Minutes; Historic Preservation: April 2007

Evansville Historic Preservation Commission
Minutes
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 7:00 P.M.
3rd Floor, City Hall

Present: Steve Culbertson, Rich Modaff, Steve Christens, Susan Finque, Betsy Ahner, Dennis Wessels, John Decker
Others present: Mayor Decker, Alan Pitas, Mary Beth Anderson


The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by chair Rich Modaff. Motion by Steve Culberson, second by Steve Christens to waive the reading of the March 21, 2007 minutes and approve them as read. Motion carried.

Reorganization: Motion by Dennis Wessels to elect Betsy Ahner as secretary. Second by Susan Finque. Motion carried.

Motion by Rich Modaff to retain Steve Christens as vice-chairperson. Second by Steve Culbertson. Motion carried.

Motion by Steve Culbertson to elect Rich Modaff chairperson. Second by Steve Christens. Motion carried.

Appearances:

120 West Church St.- Alan Pitas was present to describe the work to be done on his porch, gutters and roof improvements. He has submitted an application to the Wisconsin State Historical Society for Rehabilitation Tax Credits. About 80% of the handrails and spindles on the porch will be original. The rest are being made to match by Jim Cunningham. Motion by Susan Finque to approve the application. Second by John Decker. Motion carried.

7 N. Forth St.- Mary Beth Anderson was present to explain the work that was to be done to reside the garage with cement board and re-roofing with asphalt shingles similar to the existing shingles. They would also like to add a carport like structure on the north side of the garage. It will be designed so future owners can remove it. Motion by Susan Finque to approve the application. Second by Dennis Wessels. Motion carried.

251 Church St.- the homeowners were not present but had spoken to Rich Modaff and Mayor Decker about their plans. The storage shed they wish to build will feature a design and color similar to the house now on the property. Motion by John Decker to approve the application. Second by Steve Culbertson. Motion carried.

39 Mill St. – Diagrams provided by the homeowners explained the work to be done and the reasons for the roof replacement. Motion by Steve Culbertson to approve the application. Second by Steve Christens. Motion carried.

Administrative:

WAHPC Fall convention in Evansville: Mayor Decker spoke to Don Aucutt this week. She and John will be attending the spring convention in Lake Geneva and will be given a short period of time to talk about the fall convention and invite those present to Evansville.
She has spoken to UB&T and they would be happy to host some of the meetings in their meeting room. The room can hold 50-60 people comfortably. The WAHPC does about 1-2 hours of programming on Friday afternoon and about the same on Saturday morning, the rest may be up to us. Program suggestions include, Bricks on Main Street, Barns Now, and a presentation by the History Hunters. The owners of the Eager Building still want to host the opening night ceremony.

Bricks on Main Street - The application to the WI Department of Commerce has been submitted and we should hear in the next two weeks or so. The brick has been removed from West Main and the Reconstruction Task Force is working on how to deal with the bricks that have been reclaimed. They may recruit volunteers to stack them onto pallets.

Grove Society – John Decker handed out information on the Old Home Group upcoming events.

Redevelopment Authority – Greg Ardisson has decided not to do the seating over the sidewalk and is going to try to qualify for the historic renovation tax credit program. Which means he is going to do a historic renovation of the exterior. He has also changed his plans for the interior restoration.

Easement Form Draft – the City attorney has reviewed the easement and has made some minor changes but nothing substantial. Having this easement in place on a property will do three things: 1) Protect the property from future inappropriate renovations, 2) make it eligible for income tax credits, 3) possibly reduce property taxes because the property owner is giving up some control over what can be done to the building and the city would recognize this. Susan asked if this easement could protect old trees on a property and John thought that it might because the property owner would be able to designate protected elements on the property. Wessels suggested that we take the time to read it and vote on it at the next meeting.

Plaque program – Dennis displayed a plaque that has been painted dark green with gold highlights. The high school is also willing to redo the old ones if homeowners would like to have them redone. Currently we have 26 new ones. Commission members were pleased with the way they turned out and discussed ways to thank the class that did them.

Other Business

John Decker asked that the next meeting include an agenda item to discuss designating the historic Baker Office building as a local landmark. This may allow it to be exempted from some Americans with Disabilities Act requirements that would substantially change the interior front entrance, which is too small, and the vault door, which is too narrow to comply.

Mayor Decker stated that we will need to have Chad Probst do some recaulking on the children’s stone table. Also she has been in contact with the Dry Stone Conservancy in Kentucky about the creek walls. They did work on the Lodi Park, which is very similar to ours. The initial study the Conservancy did cost about $3,000 and Lodi used their report to apply for other grant money. It is important to do the park repairs correctly because the Lake Leota Park is eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places and we don’t want to jeopardize that.

Motion by Susan Finque to adjourn. Second by Steve Culbertson. Motion carried.

The minutes of meetings of the Evansville Historic Preservation Commission are not official until approved by the Commission.