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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/03/1996 - Regular Minutes - Historic Preservation Committee HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 1996 -- 5:15 P.M. CENTRAL PARK CONFERENCE ROOM 1000 KRENEK TAP ROAD HISTORIC COMMITTEE Bill Lancaster, Chairman Sharon Menn Carol Wagner Dennis MEMBERS PRESENT: Maloney Mary Jane Hirsch Bill Fox, Council Liaison MEMBERS ABSENT: Gary Halter Steven Smith Deborah Jasek Aaron Ffrench, Old Main Society Liaison STAFF PRESENT: David Gerling, Special Facilities Superintendent Pamela Einkauf, Senior Secretary VISITORS PRESENT: None I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 5:26 p.m. by Bill Lancaster, Chairman. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Bill L. asked if there were any changes to the March, 1996 minutes. Mary Jane asked if she could change the first sentence on page 2 to read "Mary Jane had wanted Steve to know that there were some people she worked with at the George Bush Library who are experts in the preservation of audio and video tapes ", instead of "...who were in the process of learning how to preserve audio and video tapes." Bill L. said that would be fine. There were no other changes and the minutes were approved. 3. HEAR VISITORS: There were no visitors present. 4. REVIEW OF APPLICATION FOR CITY HISTORIC HOME PLAQUE: There were no new applications turned in for the Committee to review. 5. DISCUSSION OF LUKE PATRANELLA MARKER: Bill L. said that the agenda should read Luke Patranella instead of Lou Patranella. David stated that the plaque was found at the Oakwood Middle School campus when the school was undergoing renovations a couple of years back. The school district didn't have any need for it and had called to see if the Historic Preservation Committee (HPC) wanted it, otherwise it would have been thrown away. David told them yes, and got the marker. He told the members that before Joan Lamkin left, she had told David that she wanted the HPC to do something with the plaque. David said that even though the plaque says "Luke Patranella Memorial Center" there never was a memorial center. David said he thought what had happened was that the plaque was made while funds were being raised for a center, but the furthest they ever got was a slab. The slab had been used for four - square and a multi- purpose dance area. David felt that if the plaque was placed somewhere without another interpretive plaque to explain what it was, no one would know what it meant. Bill L. asked where the plaque could be placed. Historic Preservation Committee Page 2 David said that was what he wanted the HPC to decide. Bill L. said he thought the concrete slab was all they ever intended to have. David said that may have been the case. Bill F. asked where the slab was located and if it was still there. David said it had been behind Oakwood Middle School next to a big oak tree, but that the plaque and the oak tree were taken out when the renovations were done to make way for the new gym. David said that originally the HPC had talked about placing the plaque on the property close to its original location. Bill L. asked if the school would be receptive to the idea, and David said he thought they would be, since it wouldn't cost them anything. Bill L. said the school would be his first choice, since that's where it was originally. David said if it was mounted on the school, people might think that the school was the memorial center. He suggested placing it away from the school, in the ground on the other side of the parking lot near a big oak tree that's there. He would like to see the interpretive plaque look something like a state marker. He added that if the school district ever needed to build in that area, then both plaques could be moved. Bill L. stated that as far as he knew, Mrs. Patranella was still alive, and that Joyce Birdwell, his daughter, would be happy to participate in any rededication ceremony that might be held. David said that when he first got the plaque he had contacted Joyce Birdwell, and she had loaned him the scrapbook which had been put together when her father died. It explained how he had loved kids, how he had died in Mexico, and what the community had done as far as a memorial to him. There was also a newspaper article about the plaque. David said the HPC could go forward with the project if everyone agreed. Bill L. asked if there were any objections. There were none and the project was approved. 6. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS: Historical Tourism: Mary Jane said the Brazos Heritage Society had developed a brochure which included tourism and that they were taking a look at it to see if it needed revising. She said as far as tourism in just College Station, there was the Southside Historic Area and Richard Carter Park. She asked the members what sites they would be interested in seeing if they were visiting College Station. David said Northgate, Southside, and Richard Carter Park. Mary Jane said that Joan Lamkin had suggested the little cemetery on Luther Street -- the old A &M Cemetery. Dennis agreed, stating that old cemeteries were big attractions. He added that the HPC should see about putting a marker and fencing out there. Mary Jane said it already had a fence around