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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/03/1999 - Regular Minutes - Historic Preservation Committee rfistoric Preservation Committee Wcgu(ar Meeting Coffege Station Conference Center 1300 George Bush Drive Wednesday, ,March 3, 1999 -- 5 :15 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Deborah Jasek, Chair; Dennis Maloney, Co- Chair; Bill Lancaster; Russell Duke; Dock Burke; Shawn Carlson; Elton Abbott; Joan Perry; Becky Berry MEMBERS ABSENT: Margaret Griffith STAFF PRESENT: David Gerling, Special Facilities Superintendent; Pamela Einkauf, Senior Secretary VISITORS PRESENT: Mike Luther; Julie Schultz, President of the Brazos Heritage Society I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 5:19 p.m. by Deborah Jasek, Chair. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes from the February, 1999 meeting were approved as written. 3. HEAR VISITORS: Debbie welcomed Mike Luther, who recommended that the Historic Preservation Committee (HPC) do an interview with Ms. Helen Snyder, for the oral history project and book. She runs the Early Bird Shoppe in Bryan now. In 1954 she was Chief Clerk with the Texas Engineering Experiment Station. She had top secret clearance and was the working secretary for a delegate from Washington by the name of Kirkland. He came to A &M and organized and masterminded the contributions of a substantial number of A &M people who were material to the Manhatten Project and the development of the first atomic bomb. A &M contributed significantly to this project, and she has a lot of information she's willing to share. She has agreed to do an oral history interview. Bill said the first job he had at A &M was to take her position. It was a one -room operation on the third floor of the Engineering building. Dennis suggested that Mike do the interview since Ms. Snyder knows him. He said he'd see what he could do. Deborah told a story about Colonel Duckworth from Bryan Airfield who purposely flew into the eye of a Category 4 hurricane off the Texas coast in 1943. The story goes that during an officer's call, British RAF pilots who were in Bryan for training, had made comments regarding American flight capabilities during real -life situations. That, supposedly, is what caused Colonel Duckworth to take off and fly, not once, but twice, into the eye of this hurricane. Future flights by weather reconnaissance planes would be based on how Colonel Duckworth entered the hurricane and the things he described. Bill said Colonel Duckworth had lived at the corner of Eagle Pass and Texas Avenue, where Shammy Car Wash is now. Historic Preservation Committee Page 2 4. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF HISTORIC HOME/BUILDINGAPPLICATIONS SUBMITTED: Shawn Carlson submitted an application for the Peddicord home at 1201 Munson Avenue, formerly owned by Phil Gramm. One correction was made to page 4 of the application. The sentence was changed from "....development of the first residential area in College Station," to read "....development of his first residential area in College Station." The application was voted on and approved, making it historic home number 55. Shawn said the floorplan for the home would be added later. David told Dock, Russell, and Elton that home plaques had been reordered and as soon as they came in, they would be put on the City Council meeting agenda to formally receive their plaques. 5. PRESENTATION BY JULIE SCHULTZ, PRESIDENT OF THE BRAZOS HERITAGE SOCIETY: Julie introduced herself, saying she'd been the President of the Brazos Heritage Society for over a year. Julie said she was also on the Historic Commission. She wanted the members to know that the Brazos Heritage Society was interested in doing projects in College Station, as well as Bryan, and they were available for partnership or help on any project. She said that David was on the Society and could act as liaison between the two groups. She gave the members her address: 5533 Somerford, Bryan, TX 77802, and phone 774 -4079. She said the Society was interested in doing something on the Fourth of July in Dexter Park if they could get the HPC's help. There will also be a Fourth of July function in Bryan. She said the Society tries to alternate its Historic Homes tour, and the Holiday High Tea between Bryan and College Station every year. This next time, both will be held in College Station. The Society is considering having the Homes Tour and the High Tea in the Munson Avenue neighborhood. She said last year approximately 600 people went through the homes, which was a good turnout. The tea is only in two homes, and will be held the first or second weekend in December. The Homes Tour is in February. She said the Heritage Society doesn't want to get in the middle of the Munson Avenue issue, however the Society feels that part of College Station is historic and that it is the City's and the citizens' responsibility to protect those areas. Doing the homes tour and tea in this neighborhood would put the spotlight on the fact that the area is historic. Shawn said seven homes had historic plaques and there were probably another three that would qualify. 6. DISCUSSION ON THE I I ' : • . • : . • 11 11 ► k u k • POSSIBLE ACTION: Dennis said it seems to have been overlooked that the issue isn't just about asphalt -- it's about homes, families, and history. Dock stated that when heavy traffic goes into a fragile area, it puts the whole neighborhood at risk. Historically when urban areas decline, you can usually link that decline to some major change in the transportation pattern. Shawn stated that actions taken so far by Council have dealt with safety in the neighborhood. However, if the ballot initiative passes on May 1, what will happen is the city will be forced to widen Munson, which can't be done without destroying some homes. Julie stated that's the time for the Texas Historical Commission (THC) to become involved. Shawn said the THC says the most effective way to protect historic property is through the enforcement of ordinances. The HPC can't enforce ordinances, but it can support ordinances which may be passed to protect the street. Dennis agreed, stating that the current issue is Munson, but in the future it could be Dexter or Welsh that's widened into four lanes. Dock said it's not just the older neighborhoods that are at risk. Elton stated that if the street is widened, homeowners in the neighborhood will move away, which will lead to the neighborhood becoming, at best, rental property. Historic Preservation Committee Page 3 Property values will decline, and gradually the historic value will be lost. Joan stated that the proof is there. Experts brought in on the Munson Avenue Traffic Committee indicated that time and again it's been shown, once the move is made to invite through- traffic into