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Home My WebLink About12/04/2017 - Regular Agenda Packet - Historic Preservation CommitteeHistoric Preservation Committee City of College Station, Texas Plans for 2018 The Historic Preservation Committee of the City of College Station is a working committee with established programs and a mission to explore new ways of bringing our community's heritage to the attention of its citizens. Continuing Programs Exploring History Luncheons Monthly programs conducted from January through November featuring a variety of historical topics and speakers. Participants pay a fee of $7.00 for the meal, but the programs are free to all. Costs are underwritten by the City Parks and Recreation Department, but the gcal is to become self-supporting through luncheon fees and contributions by sponsors. Tasks include scheduling of speakers and topics and solicitation of funding through corporate or individual sponsorships (currently $500 to $650 dollars per meal for food costs). Meeting facilities provided through the city. Historic Home and Building Markers Homeowners and businesses are encouraged to complete an application for designation by a 4 90 on -iv historical marker. Show +o Shoal_ Markers are purchased by the applicants fora fee of $250 and are sequentially numbered. tnf'0 �� rn Tasks for 2018 include review and perhaps revision of the application process, including creation `)Kb x of an on-line system to streamline the applications. The committee will review applications and may solicit applicants with eligible properties, including both homeowners and businesses. University properties such as Easterwood Airport should also be considered eligible. a k1ai,itts . Or, V4Vvit- , praot; u The American Mile A major review and updating occurred in 2016, so aside from a few replacement bricks, little work is anticipated before 2020 or later. i CO 6651. L Distribution of Historical Literature The program of placing historical literature (magazines) in doctor's waiting rooms, barbershops, and other establishments will continue. Committee members are all asked to assist in this distribution as donated materials become available. Project HOLD (College Station's Historic On -Line Database) The committee will also work with Project HOLD staff on collecting and digitizing materials; and we will participate with other community groups that conduct events of a historical nature, including the Brazos Valley Veterans Association (Lynn Stuart Pathway at Veteran's Dark), and the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History (Boonville Days —October, 2018). 40,QuxQose. vokin9 ( L Comrytt College Station History Book The committee will cooperate in the updating of the College Station History Book, hopefully to see it published within one year or two at the most. This will consist of assisting the designated authors to find appropriate materials, and, if requested, proofing or editing of text. New Programs College Station Anniversary of Incorporation In October of 2018 the Historic Preservation Committee will, in conjunction with the city and other organizations, celebrate the 80th anniversary of the incorporation of the City of College Station. The proposed site is the Richard Carter Homesite—our communities historical park. Details have not been set but would probably include a program involving community leaders, refreshments (probably cake/cookies and punch), distribution of literature, and guided tours through the park. • COAtr Oita. Cooperating organizations which have expressed an interest include the A&M Garden Club and NOu the local chapter of the DAR. Other groups will be included if they express an interest. ia*" ?Olt Uj.ebroint The HPC will seta date and approve an agenda for the celebration. 'OAS • OCR, 002i 'q'ttatC6Mkt-VCriardur Vi4entj OM L — Cemetery Project u5k fin- u-Fs Since the old College Station cemetery is essentially full (or sold out), we will initiate a project to identify (catalog) the names of the founders and famous people interred there. The expected result is a publication (either digital or printed) that will highlight the activities and contributions of these people. This may be a multi -year project. tauzzy9 Frisk.) ?}, Web Presence With the expectation of a new City web page in May orJune of 2018, the Historic Preservation Committee will attempt to identify the salient materials in Project HOLD which should be featured on this web page. This effort will involve negotiating the amount of space allocated to us for the web site, and selection of the materials to be featured on that page. This will be a continuing (multi -year) project. Historical Signage Recommendations received from input the community involves the preparation and installation of interpretive signs identifying the history of the parks and streets in College Station, particularly in the more historical parts of the city. fri Museum The impetus for the establishment of a museum in the City of College Station comes from various individuals and organizations within the community. This would involve a building, possibly at Veterans Park, and would be a community -wide effort. The Historic Preservation Committee will attempt to identify interested individuals and organizations to begin this process. This would be a multi -year activity, and several other groups in the city have already expressed an interest, especially in conjunction with the Aggies Go to War display. '� Po i\WS et it war AAa,u-CALI .. 4 +o ; CS Viikkbvid Historic Preservation Committee Report for 2017 City of College Station, Texas Accomplishments in 2017 The year 2017 has been a productive one for the Historic Preservation Committee. We are particularly proud of having completed and published a pamphlet titled "A Driving Tour of Historic College Station, Texas —Campus Homes" that is now ready for distribution. While the entire committee participated in this effort, it was primarily the efforts of Katherine Edwards that pushed it to completion. i.iry Or CHOW... Snn». The pamphlet includes maps of the original campus locations as well as the current locations of the homes. Each depicted home includes a description of the home and identification of one or more of its occupants. The house at 200 Highlands Street once belonged to F.W. Hensel after whom Hensel Park was named. 