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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/12/2000 - Regular Minutes - Historic Preservation Committee 9qi3j0i (Preservation Comm/Hee 9egular 'eating Gollege diilion Conference Center 1300 Qeorge (Bush (Drive ednesety 1ulg19, 20.4 - 5:15 pm. MEMBERS PRESENT: -borah Jasek Char; Bill Lancaster; Margaret Griffith; Thomas Taylor; rvlyron Gantt; Qraham Sherfy MEMERS Alt SENT Marsha Sanford; Monte Trenckmann; Shawn Carlson; Robert McGee STAFF PRESENT: Davai Gerling, Special Facilities Superintendent; Pamela Springfield, Committee Secretary VISITORS PRESENT Julie Schultz - Past Present, Brazos Heritage Society; Gres *helps, Frame by Frame; HenryOen-doff, Author -4nd retired TAMU History Professor all to 40- der: .111 Lancaster called the meeting to order at 5:21 p.m. 2. considera#op & *royal pf PAerpOey ,tu-sts for :: ssproce : David Ceding explained that this item woull be on the agenda every month. If a member knows that they are going to be absent from a meeting, they should call Pam Springfield „odor to the meeting. She will complete the Member Request for Absence form to be presented at the next meeting. Three of the embers, Shawn Carlson, Robert McGee, and Marsha Sanford were ,sut of town. Monte Trenckmann had a prior business commitment. 3. SNearin in -st Nez Merrfsers: Connie Hooks was present to swear in four of the five, newly appointed and reaRsointed Historic Preservation Com, Mee (HPC) members. Margaret Griffit Thomas Taylor, Myron Gantt, and Graham Sherfy took the oath of office in front of all resent. 4. As s!oval Minutes: Bill Lancaster made a motion tit approve the May minutes as written. Tom Taylor seconded. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. 5. Hear Visitors: All visitors present were on the agenda with something to present. 6. Re,.uest from ,r4zos Herjtase Ss cieT, t_ Provide Partiallyndin t_for an Histork Fin! and ook Poect: David said this project that had been presented to the City Council y the : razos Heritage Society and Council had askesi that it be presented to the HPC. Julie Schultz stated that she was the past President of the Brazos Heritage Society (for the past two years). She said of the local historic grouss, theirs was the only non-profit group not under anyone's jurisdiction. She said that their group is the one most often called when something is going to happen such as a building seing threatened with demolition. The group will then step in an protest. August,00 Historic Preservation Committee Minutes Page 2 Julie explained that when she became president two years ago, she became very frustrated by the fact that so many citizens knew nothing of the history or background of the community. Because of that, they began looking for a project about historic preservation and the value of our heritage that would get to every single individual in the community. While she was researching the possibility of doing a promotional film, Greg Phelps from Frame by Frame contacted her about doing a documental.), film that would tell the whole story and not just interesting excerpts. Giving everyone a chance to see the story will hopefully arouse interest and the society will have more people wanting to become members. This way, the next time a situation arises where a structure is in jeopardy, there will be more people - from citizens to city leaders - who will have a different view of where they live. An informational packet descri'ring the project was distributed to everyone (attached). An informational video was also shown. Julie said it is estimated that it will take a year's time from beginning to end, however there is not a deadline when it has to be done by. She said there have been several books written on the history of the county. This •roject is not goin to rewrite that history, however, they are hoping t. uncover additional information during interviews. She said they want to make the information more accessible. She said the books are great, however a lot of the books are out of print. She stated that first and foremost, this project is an educational piece to get information about the history of the area to everyone. The project will total about $240,000, and they are soliciting $50,000 each from the county and the cities of Bryan and College Station for the basic part of the funding. They will then so licit funding from financial institutions and rivate foundations. She sai.J for the cost to do films, they are getting a great bargain. The pr ject will be oroken down into four main stories: Booneville, Bryan, Texas A&M University, and College Station. Since that is how it all evolved, that is probably how it will be told. A minute-by-minute total will not be kept so that each city will get an even amount of time, however College Station will share a oortion of the film as much as any other entity. Greg Phelps and Henry Dethloff, who will be the author of the companion book, both spoke briefly on the role they will olay in the project. The book will have additional information that the film couldn't carry. Once the project gets started, they did not want to start over from scratch, gathering