a neighborhood, the degradation of the entire neighborhood begins at that point and creeps outward. In a matter of 30 -50 years the entire historic neighborhood will be rental property, multi - family, and commercial. Bill stated that the HPC needs to do something as soon as possible - a resolution if nothing else. Shawn said she'd met with the Brazos County Historical Commission and had the same discussion. They talked about writing a resolution or something to the city council, but its not the city council that needs to be convinced, it's the public. They had asked Shawn to draff a letter for consideration at their next meeting. Shawn suggested that all three groups sign the letter. Dennis said to send a letter to the editor of the Eagle, highlighting the salient points of why Munson is important. Dock said ultimately the people in the neighborhood are going to have to stand up and do what's necessary, and that the City of College Station has a commitment to its history. Dennis said if someone isn't willing to go out of their way to take care of the first and oldest neighborhoods - where the first citizens that made College Station lived - then you're doomed. Elton said the HPC needed to make a statement that they are opposed to the petition that's calling for the rewriting of the ordinance, so that the integrity of the historic neighborhood is preserved. The statement could be forwarded to the news media, the paper, and television station. Joan stated that when she was on the Munson Avenue Traffic Committee, the majority of the 28 people that were on the committee did not respect, nor did they want to use, the word historic. The few people who kept bringing it up, kept getting shot down over and over again. Bill asked what they wanted to use. Joan said safety and access to the school ranked highest. She said they did not respect the historic perspective of the neighborhood, and those members were the ones who lived in the historic area. It was all an access /transportation, and "what's- best - for -me" issue. If that committee, formed from people who lived in the neighborhood, didn't want to accept the fact that the historic nature of the neighborhood was valuable, then how could anyone else be convinced? Bill said a precedent needed to be set. Julie suggested getting a publicity campaign going, because the majority of the citizens only knew of the issue from what they'd heard on the news, which wasn't very favorable, and the historic aspect had never been seen on television. Elton said there was a committee within the neighborhood, and a coalition of neighborhoods - called the Neighborhood Integrity Committee - doing fundraising, and planning to do adds. David said that Margaret, who couldn't be there, wanted to let her position be known. She felt the issue had divided the neighborhood, and didn't feel the HPC should take one side or the other as it would put them in an adversarial position. She felt the HPC should stay out of it and let the voters decide in May. Several members disagreed, stating that it was the job of the HPC to get involved - that's why the HPC existed - to protect the city's historic resources. There was always going to be antagonism and people who disagreed with what the HPC was doing. If everyone had the same disregard for neighborhoods and there was no historic preservation, there would be no Charleston Historical District, historic Williamsburg, Virginia. Becky stated that all the HPC should do is bring to the voter's attention that there is historical significance in the neighborhood, without taking sides. Julie stated that the Historic Preservation Committee Page 4 Heritage Society would take that stand as well. They will just responsibly say "this is a historical neighborhood and the city should take steps to protect it, as far as not widening the street ". Deborah agreed with Becky. Deborah said she'd write the letter. It needed to be mailed right after the next meeting so it would be published no more than a day or two before early voting. It would be done as a letter to the editor, and state that the HPC wanted to go on record and make a very clear point. It would outline the historical aspects of the neighborhood and the houses on Munson, pointing out the impact of what widening would do to the neighborhood, and urging the voters to take this into consideration when they cast their vote. Deborah reminded the members to remain aware of their association with the city. Deborah said she'd have a copy of the letter to Pam by March 26, so it could go out in the packets for the April 7, meeting. 7. DISCUSSION ON THE IMPACT OFTHE RAILROAQ__RELOCATION ON LOCAL HISTORY AND POSSIBLE ACTION: There was discussion regarding: - The high concentration of hazardous materials transported by train. Some of the trains have 65% -75% of the cars bearing HAZMAT placards - some carrying oxidizers and explosives. There is no hazardous materials route in Bryan /College Station. - Moving the tracks wouldn't matter if a HAZMAT incident were to take place. The Brazos County Emergency Management Coordinator, Fred Forsthoff, has been quoted as saying that if a HAZMAT incident were to occur involving only one car of a train, an evacuation area of over 3.5 miles would be involved. - Moving the tracks would matter if a HAZMAT incident were to occur. It's better to be on the outer fringes of a 3.5 mile evacuation area after a hazardous materials incident than within 100 meters of it. - Expansion by Union Pacific to double tracks which would increase the number of trains per day to approximately 45. - All major metropolitan areas have passenger rail lines, and the cities that have gotten rid of them are trying to get them back. Use the tracks for possible future passenger trains, but don't remove them. Due to the historic significance of the railroad in the formation and naming of the City of College Station, Elton said the HPC should make a recommendation that the location of the existing tracks be preserved and any plans for modifying vehicular and pedestrian access involve grade separation or other designs that preserve this historic transportation link.. If you have to move the freight trains, do so, but leave the tracks. Any design that preserves the tracks is acceptable it doesn't have to be grade separation. Once you give up that right -of -way you'll never regain it. The issue of the railroad was tabled until the next meeting. 8. OTHER COMMITTEE CONCERNS: David stated that the letter generated at the last meeting regarding the HPC's notification of any development or changes that may take place in any of the three historic districts, had been done. The members signed the letter so that it could be mailed to the Mayor, City Council, Parks and Recreation Board, Planning and Zoning, and Community Appearance Committees. 9. ADJOURN: The meeting adjourned at 6:46 p.m.