200 HIGHLANDS ST. Old Campus Location: 226 Lamar (View historic map on page 29) This medium-sized Queen Anne was erected on campus in 1897 at the southeast corner of Clark (now Gene Stallings Boulevard) and Lamar Street. It is identifiable from old photographs as one of live houses facing the drill field. In 1942, it was sold and moved to 200 Highlands St. Campus residents included E. 1. Fermier, mechanical engineering (1927); and F. W. Hensel, landscape arts (1935). Work also began on a revision of the 1988 book on the History of College Station. Because the original was essentially out of stock, a reprint of the original was made and became available to the public in 2017. It is hoped that the new update will be written and ready for distribution in 2018 or 2019. We do have an author who has begun on the project, but a progress report is not currently available. The HPC has requested that the author consider inserting images in with the text rather than grouping them at the end of the book —a suggestion that might make the book more interesting to read. Two historic marker applications were approved during 2017 for presentation at the January, 2018 Council meeting. One involved reissuing a missing plaque for the house at 601 Montclair. Since the plaques are purchased by and become the property of the homeowner, it is suspected that it was removed by the previous owner. Since there had been no major renovations to the house, it is being issued a new numbered plaque, it not being feasible to reissue the original number. Every house moved from campus into the community is automatically eligible for a marker The other historic marker was issued to the house at 700 Thomas. It was the home of O.D. Butler who died twenty years ago. He was a major player in the development of the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and remembered fondly by those of us who had the privilege to work with him. An interesting fact that emerged in the preparation of this application is that the side lot was known as "Clark Field" and served as a baseball field for neighborhood kids prior to the development of the College Station Parks and Recreation fields. Veterans Park. the American Mile. and the Lynn Stuart Pathway The HPC did not play any part in developing and maintaining the fine playing fields at Veterans Park, but we did see completion the revisions made to the American Mile. There are still a few replacement bricks to be installed in 2018, and we recommend that if you have not recently visited, that you do so. The HPC also did not play a significant role on the Lynn Stuart Pathway or the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial except as participants. I personally placed two new names on the Memorial and also attended the dedication of the Rosie the Riveter statue —the day before the big snow. Both of those were moving programs and I know that most of you were also present. All historical events in the Brazos Valley do not fall under our purview, but we, as a committee, do stand ready to encourage and assist others in these events. As an example, the Historic Preservation Committee did have a table at the Boonville Days celebration at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History. Our display included books and historical items, including, this year, butter churning. These two kids turned the churn for 30 minutes before their parents were able to pull them away. They returned later to proudly sample the butter and 11 some mesquite jelly. I was also to take my obituary picture, scratching one more thing off my to-do list. Distribution of Historic Publications For a second year, we continued to place historical literature in the waiting rooms at doctor's offices and waiting rooms at other business establishments. Generally, we place magazines relating to American or western history, but will include the National Geographic History magazines as well as those relating to archaeology. The purpose is to provide alternative reading resources that are more educational than the usual glamour and other popular publications. More importantly, we hope that it might indirectly create a continuing interest in our history. Excess magazines have also been donated for reading materials to our servicemen overseas. Explorine History Luncheon Appended to this report are two spreadsheets. The first identifies financial results from 2017 and the second shows comparative figures from the years 2015 through 2017. We had eleven luncheons in 2017 (January -November) with an average attendance of 71. The low was 53 in March that usually coincides with Spring Break at the University. The high was 93 in July. Room rental averaged $191. January through August we met at Aldersgate Church, but a conflict between church programs and the luncheon time sent us for two months to the slightly more expensive facility at the Brazos Center. Henceforth, we will be using city facilities for the luncheons. Two of the luncheons had sponsors who provided the food, so the total annual cost for the luncheons, including both food and room rental, was $2,963.63 more than the income received from the attendees --this is the amount of subsidy provided by the city for the Exploring History Luncheon program. Without the room rental costs, the total net cost would have been $863.63. Obviously, we are pleased at moving back into city facilities. The average food cost for non -sponsored lunches in 2017 was $642.71 versus $522.08 in 2016 and $535.76 in 2015. We have, for several years, been informing potential sponsors that the cost for a luncheon was around $500. It is apparent that we should be looking at a cost of $650 or so per luncheon. If you look at the three-year summary, you will note that the 2017 costs were considerably higher than for 2016 but lower than for 2015. Two major factors probably account for these differences. First, prices for the luncheons were raised from $5 to $7 in 2016, resulting in more income despite