HomeMy WebLinkAbout09192018 Historic Preservation Minutes City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes
September 19, 2018 Volume 3, Page 151
CALL TO ORDER
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The September 19,2018 regular meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission was called
to order at 6:35 p.m. by Chair Wolfgang Kurtz.
OPENING CEREMONY
Fred Woelkers led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
ROLL CALL
There were present:
Wolfgang Kurtz presiding
Fred Woelkers Iris Darling
Cliff Krug Cheryl Seese
comprising a quorum of the Commission; and
Jeff Bridges, Interim City Manager
Valarie Kingsland, Library Museum Director
L Excused—None
Absent—Libbrecht
Vacant—One
CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING—None
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (Darling/Krug) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Library Museum Director Valarie Kingsland added"Administration Report"to"Special Orders,
Presentations, and Reports", and she added a presentation by Summer Louthan from the State
Historic Preservation Office to "New Business".
Kurtz removed the "Approval of the May 10, 2018 regular meeting minutes" from the consent
agenda.
Motion Passed Unanimous
City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes
September 19,2018 Volume 3,Page 152
SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS,AND REPORTS
Chair Report.Wolfgang Kurtz said he attended the National Association of Preservation
Commissions Conference in Des Moines,Iowa from May 18-22,2018.They occur every two years,
and the next conference would be in Tacoma, Washington in 2020.
Travel Report on National Association of Preservation Commissions Conference.
Wolfgang Kurtz said he learned about the history of the Historic Preservation Act in 1966. The
Historic Preservation Act established the process for the National Registry of Historic Places. The
National Association of Preservation Commissions Conference increased his understanding of the
Historic Preservation Commission's relationships with the Planning&Zoning Commission and the
field of architecture. He said he gained more knowledge on what could be done locally through the
Historic Preservation Act of 1966. He visited historic sites in Iowa during the week of the
conference.
Local Historic Plants and Trees Inventory. Citizen Linda Lasota said the Historic
Preservation Commission granted her permission to continue working on the Local Historic Plants
and Trees Inventory after she left the commission,and she was working on it with Carol Griswold.
The first three trees they suggested be added to the list were Mary Beth and Andrew Koster's
Norway Maple tree at 420 Third Avenue,the Heritage Tree at Hoben Park,and the Spruce Tree at
City Hall on 410 Adams Street.
In response to Kurtz,Lasota said the forms for these trees were ready to be distributed to the
commission but they were not signed by the city manager.They would need to be signed by the city
manager and brought to City Council as a resolution in order to add these trees to the Local Historic
Plants and Trees Inventory.
In response to Interim City Manager Jeff Bridges, Lasota said plaques had never been
awarded to historic plants or trees. In response to Bridges,Kurtz said there were no set regulations
placed on these trees.
HP Original Website. Citizen Linda Lasota said the commission learned at the May 10,
2018 HP meeting that former HP commissioner Dorene Lorenz had access to the original HP
website. For many years, the commission could not access the original HP website and had been
using the City website.In response to Bridges,Kurtz said the City of Seward owned the original HP
website and a Certified Local Government(CLG)grant was used to create it.
Friends of the Jesse Lee Home Update. Iris Darling said Sue Lang and Dorene Lorenz
were working on the Jesse Lee Home.
The commission suspended the rules to speak to Sue Lang from Friends of the Jesse Lee Home.
Sue Lang said her husband would be surveying the Jesse Lee Home in the next thirty days to
find out where the parameters were. She said the City of Seward would take possession of the Jesse
City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes
September 19, 2018 Volume 3,Page 153
Lee Home on August 30, 2019 if the requirements of their contract were not met by this date. She
said the outstanding items were the hazmat abatement,and the installation of a sewer line and water
line.The plans for the school were set and ready to go. She said the 1964 earthquake hardly did any
damage to the Jesse Lee Home,and most of the damage to its infrastructure was due to aging.The
immediate goal of the Friends of the Jesse Lee Home was to get covering on the roof. Most of the
holes in the fence had been patched, and Seward Police Department was working on keeping
trespassers off the property.
In response to Kurtz, Lang said her husband was a land surveyor and was going to identify
the rebar. She said the Jesse Lee Home was destined to be a charter school and it was designed to
allow High School Juniors to spend a semester there developing their career paths. She said the
hazmat was concentrated in one area and the only floor left was in the cafeteria area. The biggest
issue was that the floor tile used was 4 % asbestos. She said the target date for completion of the
Jesse Lee Home was 2022 or 2023. She wanted to honor the legacy of the students who lived in the
Jesse Lee Home by resurrecting the building.
The commission went back on the rules.
Resurrection Bay Historical Society Update—None
111 Alaska Nellie Materials Update.Fred Woelkers said he needed to set up a date with Seese
and Darling to watch the Alaska Nellie tapes.
Mapping Project— Historical Properties Update. Cheryl Seese said Darling retrieved
document numbers over the summer and they worked with the Kenai Peninsula Borough to generate
homes by date and put them in chronological order.
Administration Report.Valarie Kingsland introduced Interim City Manager Jeff Bridges
and Assistant City Manager Brennan Hickok. Kingsland said a resolution to approve the 2018
Historic Preservation Commission Priorities List was being brought to council at their September 24,
2018 council meeting. A new Library Museum Curator would be starting on October 6, 2018.
Kingsland introduced Summer Louthan with the State Historic Preservation Office.
In response to Kurtz,Interim City Manager Jeff Bridges said he came to Seward from the
town of Wethersfield,Connecticut, and Wethersfield had the largest historic district in the state of
Connecticut.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Discuss "Community Involvement—Know Your Neighbor" Program. —No Update
Discuss how the Commission should coordinate and facilitate its input to the City and other
entities regarding Alaska Historic Preservation Act (AHPA) Section 106 compliance for
projects within the Commission's geographic area of responsibility.
