ms. Berven continued that the "Friends of Heritage Park" has been scheduled for the March 10, 2010 Park Advisory Board meeting at 5 p.m. on the sixth floor of City Hall. Ms. Berven continued that Mr. Thompson has offered to pay for the renderings to be done and present the plans. Ms. Berven from that board meeting, the group will go before City Council. Mr. Brown stated his goal was to get a stamped set of plans to City Council that have been approved by both the Landmark Commission and the Park Advisory Board. The overall purpose of establishing the non-profit group was to help raise funding to assist the City in trying to obtain additional land for future development and expansion of the park. Mr. Thompson stated that one of the things included in the ordinance re-write of the UDC was tax credits for reconstruction/repairs of historical homes. Mr. Thompson continued he has tried on several occasions to contact staff in the Economic Development office, but he never received a returned phone call. Mr. Thompson continued that he would like to enter into a dialogue with staff about tax credits/abatements and how additional funding could Landmark Commission Meeting January 28,2010 Page 3 be created to finance preservation projects. Mr. Thompson went on to say that Development Services staff has created a "Cottage District Ordinance" that addresses infill of vacant properties in different areas throughout the city. Mr. Thompson stated this might be a good opportunity for the commission to review the ordinance to see what it offers. Mr. Dimas stated that Ms. Irma Caballero, current director of the department, was retiring at the end of January and Emily Martinez would most likely be the acting director until a new one was hired, but he would make contact with her to see when a meeting could be scheduled. Mr. Dimas added that the UDC ordinance was on hold for complete review by the legal staff. Mr. Dimas went on to say that most likely the UDC would be broken into sections and what was immediately needed would be processed for approvals. The original timeline has been extended due to legal staff's comprehensive review. Mr. Brown stated it was time for new officers of Chair/Co-Chairman to be elected for the commission for 2010. Mr. Brown requested volunteers to serve on the Nominating Committee. After a brief discussion, Mr. Thompson, Ms. Berven, Ms. Guajardo and Mr. Brown volunteered to serve on the committee and it will make its recommendation to the full commission for acceptance and approval at the February meeting. For benefit of new commissioners, Mr. Brown gave a recap of the proposed scanning project of the historical site survey. Mr. Brown stated that an ad hoc committee was formed to review approximately thirty-one (31) binders that house the Landmark Commission's historic survey. The survey includes a data sheet, pictures and slides of sites that have been identified as historically significant. Mr. Brown continued that after reviewing the notebooks and ensuring that the binders are completed, they are to be scanned and digitized for placement on the city's website. Mr. Brown went on to say that at a previous meeting, Mr. Rios provided the name of a company who was willing to scan the information at a cost of about $600.00, but since the commission has no budget, various ideas were discussed regarding how the project could be accomplished. Mr. Brown continued that Ms. Eisenhauer, one of the committee members, sent him a grant application to be completed and submitted that would provide the needed funding. Mr. Brown went on to say that he spoke with Ms. Goode-Macon, director of the planning section, telling her that he wanted to submit the application, but he was told that before the commission could apply for any type of grants, the grant had to be approved by City Council. The explanation was that grant funding had to be matched equally either with city funds or with staff in- kind service. After talking with Ms. Goode-Macon, she agreed to allow the notebooks to be removed from the department to be scanned. Mr. Brown re-stated that if no funding was available, he and Mr. Thompson would be willing to possibly have the binders taken to their offices and scanned. Mr. Brown continued he felt the project was worth pursuing. Mr. Thompson added that the Landmark Commission was charged with compiling the historic survey, which was accomplished through a federal grant from the Texas Historical Commission. The survey consisted of approximately 1,200 structures that were identified and catalogued into the thirty-one binders. Mr. Thompson continued that the Neighborhood Services Department also has a set of the binders and anytime one of the structures listed on the survey comes before the Building Standards Board because of neglect, the commission has to be notified before any action can be taken. Mr. Thompson went on to say that the commission has discussed establishing a top-ten listing of structures that are significant, but are in need of repairs, before they are listed on the Building Standards Board "fix up or tear down list." After further discussion regarding the best way to get the review process completed, no action was taken. Mr. Thompson commented that since the Memorial Coliseum was a "hot" topic and it seems council is strongly pursuing demolition,this would be a great opportunity for the commission to learn about Richard Colley;the architect that designed the coliseum. Mr. Colley was a well-known architect in the city and designed a number of buildings. Mr. Thompson continued that a new citizen group named Destination Bayfront was organized to come up with a proposed plan to revitalize the bayfront area, but their plans include razing the coliseum. Mr. George Clower, a local architect, wants to preserve the coliseum by creating an open pavilion by removing the sides of the structure, but saving the roof. Mr. Thompson continued that he was told that Ms. Carolyn Woods has undertaken the project of compiling information to submit an application to have the coliseum listed on the National Register and restoring back to its original state. Ms. Woods is working in conjunction with the Texas Historical Commission in assisting with compiling the needed information for the nomination. Ms. Woods has written several articles highlighting Mr. Richard Colley and his accomplishments. After further discussion and comments, no action was taken. • Landmark Commission Meeting January 28,2010 Page 4 There being no further business,the meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m. • (Li da Williams Andrew Dimas, City Planner Re(ording Secretary Staff Liaison to Landmark Commission • (H:PLN•DIRUNDA\WORDUANDMARKIMINUTE5JAN2810.M IN5i