information. They will contact eve one who has already done all the other things (books, interviews, an.i research). They will not be able to include all the information they gather in the program, however, all the information can be set aside for others to look at and use. There will also be a lot of film footage gathered that other productions could be created from. Julie stated that College Station stands to benefit more from this 'project financially than any of the other entities participating, because of the tourism aspect. She said the Chamber of Commerce has approached the Society many times about starting historical tours, opening up houses, etc. They've been told that the second most requested item by tourists, after the George Bush Library, is some type of historical site. Currently, there is nothing like that set up. It could be done now, however, the story needs to be told first and then they can go plug in pieces of that story with tours, and they plan on doing that. Greg stated that one of his motivations for doing this project is that he had t.een askeo to serve on a committee with the Chamber to develop those types of tours. However, besides the Bush Library, there wasn't anything to tour. They wanted to make sure that their project was not in competition with anything the HPC was already doing. Deborah stated that the HPC was currently having a book written. Julie stated that the project could spotlight the book as something additional to read. Julie asked that the HPC let the City Council know by the next meeting that they support this project, if they feel it is a good idea. Deborah thanked them for their presentation. Deborah said she felt it was a good idea, however two hours was a long time to sit for a documentary. She said she felt if it were broken up into thirty-minute segments, more would be August,00 Historic Preservation Committ Minutes Page 3 willing to watch. There were concerns about the City paying such a large portion of money and not getting equitable time. Deborah said it should also be contingent on the other entities paying their portion. She suggested telling Council that the HPC would like to be placed •n the agenda in August (10th or 24tn). This would give the members time to read through the information that had been distributed and make a decision at the next meeting on what to present to Council. 7. City Historic/HomeiBuildingiSubject Plaque Applications Submitted: There were no new applications for review. Tom asked for clarification on the different plaques and David explained the difference between the City and Texas State marker programs. 8. Southside Area Lighting ro'ect — Update from Subcommittee: This project is going along nicely. The lights have nearly all been installe . The project must be con pleted by the end of September. 9. Neighborhood Recognition Pro.ram This item was tabled until the next meeting. 10. B•ntire Memorial at rison Park: Deborah gave a brief update for the new mencers. The families 4f the o nfire victims will be invite,. No input has been received from the families on the memorial. It was explained that the larger marker to go in the park would give the history of bonfire and the collapse. Deborah said that she'd had a request that the light across the street from Doc urke's house be marked with the r.laque for Jeremy Frampton. She said she told the Burke's that she didn't believe that would be a Toblem. Deborah said she'd been told that the cost for the plaques would be about $2,000. It was suggested to have a memorial separate frsm A&M's memorial Deborah stated that it would probably be a very quiet ceremony. VI. Chairman's Report: Veterans Park and Athletic Complex (VPAC): Deborah stated that she has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Veterans Me orial Committee. The request for proposals had been sent out for the $300,000 sculpture and the landscaping. National artists are being sought, but it is open to all. Interested artists will send in slides of their work. Three or four finalists will be chosen and given money to develop their models, and the artist will be chosen from that. They don't want modern a e depictions. Several fundraising efforts are planned for the future. Of the 300-acre park site, four acres will ve set aside for the memorial for all veterans of all wars from all branches of the service. Update on De,ora is Report to uncil: Deborah handed out a copy of the HPC's 1999-2000 highlights (attached) which she'd reported on at the last City Council meeting. She stated that there were no comments, but seemed pleased with what the committee was doing. 12. Agenda Items for Future Meetings: In addition to the usual topics: a. Appointing a New Committee Chairperson — Deborah said she planned to resin as chairperson and had talked to Shawn Carlson about being the chairperson. b. Neighborhood Recognition Program c. Steve eachy will give an update on the archaeological study done at VPAC and Lick Creek Park d. Revisit Brazos Valley Heritage Society Project e. Brison Park :onfire Memorial August,00 Historic Preservation Committee Minutes Page 4 ,,-,d7ourn: The meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m.