Landmark Commission Minutes - 04/28/2009MINUTES
LANDMARK COMMISSION
0 April 28, 2009
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Dianne Thueson, Chairperson ■ Members
Stacie Flood ■
Christy Graham ■
John Kidwell ■
Councilor Charles Elmore ■ Council Liaison
Karen Montgomery- Gagne, Planner III ■ Staff
ABSENT:
Marilyn Carper ■
Cindy Cotton ■
Ron Fox ■
Jim Newsom ■
Pat Sullivan ■
Steve Wood ■
• 1. CALL TO ORDER & INTRODUCTIONS
Chairperson Thueson called the Commission meeting to order at 4:10 pm. There was no quorum
at this meeting.
II. REVIEW & APPROVAL OF MARCH 2009 MEETING MINUTES
Chairperson Thueson called for review of the March meeting minutes with lack of quorum the
minutes will be approved at a later date.
III. CLG 2009 GRANT AWARD — PREFERRED HISTORIC SITEWEVENTS
Chairperson Thueson called for discussion of the CLG project and requested staff update members
on the site preferences. Ms. Gagne noted that as of the April meeting only three people (Mr.
Newsom, Ms. Carper and Ms. Flood) had submitted any suggestions to her, which included the Call
Field Memorial, WWI Jenny plane at the Kickapoo Airpark along with the Kell House, Weeks
Mansion, Depot Square, Littlest Skyscraper, Morningside Historic District, Kemp Center for the Arts,
First United Methodist Church, Hodges- Hardy- Chambers House, Memorial Auditorium, Hardin
Administration Building, Episcopal Church of the Good Shepard, Kell Air Field Terminal Building at
Sheppard Air Force Base, Graham B. Purcell Building /Federal Post Office, Holt Hotel, Cline -
Bridwell Mansion, 1411 Ninth St., Hamilton House, Lillis Morgan House, Berry Brown House, The
Elks Home, and the Kemp Wholesale Grocery. Staff noted many of these sites are already city or
national landmarks and will be considered by the Commission. Ms. Graham commented the Curtis
Jenny is important for visitors with the community's historic connection to military/air service. She
suggested the Old Country Club Inn /bed & breakfast be considered for the brochure. Members
discussed this site and Chairperson Thueson explained the Old Country Club Inn was not the
original WF Country Club but rather a private club in the community. The original WF Country Club
was lost in a fire.
Councilor Elmore inquired about the type of items Commission was looking for inclusion with the
brochure. Chairperson Thueson stated the Commission is looking for any items of historical
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interest not just the designated landmarks. Ms. Flood highlighted some items from her list of
potential sites, including Riverside Cemetery which received a new marker for Kemp and markers
at the prominent city founder grave sites. Councilor Elmore informed the Commission he's working
with the County to donate the iron trestle bridge (circa 1886 — original crossing at Wichita River) to
Streams & Valleys organization for part of the City's trail system and wondered if this would be
added to the list for consideration. Discussion continued among members regarding various
locations and ideas for the brochure. Ms. Flood commented she had some walking tour and
historic tour brochures from museum tourism seminars she attended in Decatur and El Paso. She
highlighted the San Elizario mission tour brochure from El Paso as an ideal example. Chairperson
Thueson commented on the quality of the City's recent annual report booklet and visitor's &
convention bureau booklet of events which are a positive image for the community. Planning staff
indicated the City Public Information Office worked closely with Design Works for the annual report
publication and copies were limited. She noted if there are issues in the future due to increased
printing costs exceeding grant allocations, the Chairperson suggested having the brochures printed
in -house at the City. Staff indicated this may be a possibility but it would be dependent on other
City priorities. Both Ms. Flood and Ms. Graham suggested sponsorship for the back page of the
brochure if publication costs become an issue rather than compromising on printing quality.