it, and that it was very well kept. David said he thought the cemetery was owned and maintained by A &M. Bill L. said that at one time, someone had proposed a 100 -acre A &M Cemetery in that area. It had been decided that it would take a long time to fill up a 100 -acre cemetery. Mary Jane added that the City Cemetery on Texas had some old graves in it. Dennis said people would go there as well. Bill F. said that the B /CS Convention and Visitor's Bureau put out a book promoting tourism in the area for conventions. He said he didn't believe that anything of historical significance was mentioned, and that it may be too late to get anything into it for 1996, but that Mary Jane might want to contact them about getting historical information in the guide for next year. Dennis said that if a replica of the depot was ever built, it would be a great location to give out information of that type. He asked if anything had been heard about the depot and A &M's decision on where to put it. David said he had not gotten any official word from the University yet. Dennis said if A &M wouldn't find a place to put the depot, he thought the HPC should pursue the project and find another location. He said he didn't know who owned the land, but across the street from the Historic Preservation Committee Page 3 Association of Former Students Building on George Bush, there was an empty lot. He suggested putting the depot replica there if no other space could be found. It would also act as an entryway into the historical area. Bill L. said that parking there would be a problem. Dennis said that would have to be worked out, but if A &M said no, it was an alternative. Bill L. said he couldn't envision A &M saying no. David said everyone that he'd talked to at A &M was in favor of it. The problem was getting the money to maintain it after it was built. Dennis asked why there couldn't be a perpetual maintenance fund if it was dedicated by the students. David said that the students were working on that. Oral History: Bill L. said that the next oral history session would be Tuesday, April 16, 1996, on early transportation, and that quite a few people had been invited. David added that according to Gracie Calbert about 35 or 40 people had responded. Bill L. said he would not be able to attend the session. Dennis said he was going to be there as a moderator. Bill L. said he did not know what the session topic after transportation would be. David asked if the "Campus Kids" session had been done yet. Bill L. said no, and David said that he thought that may be the next topic. Research: Gary was not present to give an update. Photo Document- Sharon reminded everyone that she was collecting photos to turn over to Steve Smith for documentation. Bill L. stated that he had been at City Hall working on a scrapbook for retiring Mayor Larry Ringer, when the ladies in the Council Office had told him they were looking for an archivist. They told him it was an unpaid position and that there were several boxes of stuff that needed to be sorted out. Bill asked Mary Jane if her hands were full with the Bush Library Collection, and she said yes, but it sounded interesting. She said that she just heard that they were about to finish up with the LBJ Collection after twenty years. She said if the Bush Collection didn't take that long, perhaps she could find some time to work on the city's collection of memorabilia. Bill said Connie Hooks and Vonn Casares were the two ladies to contact. Sharon asked if the boxes of information were something that the City would be willing to give to the HPC. Bill L. said yes, that might happen once the library was finished and the HPC got its archival space. He added that these weren't official documents, and assumed that they were just boxes of newspapers, and photos. David told the members that Bill L. was the HPC's representative on the Library Committee. Education: Deborah was not present to give an update. Southside Signage: Dennis said that he and David had been discussing it and the problem with Southside were the ugly corners. He said the markers should go up anyway where the HPC wanted them. Bill L. agreed. Sharon said hopefully the signs would get the residents to take pride in the area. Dennis said that there were already a lot of renovations going on in that area. Sharon asked if it was against the law to contact the landlords and property owners in the area to let them know what the HPC was doing, since the HPC couldn't come right out and ask them to make their property look nicer. Bill L. and Dennis both said it wasn't. Bill F. said that Dr. Charles Graham with the University had an enhancement project going on which was city funded, and under the Council's direction it had identified several things that the city could do to improve the overall appearance of property. One of the biggest items was the many city ordinances not being enforced simply because there are not enough people to direct toward that problem. He told Sharon that there were ordinances to cover vehicles being parked in yards, houses not being maintained, trash in yards, etc. Sharon also wanted to know if there was a building ordinance that any new home going into Southside had to blend in with the other homes. Dennis said no. Bill L. said Bryan was at that point Historic Preservation