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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/11/1995 - Regular Minutes - Historic Preservation CommitteeHISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1995 -- 7:00 P.M. CENTRAL PARK CONFERENCE ROOM 1000 KRENEK TAP ROAD HISTORIC COMMITTEE Joan Lamkin, Chairman; Bill Lancaster, Co- Chairman; Greg Keith; Florace Kling; MEMBERS PRESENT: Mary Jane Hirsch; Deborah O'Brianh Steven Smith; Bill Fox, Council Liaison MEMBERS ABSENT: Gary Halter; Deborah Josek STAFF PRESENT: David Gerling, Special Facilities Superintendent; Pamela Einkauf, Senior Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 6:59 p.m., by Joan Lamkin, Chairman. Joan comment the minutes were always very well done. She thanked Pam and told her how much the Committee appreciated all the effort she put forth as Secretary of the Committee. She also thanked David, Pam, and Pete Vanecek for taking the Committee to the Bush Presidential Library groundbreaking. Joan introduced the Committee's City Council liaison, Bill Fox, and asked if the second Wednesday of the month was a better time for him to make the meetings. He apologized for not being able to attend previous meetings. He stated that he loves history and really wanted to be on the Historic Preservation Committee but that the second Wednesday was not any better than the first for him because his TMPA Board usually meets on the first Wednesday of every other month and council meets the second and fourth Wednesday. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Joan asked if there were any corrections for the minutes of the October 12, 1994, meeting. Greg wanted to know if it was possible to amplify something that was mentioned in the minutes. David stated that the minutes were to report what was said and that corrections could be made, but the minutes couldn't be expanded on. Florace commented that for future reference in doing minutes, North Gate is two words; East Gate is two words; and Southside is one word and should not be referred to as South Gate. The motion to approve the minutes was made by Bill Lancaster, and seconded by Steve Smith. Joan stated that the October minutes were approved as prepared. Joan asked if there were any corrections that needed to be made to the December 9, 1995, minutes of the joint meeting with Community Appearance. Greg stated that, after reading the minutes, he wanted to clarify his comments about ideas for an Architectural Design Review Board His concern was related to the quality of buildings going up, at a time when demand is great for businesses to be locating in College Station. He referred to Carmel and Santa Fe simply as examples. His intention was not for every building to look alike -- he simply would like to see some type of design review on each building, and on the quality of that building before it goes up Florace said it was a good idea that should apply to all the apartments and duplexes built hurriedly for students. Greg stated that he would like to see the City award developers and entrepreneurs that do a good job with the architecture and appearance of their buildings. He used the Redstone Apartments as an example. The owners put a lot of work and money into the design of the addition that had been built, and it looked very nice. David stated that he wasn't aware of any ongoing program for that type of award. Bill F. stated that he has asked the City Council, and currently there is nothing to govern the appearance of buildings, but here are things to govern the appearance of property, such as Streetscape, and the City's landscape ordinances. He commented that the study that ROK is doing Historic Preservation Committee Page 2 for the City moyaddress those issues, but he couldn't say for sure. He stated that the City Council and City staff have struggled with appearance issues in the past -- particularly with apartment complexes. Greg believes the City will see tremendous growth within the next 5 -6 years, and what's done now will influence the way the City looks in the year 2000. The developers will not make the changes themselves -- the City has to do it. Florace stated that quality described what Greg was looking for. Greg stated that how the business fits in and what it brings to College Station were also important considerations. Bill L. asked if there had to be a word or phrase that defined the concept Greg was discussing. Bill F. stated that there were plans in the North Gate Revitalization Plan to have some sort of architectural conformity to preserve the old appearance of the buildings which are there, and that anything built in the North Gate area would also have to conform to those specifications. He said that the same holds true with the Wolf Pen Creek District, which is an overlay district, and, to a certain extent, University as well would have to conform to certain standards. Bill commented that if you created a lot of different overlay districts it could make it so difficult that businesses would turn away and go to Bryan. Greg feels that most large chains have a plan A, B, or C, with C being the cheapest plan, and, if there's no resistance, that's the design they put in because they make the most money. He doesn't want to limit businesses from ever using plan C, but the city needs to find out what the plan looks like before it goes up. Sometimes upgrading to a higher quality, aesthetic design would be preferrable. Florace stated that cars parking on neighborhood streets was a pet peeve of hers. David stated that the situation could be taken care of through City ordinances. No one had any corrections or changes to the November 9, 1995, minutes. Bill L. made a motion to approve them, and Steve seconded. The minutes were approved with no changes or corrections. III. DISCUSSION OF LUKE PATRANELLA MEMORIAL CENTER: David stated that when Luke Patranella died, people donated money for a memorial center, but the center never materialized. All that came about was a concrete slab which remained at what is currently Oakwood Middle School for a good while. The slab disappeared at some point, but the plaque remained under an oak tree until the 1994 renovations, at which time the tree was cut down to make way for the new gym that