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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/02/2000 - Regular Minutes - Historic Preservation Committee 9lz3tork ramrod/ion Committee e:ular eeting College did/on Conference Center 1300 george camb (Drive edned fay, 4zigual 2, 2000 - 5:15 pm. ERZ PRESENT: Deborah Jacek, Chair; Bill Lancaster; Margaret Griffith; Thomas Taylor; Myron Gantt; Robert McGee, Marsha Sanford Monte Trnckmann MEMBERS ABSENT: Shawn Carlson; Graham Sheffy STAFF PRESENT: David Gelling, Special Facilities Superintendent; Pamela Springfield, Committee Secretary VISITORSPRESENT: Steve eachy, Director, College Station Parks& Recreation; Mike Luther 1. COI to ill rdor: The meeting was called to order at 5:17 p.m. by Deborah Jasek. 2. C*nsideration ; Apo royal of '..,embr, Requests for Abseces: Deborah stated that Graham Sheffy .:,n* Shawn Carlson had nohfed the committee in advance th.t they would be absent., 3. Apoloval o' 'Mutes: 1i11 Lancaster made a motion to approve the July 12, 2400 minutes as written. Myron Gantt seconded. Hearing no objection, the motion passed unanimously. 4. Hear tors: Steve :eachy was on the agenda. Mike Luther ha o nothing to present. 5. Veterans Park and Athletic compjjyP AC presentation and elscussion: Steve Beachy gave the HPC an overview of the project, explaining that it had been in the works for about 34 years. The 1995 election approved $1.5 million for the purchase of land for a large athletic complex. The site that was chosen was located between Rig- way 64 and Highway 30 Gust east of the by ass) and was formerly owned by the :ert Wheeler estate. The purchase was completed in 1998 and money to o the initial development was approved in a bond election that same year. The master plan was done and an engineering firm has been hired to do the esign work for the first phase. Steve stated that one of the duties of the VPAC committee was to come up with a name for the park. John Nichols, a Parks Board member on the committee, came up with the idea of calling it Veteran's Park as a way of honoring and recognizing the veterans of the community. The name evolved into Veterans ,aark and Athletic Complex, was approved by the Parks Board as the off ocoal name, and ultimately approved by the City Council On Veteran's Day 1999 the park site was officially dedicated with a ceremony. a. :razos Vaey veterans Memorial: Steve explained that in 1998, veteran Dr. Craig Carter had • suggested some type of memorial for the veterans in the community in a lefter he had written to the editor of The Eagle. Dr. Carter was contacted and discussions began with re resentatives from various groups. Veterans of Foreign Wars, National Sojourners, the Historic Presentation Committee Minutes,August 2000 Page 2 American Legion, and lisabled American Veterans all became involved. All of the groups thought that the mem vial was a jood idea an.J that the VPAC site was appropriate. The idea evolved into a formal organization that has developed by-laws, appointed officers, whew for non-profit status, and developed committees in order to implement a veterans memorial at this park site in approximately two years. The funding level has been set at $500,000 for the memorial, which will include some type of representative art work. The memorial will be all- inclusive and not represent a particular branch of the service or a particular war. It will include all veterans of Brazos and surrounding counties — past, present, and future® The Arts Council of the razos Valley is coon,inatin 4, the nationwide search for an artist to develop a •esign for the memorial. The Arts Council will have resresentatives who will narrow down the cane i•ates and select the most appropriate. The call for artists went out in July and the deadline for entries is October 16, 2000. Steve handed out copies of the logo for the memorial that will e used on letterhea promotional materials, etc. Steve stated that all the VPAC facilities would, in some way, be related to the veteran theme. The idea behind this is so that people visiting this park will have an experience that will help them to better understand what it means to be a veteran and the sacrifices that have been made. He said there is a strong veteran presence in razes and surroundinf counties. Steve stated that the committee fundraising chair, Lynn Stewart, a retired General with the Army Reserve had approached the cities of ,7 rya n and College Station as well as the County for a tortion of the money to do the memorial. $50,100 over a period of two years has been aske_, for from each gr.up. The remaining money will be raised through the private sector and through cora orate donatioes. Steve asked the HPC to consider endorsing this memorial, and sending a letter to the Mayor and City Council in support of the City's contribution. b. Arc' aeolo•ical Stud Findin ts: Steve distributed the Interim Peport on the Cultural Resources Survey an Assessment f Veterans Park aff Athiefc Complex He