Committee Page 4 now in their historical district and you couldn't do anything to your home without prior approval. Pam told the HPC that Randy Merrill had picked up a historic homes plaque application for the Luther Jones house, and she had asked if having the historical designation and plaque prohibited her from doing any renovations to her home. Pam explained that she had retyped the marker criteria sheet for historic plaques and that she and David had decided to add a statement to the effect that being designated as a College Station historic home would not prevent the owner from doing any renovations or making any additions to the home. In the past people may have been hindered from applying for a marker for that reason, since nothing to that affect had been in the criteria before. Dennis told Sharon that some property owners didn't need to be told what to do, but at the same time, there would also be landlords in there who didn't care. Mary Jane asked if residents in that area knew that it was going to be designated as a historic district. Dennis said word was getting around. Dennis said that the HPC needed to decide where to put some lights in Southside. He said that David had suggested putting lights on the corners of Fairview Park. Dennis felt they would then look just like park lights. He said he thought the lamps should all be installed in a row somewhere on one street, even if the HPC could only purchase six lamps. In this way people could see how nice it would look and want more lamps in the area. He said the members needed to find a place between Fairview and Wellborn where about six lamps could go up with a transformer nearby so that conduit could be run off of it. Bill F. asked if these lamps would be bought with Community Development Block Grant money. Dennis said yes, that's why they had to be installed between Fairview and Wellborn. He said Fairview already had a lot of lights up, so another street needed to be chosen -- preferably one of the main streets off of George Bush so that it could serve as an entrance or gateway into Southside. David agreed that installing the lights in a row, would not only make a visual impact, but installation -wise, it would be cheaper. Dennis said the next phase for Southside, after the lights were taken care of, could be brickpavers instead of sidewalks, which could be installed as money permitted. He said his philosophy towards renovation was that even if money only permitted the HPC to purchase a few items, you still wanted to buy the best quality possible - something unique with class that would make a statement -- and then add to it little by little. Carol said that when the College Station Street banners which the Community Appearance Committee were working on went up, three of those banners would be placed on George Bush. David asked if she knew the exact location. She said that hadn't been determined, but she knew they would go up on George Bush, in Northgate, and on University. She said the winning banner design would be announced at the May 11, City Council meeting. David asked if Council would have to approve the design. Carol said no, it had already been chosen. Council was just going to congratulate the winner and present her with her check. David said that since the last meeting, when the HPC had decided to put the decorative poles with signs on the street corners, he'd gone out and taken pictures of all those corners. He showed the pictures to the members stating that some of the corners would lend themselves well to the signs, however others had a lot of concrete and traffic. He didn't know if the members wanted to skip over those particular corners or go ahead and install the signs. Dennis suggested, on those particular streets, going behind the commercial and multifamily areas, and installing the decorative signs and posts where the homes begin. The HPC agreed to go forward with the installation of the signs, setting them back into the residential areas on corners where businesses stood. Sharon said it was either that or make the historical area smaller, and include just the area that looked good. Bill L. and Dennis said that wouldn't be accurate since the rundown areas were part of historic Southside as Historic Preservation Committee Page 5 well. Dennis said that once the area was defined it was a commitment, and a statement was being made that the area was special. Bill L. said the property values wouldn't go down and they may remain static for awhile, but that eventually they would go up. Dennis agreed, stating that it may take awhile, but the commitment would pay off in the long run. 5. OTHER COMMITTEE CONCERNS: David said he'd checked with the Bush Library about taking a tour of the collection and he wanted to know if the members would like to take the tour at the regular meeting on May 1, at 5:15. Mary Jane said she was one of the docents being trained and the tour consisted of seeing the collection and then a slide show. David asked how long it took for the tour. Mary Jane said to plan on an hour and a half. She said she would be the one doing the presentation. Bill L. said he was looking forward to the tour. David said he'd set something up for May 1, and let the members know when it was definite. 6. ADJOVRN; The meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.