was being built. David has the plaque in his office and would like to replace the plaque somewhere at Oakwood, but he doesn't know how to go about it. He feels that another plaque should be added, explaining the history behind the original. He stated that even though Oakwood has no playground or equipment now, it would be nice when something was done, if the plaque could be located there. Bill L. asked if Mr. Patranella's daughter had been involved. David stated that she was the one who had the scrapbook where he got the information in the handouts. She would like to see something done with the plaque, but had no ideas. Greg asked which grocery store was his. Bill L. stated that it was at the North Gate originally, but was located at the East Gate at the time of his death -- where Military Depot is now. Greg thought it would be appropriate to place the plaque on a playground; however, it would only be seen by children, teachers, and occasionally the parents. He thought it should be placed where there would be more foot traffic. David agreed, but didn't want to place it too far away from its original location. Mary Jane said she thought it should go at Dexter Park, since the Easter Egg hunts Mr. Patranella put on were held there. Bill L. said he didn't remember hunts ever being held at Dexter Park - -they were held on campus. Steve said he felt it would honor the spirit of the man to put the plaque at a playground at Oakwood, since it was through Mr. Patranella's love of children that the idea came about. Joan asked if it could be placed at another playground. David said it could be placed at Dexter Park since it might be a high traffic area, and then later, if it was discovered that the Easter Egg hunts were ever held there, it could be tied in some way. It was suggested that putting the plaque at the Conference Center would be a good idea since it was a high traffic area as well as being next door to Oakwood. David said he would like everyone to think about it. IV. REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS FOR HISTORIC HOMES: David said an application had been received from John and Diane Stropp. Bill L. stated that their home was on the Historic Homes Tour this year. Steve stated Mr. Stropp had put a lot of time and effort into his research at the Archives. Bill L. Historic Preservation Committee Page 3 commented that the home had been excellently restored. Joan stated that this home was an old campus home, therefore, it automatically qualified for a plaque and it did not need to be voted on. David stated that it would be home #28. He also told the Committee that the plaques for homes #26 and #27 would be presented to the owners the following evening at the City Council meeting. The Stropp's plaque could be presented to them on January 28, 1995, which would give them plenty of time to put it up before the Historic Homes Tour. Bill L. stated that the houses on the tour would be #25, #26, #27, and #28. He explained that the Brazos Historical Society held the Homes Tour every spring. It is held two years in Bryan and the third year in College Station, and this is the year for College Station. It will be the weekend of February 11 and 12, 1995, each day from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is a two -hour tour and docents take visitors through and explain the homes. Bill stated that they were gathering docents for the tour if anyone was interested in volunteering. V. UPDATE ON BLACK EDUCATION: David said that when he last spoke with Deborah, she said she almost had it written. She had hoped to give a presentation at the meeting, bu since she was unable to attend, the topic would be added to the agenda for the next meeting. VI. UPDATE ON DEPOT RECONSTRUCTION: David informed the Committee that the project did not receive any ISTEA funding and therefore would have to be scaled back to the original idea of building just a shell. David commented that he doubted if it would be possible to put any museum or artifact interpretation in the depot. Steve stated that there was a positive note in that without ISTEA funding the University wouldn't need to tear down the DeWare Field House for a place to put the depot. Joan asked if the project was on hold, and David said it was until the students returned from Christmas vacation. He would then go to some of the meetings that had been planned and he would update them on the situation. Greg stated that even though all that would be built at present was a shell -- it was a start. A lot of the other ideas could be phased in. David stated that David Godbey wasn't going to let go of the idea, and he was going to use the plan as a master plan since it could not all be completed at one time. Since David Godbey works with the different classes on their class gifts, he can steer each class to do a different piece or part of the plan. Joan stated that she had read through the minutes of previous meetings that were held in her absence, and she wanted to know about the discussion of a gift from Brazos Historical Society. Bill commented that they had talked about giving a gift of $4,000 towards a project. David stated that he had not heard anything else from the Society, and it wasn't a true commitment. Bill commented that the Society gets the money off the sale of tickets from the Historic Homes Tour. VIII. OTHER COMMITTEE CONCERNS: Bill Fox asked for comments from the committee on the Welsh Street expansion from a historical standpoint. The Welsh Street expansion would mean taking out about four houses in order to extend the street to George Bush Drive. Bill L. asked how the widening of the street would affect the houses along Welsh. Bill F. stated that a 39 foot roadway had been proposed, which would require about 70 feet of right -of -way. Joan stated that Mrs. Hoefs, who lives on Ayrshire, had called her because she was disturbed about the Welsh expansion. Bill L. stated that the homes on Ayrshire were one block deep and so the garages backed up to Welsh. Currently if you drove down Welsh you could almost touch the backs of those garages. David stated that he had given Mrs. Hoefs Joan's name when she called him wanting to know if he would stand up in front of City Council and support her. Joan stated that the