Mr. Kidwell inquired about including City Parks on the list and if there is a list of amenities,
particularly monuments or sculptures in each park? Staff noted parks may be included but the
Parks Dept. maintains a list of parks and their facilities so it may be a duplication to put that much
detail in the historic preservation brochure. Chairperson Thueson encouraged members to email
ideas and suggestions for the brochure to Ms. Gagne before the next meeting to incorporate into a
master list of historic sites.
In other news regarding the grant, Ms. Gagne noted THC contacted and informed her in early April
of an additional $773.32 allocation for the 2009 CLG grant project. The grant award was previously
submitted to City Council for appropriation in March, so the increased match will come from in -kind
(r services. A copy of the acceptance letter for additional grant funds was included with the meeting
packets and revised contracts were signed and submitted to THC.
IV. DISCUSSION -2010 CLG GRANT SUBMITTAL- DESIGN REVIEW GUIDELINE PROJECT
Chairperson Thueson introduced this item for discussion and expressed some hesitation about
applying for another CLG grant considering the current problem with obtaining quorum at
Commission meetings. She noted the Commission can not always count on staff to take on grant
projects 100% because they have other assigned project responsibilities with the City. Chairperson
Thueson stated if the Commission opts to apply for a grant project, and the grant application is
approved, then the members have to also take on responsibility to help accomplish the project in
conjunction with staff assistance and guidance. Members who were in attendance were in
agreement. Members discussed some options for the 2010 grant and they indicated an interest in
applying because the Commission needs help re- writing the Design Review Guidelines. The
Commission was very impressed with the City of Grapevine's Design Guidelines that were prepared
by Marcel Quimby, preservation consultant in Dallas.
Councilor Elmore commented we could take the City of Grapevine's guidelines and use Barry Levy
from Public Information to redo the project. Chairperson Thueson and members agreed Mr. Levy is
very talented and was the pivotal person in completing the preservation video project but this
project would be more focused on re- writing policy sections where a consultant's expertise from
other city's would be ideal. Planning and Public Information staff will be involved with obtaining
local photo examples. Chairperson Thueson stated the alternative to not applying for a CLG grant
in either 2010 or 2011 is to overhaul the guidelines in house with staff and the Commission. Both
Chairperson Thueson and Ms. Gagne commented we've tried over the past two years to research
and update sections of the guidelines but consensus is difficult on some key issues and other
regular Commission activity impacts time devoted to the project. Staff indicated a preservation
consultant had contacted the office regarding the historic sites brochure project and to offer their
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E.
services for any future preservation project — Ms. Gagne will contact both this firm & Marcel Quimby
to obtain project estimates to determine if it's feasible to hire a consultant.
V. REVIEW & DISCUSSION of HISTORIC PRESERVATION ORDINANCE
This item will be discussed at the next Commission meeting when a quorum of members is
obtained.
VI. OTHER BUSINESS:
a) West Floral Heights Historic District update
There were no attendees from the West Floral Heights Historic District at the meeting.
b) Newsletter and Periodical update — information included in the meeting packets
Other Items — Murals:
Councilor Elmore informed the Commission he was working on murals again with the B & C
Printing Building tenants to consider a river scene on the north side of the building. Staff
commented that this was part of the reason the Design Review Guidelines needed to be
updated in order to provide basic requirements for placing a mural on a historically
designated building. Ms. Graham referenced a mural example in Sundance Square where
an old building was painted with a 3D stone image. Co. Elmore requested if anyone from
the Commission has ideas for the mural to submit to his attention. Discussion among
members included considering the Value Village wall facing the parking lot at 8th /Indiana, it
would be an ideal canvas for a 3D mural of the former streetscape. Staff noted any
proposed mural would require review and approval from the Landmark Commission prior to
placement on any historic district or landmark building.
VI1. ADJOURN
The Commission adjourned the meeting at 5:04pm. The next regular Landmark Commission
meeting will be May 19th, 2009 at 4pm with a work session tentatively scheduled for May 12th —
timing to be determined.
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