a drop in attendance. Also, in 2016 we had 5 sponsored meals versus 2 in 2017. If we are able to get three or four sponsored meals in 2018 we might well break even on costs at $7 per meal. With a stable meeting room in College Station, we hope that we will be able to build our average attendance back up to 70-75 or higher per luncheon. Plans/Recommendations for 2018 Continuing programs include the history luncheon series during the months of January thro.agh November, each featuring a different speaker and topic. Several of these for the first part of the year have already been set and we certainly invite each of you to attend whenever possible. We will also continue to encourage applications for the historic homes/building markers, encouraging homeowners and businesses to complete the paperwork and purchase the plaques for display. It has been proposed that the process be streamlined and be completed online. We are particula-ly interested in honoring businesses such as Aggieland Flowers and perhaps Easterwood Airport. During the past two years, we have updated the bricks on the American Mile, so it will probably not be necessary to revisit that task for another two years or so. The program of placing historical literature (magazines) in waiting rooms at doctor's waiting rooms, barbershops, and other establishments will also be continued, depending upon the availability of donated materials. Extra materials will be passed on to the American Legion project to distribute reading materials to overseas servicemen. The committee will also work with Project HOLD staff on collecting and digitizing materials; and we will participate with other community groups that conduct events of a historical nature, including the Brazos Valley Veterans Association (Lynn Stuart Pathway at Veteran's Park), and the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History (Boonville Days). Finally, the committee will also cooperate in the updating of the College Station History Book, hopefully to see it published within one year or two at the most. The HPC is also recommending some new programs for considered by the next committee and the City Council. First, is a low-key celebration of the 80th Anniversary celebration of the incorporation of the City of College Station, highlighting major events of the years since 1938. That would occur in October of 2018. The A&M Garden Club has indicated an interest in assisting us in hosting such an event at the Richard Carter Homesite. A second project includes a publication (electronic or printed) which highlights the founders and famous people buried in the College Station cemetery. Since the old cemetery is essentially full or sold out, this is a good time to begin to catalog the names and histories of the people interred there so that their contributions to the community will not be forgotten. A third project, arising from input from the community, involves the preparation and installation of interpretive signs identifying the history of the parks and streets in College Station, particularly in the more historical parts of the city. A fourth project, the impetus for which is also from other community sources, involves the establishment of a museum in the City of College Station. Since this would involve a building and considerable capital outlay, we would expect to have input from the City Council and from interested groups in the community. Such an endeavor would be beyond the resources of the HPC, but personnel could assist in planning, fund raising campaigns, and identification of resources to for display in the facility. This would be a multi -year activity, and several other groups in the city have expressed an interest in this project, especially in conjunction with the Aggies Go to War display. A final project, suggested by a member of the landmark commission, is to explore the combination of the duties of that commission with those of the Historic Preservation Committee. In summary, the Historic Preservation Committee of the City of College Station is a working committee that intends to continue established programs and to explore new ways of bringing our community's heritage to the attention of its citizens. Exploring History Luncheons--2017 Expenses Paid Room Month Attendance Lunches* Revenue Lunch Provider Food Cost Rental** Sponsor Net Cost per Net Cost per luncheon paid attendee January 90 81 $ 571.00 Jason's Deli $ 850.45 $ 200.00 None $ 479.45 $ 5.92 February 65 62 $ 434.00 Chick-Fil-A $ 486.56 $ 200.00 None $ 252.56 $ 4.07 March 53 49 $ 343.00 Crossroads $ $ 200.00 Crossroads & Madisonville Care Centers $ (143.00) $ (2.92) April 69 62 $ 434.00 J Cody's $ 597.95 $ 200.00 None $ 363.95 $ 5.87 May 63 55 $ 388.00 Fuego Tortilla Grill $ 574.07 $ 200.00 None $ 386.07 $ 7.02 June 61 60 $ 420.00 Chick-Fil-A $ 600.80 $ 200.00 None $ 380.80 $ 6.35 July 93 82 $ 574.00 Must Be Heaven $ 800.00 $ 200.00 None $ 426.00 $ 5.20 August 85 67 $ 469.00 CHI Sst. Joseph $ $ 200.00 CHI St. Joseph Rehabilitation Hospital $ (269.00) $ (4.01) September 81 77 $ 545.00 Chick-Fil-A $ 627.95 $ 250.00 None $ 332.95 $ 4.32 October 60 52 $ 364.00 Buppy's $ 626.10 $ 250.00 None $ 512.10 $ 9.85 November 63 54 $ 378.75 McAlister's $ 620.50 $ - None $ 241.75 $ 4.48 December Annual Totals: 783 701 $ 4,920.75 * $ 5,784.38 $ 2,100.00 $ 2,963.63 Averages: per luncheon 71 64 $ 447.34 $ 525.85 $ 190.91 $ 269.42 $ 4.23 $ 642.71 *** *total revenues includes $20.75 at the door donations **January -August, Aldersgate; September -November, Brazos Center; November, city facility ***average food cost per non -sponsored luncheon Comparison of History Luncheon Attendance and Costs Paid Year Attendance Lunches* Revenue 2015 Totals: 884 797 $ 3,985.00 Averages: 74 66 $ 332.08 2016 Totals: 785 696 $ 4,286.00 Averages: 71 63 $ 389.64 2017 Totals: 701 701 $ 4,920.75 Averages: 64 64 $ 447.34 Number Cost per paid Food Cost Room Rental Sponsored Net Cost attendee $ 5,157.64 $ 2,400.00 $ 429.80 $ 200.00 $ 3,654.57 $ 2,200.00 $ 332.23 $ 200.00 $ 5,784.38 $ 2,100.00 $ 525.85 $ 190.91 3 $ 3,572.64 $ 297.72 $ 5 $ 1,568.57 $ $ 130.71 $ 2 $ 2,963.63 $ 269.42 $ 5.27 - price increase from $5 to $7 in May 2.25 4.23