trees along Welsh would have to be cut down. Greg asked if the four homes that would have to be torn down were of historical significance. Bill L. said they dated back to the thirties, but none were campus homes. David stated that when he talked with Mrs. Hoefs, she seemed more concerned about losing the trees than the houses. Steve stated that the committee needed to consider the relief that would be provided if Welsh went through, and the long -term impact, from a historic point of view, on Dexter if no other outlet is found. It might be a situation where you have to choose the lesser of two evils. If the Welsh expansion doesn't take place, Dexter might have to be widened instead later, which would take part of Dexter Park, etc. Bill L. stated that the only other alternative that had been discussed in the past by the City, concerned Glade Street. However, since Glade ended at the school property on the north end, it would have to wind around some way and connect - - • �+h�H. � y ���ti _ �.r.z - - : - - - - --- nor -r�x � -• —� . _ Historic Preservation Committee Page 4 with Timber Street. He commented that some people feel that the City should widen Wellborn instead of Welsh, and that would solve the problem. Steve expressed doubt that widening Welsh would alleviate the traffic problem. Greg stated that the area was really the City's premiere historic residential neighborhood, and should be designated as a historic district. Everyone agreed. Joan stated that if that was the committee's desire, then something needed to be done as soon as possible. Greg stated that if it were designated as such, the issue of the expansion wouldn't even be an option. He feels that if homes are allowed to be torn down, even little by little, it would destroy the whole fabric of the neighborhood. Steve said he understood the concerns of the committee, but that at the rate the city was growing, another outlet needed to go through somewhere to alleviate the traffic problems. Otherwise, the only way to preserve that area might be to take more radical steps, such as blocking off Dexter or some of the other streets, to through traffic. He commented that Glade should be the street widened. Bill L. told him it was because Glade ended at Oakwood on the north end and at Southwest Parkway on the south side. Steve asked if zoning would change on Welsh if the road was expanded. Bill F. said that it would not unless everyone moved out and developers came in and wanted to develop it commercial. He stated that one of the things the staff has envisioned with the North -South Corridor Plan, is that using by Welsh, you could get all the way to Graham Road if you picked up Victoria where Welsh ended at Rock Prairie. There had also been some discussion about the University going back to a cross - campus corridor at Houston once again, making it the southside entrance to the University. There would then be an entrance to the University on all sides. Bill L. stated that the student center was in the way, and Bill F. said that what they would probably do is go around it, but he needed to check with Facilities Planning at the University. The talk was that you would be able to get on the south side of campus and drive to the north side without having to go back out onto University or Wellborn. Planned demolition of some older dorms was part of that planning process. He learned also that the University Police building would be demolished and a mirror image of the Clayton Williams, Jr. Alumni Center would be built to house the Development Foundation. Joan concluded the discussion by telling Bill F. that southside was the closest thing the city had to a historic section and that it was a part of the City's background and roots. Joan stated that the Oral History Sub - Committee had held its first meeting on the Southside Memory Lane that afternoon. She told everyone that the steering committee was in the process of being developed. Florace and Bill are on the committee and she invited anyone to join who was interested. One of the things that they will do is hold a coffee, as they did with the North Gate people. It has been tentatively set for March 24, 1995. David stated that they would go back to the same people (as far as interviewers and audio and video recorders) to help with the actual interviews. Greg asked if an ad was placed in the Eagle for the North Gate interviews. Joan said no, that invitations were sent out. Joan explained to the new members that the Oral History Sub - Committee was a sub committee of Historic Preservation that works with the Conference Center. What they have done is divide the history of the City into twelve groups and the sub - committee is trying to reach a few groups at a time. The first group that was approached was the North Gate group. Some of the descendants, some former residents and merchants were invited to a coffee and interview session. Videos and tape recordings were made of the interviews, and all tape recordings had been transcribed. Greg stated that photographs were brought to the interview as well, and copies were made so that the originals could be returned to their owners. Joan said that some more old photographs had just been received. The whole idea came about because the City was going to revitalize North Gate and they asked Historic Preservation to see what they could come up with. Joan told Bill F. that the consultants were supposed to talk to the Committee to get their ideas. Bill F. stated that HOK (the consulting group doing the long range plan) and the Council believe that North Gate will fit in with the plans. Joan mentioned the College Station's Historical Houses brochure that was prepared by the Committee some time back. After re- reading the pamphlet, she realized that it needed to be updated. At the time it was done the Committee thought it would be getting a Black History Marker for the City, and it didn't. The application for the marker was turned down. Also some of the campus houses have received City markers since then, and other homes have disappeared. She Historic Preservation Committee Page 5 said she didn't know if it was a project the Committee wanted to work on, but it needed to be updated. Joan asked David about storage for the historical