City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes
September 19, 2018 Volume 3, Page 154
Kurtz said Woelkers was working with the other agencies to get the Historic Preservation
Commission on their list of people to contact when Section 106 projects cross their desk. afri
The commission suspended the rules to speak to Summer Louthan from the State Historic
Preservation Office.
In response to Woelkers, Summer Louthan said the State of Alaska was one of the final
reviewing parties and the commission was one of their consulting parties,as well as any other local
Historic Preservation Committees that might have interest in these projects. In response to Krug,
Louthan said the federal agency was submitting these projects to the City of Seward.
The commission went back on the rules.
Discuss preservation of City properties, including Park & Recreation warehouse building
(KPB parcel#1452609 702 Aspen Lane); AK Dept. of Transportation (DOT) Building(KPB
parcel# 14732006 412 B Street); Army (KPB parcel#14502604, 2209 & 2305 Dimond Blvd);
and Airforce (KPB# 14502607, 2109 Dimond Blvd).
The commission directed Kingsland to set up a joint work session with Planning&Zoning to discuss
the downtown historic district and the Army Rec Camp.
Discuss and plan regular reporting to council.
The commission directed Seese to type up their written report to council for the October 22,
2018 council meeting.
Discuss allowing commissioners to attend meetings remotely, including voting authority.
This topic was postponed from the May 16, 2018 HP meeting.
Motion (Darling/Seese) Remove this discussion from agenda
Motion Passed Unanimous
NEW BUSINESS
Other New Business
Approval of the May 10, 2018 regular meeting minutes.
Kingsland said the May 10,2018 regular meeting minutes were not completed.They would
be one of the first tasks that the new Library Museum Curator would be working on.
City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes
September 19, 2018 Volume 3, Page 155
Low
Schedule meetings and work sessions.
A memo was provided by Kingsland that requested the Historic Preservation Commission change
their meeting time to noon. Seese, Woelkers, Kurtz, and Krug said they would not be available to
attend noon meetings because they worked during the day. In response to Kurtz,Kingsland said she
would assist the Library Museum Curator in working with HP, but she would act more as City
Administration.
Motion to Table (Darling/Woelkers) Table this discussion until the Interim City
Manager has time to review HP's meeting
and work session schedule.
Motion to Amend (Seese/Krug) Amend this motion to postpone "Schedule
meetings and work sessions"to the October
17,2018 work session at 6:30 p.m.followed
by the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. rather
than tabling it indefinitely.
Motion to Table was withdrawn with no objection from the commission.
Motion to Amend was withdrawn with no objections from the commission.
Motion (Woelkers/Krug) Schedule a work session to "Schedule
meetings and work sessions"for October 17,
2018 at 6:30 p.m.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Motion (Seese/Woelkers) Schedule a meeting for November 14,2018 at
6:30 p.m.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Review procedures for HP meeting record keeping.
Motion to Table (Woelkers/Darling) Table this discussion.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Presentation by Summer Louthan from the State Historic Preservation.
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City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes
September 19, 2018 Volume 3,Page 156
Summer Louthan said the State Historic Preservation monitored the Certified Local
Government(CLG) grants every five years, and they mainly looked at Section 106 projects 45-50
years old and older. The federal agency determines if the properties are eligible for the National
Register of Historic Places and recommends eligible properties to the State Historic Preservation
Office. In response to Kurtz, Louthan said the radio building was not eligible to be placed on the
National Register of Historic Places, because it lacked the integrity to convey its significance. In
response to Woelkers, she said HP's area of responsibility for the CLG grants were within the
Seward city limits and did not include Primrose.
In response to Seese, Louthan said she could give training on Section 106 projects, CLG
grant training,the National Registry of Historic Places,or historic preservation in general.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS.
Travel Report on National Association of Preservation Commissions Forum.
ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS
Kingsland thanked the commission for their efforts.
COMMISSIONERS' COMMENTS
Woelkers thanked Interim City Manager Jeff Bridges and Assistant City Manager Brennan
Hickok for attending tonight's meeting.
Darling welcomed the interim city manager and assistant city manager.
Krug welcomed the interim city manager and assistant city manager.
Seese welcomed the interim city manager and assistant city manager. She thanked Linda
Lasota and Sue Lang for attending tonight's meeting.
Kurtz thanked everyone for attending tonight's meeting.He welcomed Interim City Manager
Jeff Bridges and Assistant City Manager Brennan Hickok. He thanked Summer Louthan for her
presentation. He thanked Linda Lasota for her assistance.
CITIZENS COMMENTS
Linda Lasota said communication between the City Manager,the State Historic Preservation
Office,and HP needed to improve. Resurrection Bay Historic Society(R.B.H.S.)had a meeting on
September 20,2018 at 7:00 p.m. She said the commission received great reviews on Hoben Park.
She recommended everyone get on Department of Transporation's contact list. She wanted council
to be made aware of administration's request to change HP meetings to noon.
City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes
September 19,2018 Volume 3,Page 157
Sue Lang said she hoped to work with the Historic Preservation commission on the Jesse
Lee Home. She was glad to be a part of Seward.
COMMISSION AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZENS'
Kingsland said she was excited to have a new Library Museum Curator starting on October 6,
2018.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:26 p.m.
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Jessica Stallard Wolfgang ' z
Deputy City Clerk Chair
(City Seal)
The city clerk was not present for this meeting;the minutes were drafted from the audio recording.
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