explained that the City had contracted with Dr. Aiston Thorns of A& "s Center for Ecological Archaeology, to do this study as well as one at Lick Creek Park. The report for Lick Creek Park will be presented once it has been corR•leted. Dr. Thorns and his team went through the site and determined that much of it had been disturbed. It seems that when the bypass was built, the site was scraped and the dirt uses to fill the lake that was once on the property. The team tested in various areas and they thought there might be a couple of significant sites, so additional work was authorized. After the work ws completed, however, the recommendation they sent to the Texas Historical Commission reported that nothing of cultural significance had been founi. If significant evi"ence had been found, the master - °Wei have had to be altered. There is definite evidence of habitation of the site up until a•out 10,000 years ago, so there is the potential to do historic interpretation at the site as part of the trail system. Steve stated that there is a *efinite tie-in with VPAC and the HPC and its' goals in two areas. The first being the heritage of the veterans and second being the cultural nificance of the Native Americans that once lived in this area. It is known that there are historic and prehistoric cultural sites at Lick Creek Park, and when that study is complete a report will be received. Steve suggested having a joint meeting between the arks & Itecreation Board and the HPC once that report is done. Dr. Thorns would also attend so that he could explain his report and findings and perhaps make suggestions on what could be done there. Monte Trenckmann asked if the green area next to Furrow's was .0E111 .f the park. Steve said it was not. He explained that the westem-most boundary of this property is a 404 Conservation Easement, which means that you can't •o anything with that property because it is a wetlands® Historic Preservation Committee Minutes,August 2000 Page 3 type area. He said there are some very nice wooded areas in that section containing orobably one of the largest and oldest water oak trees in the area (approxi -ately 196" in circumference). Margaret Griffith made a motion that a letter be prepared, signed, and gotten to City Council as quickly as possible in support of the City's contribution of $50,010 towards this project. Marsha Sanford seconded. All were in favor and motion passed unanimously. 6. CI Historic HonleiBuildin./Sublect Plaques — Presentadonp Discussion, and Possible Action on Submitted Applicato, s: No new applications ha o been submitted for approval 7. Neighborhood Reco9nition Pro.ram: This item was tabled until the next meeting. 8. Brazos Herita Sods. -'s Historic Film and Book Pro7ect Discussion Consideration and Possible Action: Del orah stated that the book portion of the ;razos Heritage Societys (BHS) project will probably not be a duoication of the HPC's oral history book but more on the order of a community scrapbook. She sarti there would probably be as much graphics as text in the book. avid stated that he'd learned that they were considering breakin o the two-hour film into smaller segments. This would make it easier to incorporate as a teaching tool in the classroom. Margaret thought that y.razos Heritage Society should wait until the book was out to finalize the vioeo. There was concern over the fact that no contract had been discussed. Deborah stated that the HPC's concerns were the same concerns that Bryan has about the E;HS project. Deborah said she felt she should go talk to the City Council rather than having the HPC send a letter. She said she wouli let Council know the consensus of the HPC: a. In theory the project is a good idea; however, there aren't enough details on how the project is going to be done. b. There are concerns over the content. Is College Station going to be fairly represented? c. What happens if the project starts running out of money? d. There are concerns over the possibility of duplication wath the WPC book being written, as well as duplication of the Chamber's current promotional video. Deborah said she would let Council know that until more information is received, the HPC cannot give a recommendation either way. She will find out if Council wants to make the decision or if they want the HPC to get more information fr.rn the zrazos Heritage Society. Everyone agreed this was bestiteborah asked a avid to put her on the agenda for the Council ao,enda for August 24 2000 if it isn't full. 9. A!en‘a Items for Future Maedal.8: a. Election of a new chairperson for the committee — Shawn Carlson has said she doesn't want the position b. Neighborhood ecognition Program c. Brazos Heritage Society project update d. Brison Park Bonfire Memorial e. Southside Lighting Project f. Shawn Carllson's report on the narrative for the Bonfire Memorial Plaque 10. Adjourn: Bill made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:15 p.m. Monte seconded. All were in favor and the motion passed.