documents the Committee receives. David stated that two fire -proof file cabinets had been purchased and were located in the Central Park offices to store valuable items. He informed the Committee that the cabinets would protect paper but not audio or video tapes. Other types of storage for the audio and video tapes were being researched, as was the possibility of storing them somewhere else in the City. Steve stated that the best way to ensure that the information was secure would be to transcribe the tapes, because they aren't lasting. David stated that the tapes have all been transcribed. Joan asked if the transcribed notes needed to be on special paper. Steve stated that it would make some difference, but that most commercial paper made today is O.K. -- the most important safeguard would be storing them in a fire -proof cabinet. He stated that he would ask at the Archives about storage for audio and video tapes, but recently it has been discovered that they aren't lasting at all. Bill L. asked if it was time or temperature that was causing them to deteriorate. Steve said it was the chemicals involved in making them and over time they tend to degrade. He said there are some things you can do to help preserve them but no long -term solutions. Greg said the only answer would be to periodically make video copies of the originals. Steve said that was one thing that could be done, but the most important thing is to have a written record. Joan stated that there were three books full of transcription on the North Gate Memory Lanes. Joan stated that the sub - committee was fortunate in that they had help from the city staff in doing the transcribing. She commented that the videos and audio tapes were home quality so they knew they wouldn't last. Steve stated that even the National Archives was having the same problem with tapes. Greg said that he would like for the minutes to list the volumes of the Aggie /and and Longhorn annuals that were already in the Committee's collection so that no duplicates would be purchased. He purchased a 1938 and 1939 in Montgomery for his personal collection for $8 each. He said the books were in perfect condition. He also went to Calvert where they had a 1960 for $55. He felt anything under $10, if it was in decent condition, it would be a good buy, but warned the Committee that some antique places could be overpriced. Bill L. asked if there was a complete collection on campus. Steve said that there was one in the Archives, and Greg stated that the Texas Aggie had one and the Association of Former Students had two complete collections. His personal collection is up to 50, but he doesn't have any of the old ones. Greg told the Committee that there was a book he was reading entitled MARKETING PLACES.- Attracting Investment, Industry, and Tourism to Cities, States, and Nations, which he felt was a wonderful book that anyone was welcome to borrow when he was finished with it. He said that anyone with any interest in College Station should read the book. He made a copy of the cover and an Exhibit from the book for the Committee to read. He stated that the idea of doing a 1926 mural on the side of a North Gate building had come up in the Committee's joint meeting with Community Development. The Exhibit from the book gave a case study of Chemainus, Canada, which did something similar, with great success. Deborah 0. stated that she had been to Chemainus, Canada and had a lot of pictures. She said that it was wonderful. Greg asked her to bring her pictures to the next meeting. Greg gave the Committee a handout on the Old Main Society, and explained that he started the Committee in August, 1994. He was distraught over the way the Academic Building windows had been done, Law and Puryear being torn down, and the possibility of Downs Natatorium and DeWare Field House being torn down. He didn't want to be an alarmist, but he realized that the campus was going to start changing over the next few years as a lot of the buildings got older. He didn't feel that there was any commitment on the campus' part to save those buildings. He realized that not everyone on the Committee was involved with campus, but he felt that everyone could appreciate the quality of architecture on campus and the fact that it could have a lot to do with future tourism. The handout mentioned some of the Old Main Society's goals and ideas, as well as some ideas for DeWare and Downs as an Aggie Sports Gallery; and, building a remnant park using the cornerstones and the lintels of Law and Puryear when they are demolished. His handout included a chronology of campus buildings, as well as some pictures that showed campus in 1900 and in 1920. Greg stated that he had donated $500 to start an account with the Development Foundation and it's called the Old Main Society Endowment. The thought behind it is that when it gets to $20,000 it Historic Preservation Committee Page 6 automatically becomes an endowment with an expense account attached to it. Each year 5% of the total amount in the account can be used by the committee. It will be a joint effort on the part of the Society (the student members), and the Foundation (everyone else). He stated that someday it would be neat to be able to rebuild Gathright Hall for example, with money from the endowment and use it for the Old Main Society's offices. Another area that the money could be used for would be preserving Military Walk. Steve stated that the Cushing Library was currently being renovated. Greg stated that the Library project had been scaled down to $3 million because matching funds couldn't be obtained. One of the reasons funds couldn't be obtained was because A &M insisted on replacing the windows with the dark aluminum ones that matched the other buildings on campus, and in doing so, talked themselves out of millions of dollars. Greg asked everyone to read through the handouts, and invited anyone who was interested to join the Old Main Society Foundation, which he stated would provide a good link between the City and A&M. He would let everyone know when the meetings would be held. Joan stated that she thought it was wonderful that Greg had taken that project on himself. IX. ADJOURN: The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m.