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Landmark Commission Minutes - 08/27/1998MINUTES LANDMARK COMMISSION August 27, 1998 PRESENT: Lin Purtle, Chairperson Loraine Blackwood Susan Koch Jim Newsom Douglas James Dorothy Rhone Ron Fox Dave Clark, Community Development Director Richard Luedke, Planner III Jason Van Essen, Planner I Carole Woessner, Wichita County Heritage Society Lisa Worley, Wichita County Heritage Society Charles Harper, Harper Perkins Architects ABSENT: Randy Wachsman Dan Gray I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Purtle at 3:30 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF THE JULY 16, 1998 MINUTES ■ Members ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ City Staff ■ ■ ■ Guests ■ ■ ■ Members ■ Ms. Koch stated that she did not make the statement concerning the newspaper photographs of architectural details as stated in the minutes from the last meeting. Credit should have been given to Ms. Purtle. Mr. Newsom made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Ms. Blackwood seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Ms. Purtle then introduced Mr. Charles Harper, a local architect, who gave a slide presentation of many architecturally significant buildings in the downtown area. Mr. Harper explained that the slides in the presentation were taken in t /ED710's. Several of the buildings featured in the presentation have since been torn dow i. CITY CLERK'S OFFICE Date � n Landmark Commission 8 -27 -98 1 By 12fi9C— i ime zZ ;r/i A--- Page 1 of 3 III. DISCUSSION OF POSSIBILITIES FOR HISTORIC DISTRICT EXPANSION Mr. Luedke reported that the survey that was approved at the last meeting was mailed to 37 property owners in the Enhancement District. This survey asked if the property owners would be in favor of enlarging the Depot Square Historic District to include the Enhancement District. 14 surveys were returned with 10 in favor of district expansion and 4 opposed. 23 property owners did not respond to the survey. Ms. Purtle stated that the Commission has a lot of education to do. Property owners and the City Council need to know why the Commission thinks it is important to expand the historic district. Ms. Purtle wondered if individual nominations might lay the groundwork for expanding the historic district. Mr. Newsom stated that the Wichita County Heritage Society is planning to run some educational articles in the newspaper on historic buildings downtown during Heritage Days on October. Mr. Fox stated that another letter should be drafted to the 37 property owners that states that the Commission plans to make a recommendation to City Council regarding expansion of the historic district. Mr. James agreed by stating that the Commission needs to chart forward with the expansion of the district. Mr. Clark stated that the Commission needed to be aware that if the district is expanded, documentation of each building would need to be undertaken. Ms. Purtle asked if this would done by staff. Mr. Clark responded by saying that the Landmark Commission would do most of the work with some assistance from staff. Mr. James stated that the Comission should be aggressive in doing this. Mr. Newsom stated that the existing Landmark Nomination forms are repetitive and need revising. Mr. Luedke stated that this would be a good time to revise the forms before staff creates a computer version of the forms. Mr. Luedke agreed to send copies of the forms to Commission members for review. Mr. Newsom made a motion to instruct staff to send out a second letter to property owners in the Enhancement District asking them for feedback so that the Landmark Commission can make a recommendation to the City Council. Ms. Rhone seconded the motion which was approved unanimously. IV. DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL FOR INDIVIDUAL LANDMARK NOMINATIONS Mr. Luedke presented a draft of a letter addressed to property owners of 27 structures that were previously identified as potential landmarks. Ms. Blackwood asked that an additional structure be added to the list. This structure, the W.D. Cline House, located at the corner of Victory and Bridwell, was the first country club in the area. After reviewing the draft, the Commission instructed staff to send out the letter to the property owners. V. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Clark announced that he will be attending a Texas Historical Commission conference in Corpus Christi in September. At this conference, he hopes to determine if there are any funding opportunities through the Certified Local Government program. Mr. Clark also stated that although the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs did not approve the recent application for tax credits for the Holt Hotel, additional possibilities are being pursued. Landmark Commission 8 -27 -98 Page 2 of 3 Mr. Newsom reported that the Kemp and Kell Depot restoration project is coming along quite nicely. Mr. Clark added that there has been a problem with the roof leaking. The City is currently working with the contractor to repair some of the flashing that is causing the problem. Mr. Purtle stated that funding for the Kemp Library will be requested from the Texas Historical Commission. The chances of application approval are slim because more points are given to projects that are state designated and on the National Register. She hopes to at least get approval for a planning grant for the project. Ms. Purtle also announced that she met with the Mayor and the City Manager to discuss a lease for the Kemp. Very little can be done on the project until the building is in the hands of the Arts Council. Several other funding sources are currently being investigated. As part of the Kemp project, Midwestern State University is surveying the community to document needs and to show community support for the project when foundations are approached for funding. Ms. Purtle hopes for a positive response. Mr. Fox asked if an interior designer would be eligible to serve on the Landmark Commission. Mr. Clark stated that an interior designer would be welcomed on the Commission as long as he or she lives within city limits. Mr. Fox stated that Ms. Karen Griener, an interior designer at his firm, has expressed an interest in serving on the Commission. Mr. Newsom stated that the new curator at the Kell House, Ms. Lisa Worley, has also expressed an interest in the Landmark Commission. Applications for Boards and Commission were given to Mr. Fox and Ms. Worley, who was present at the meeting. Finally, the Commission agreed to set the next meeting for Thursday, September 24, 1998 at 3:30 p.m. VI. ADJOURN The Landmark Commission was adjourned at 5:05 p.m. Z- 2 � 7( Date Landmark Commission 8 -27 -98 Page 3 of 3