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HomeMy Public PortalAbout11-17-2016 Minutes HCC Regular Meeting MINUTES HILLSBOROUGH CEMETERY COMMITTEE Thursday, November 17, 2016 9:00 a.m., Town Barn Present: Chair Ken Ostrand, Lisa Williams, Jane Gaede, David McCullough, Evelyn Poole-Kober, Vice Chair Ashley DeSena, Archivist Bartow Culp Absent: none Staff: Ken Hines, Jamie Johnson, Stephanie Trueblood Guest: Sarah Lowry, Candace Midgett, Lacey Hunter Item 1: Call meeting to order; confirm presence of a quorum. Chair Ostrand called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. He called the roll and confirmed the presence of a quorum. Archivist Culp arrived to the meeting at 9:06 a.m., Ms. Williams arrived at 9:07 a.m., and Ms. Poole-Kober arrived at 9:10 a.m. Item 2: Consideration of changes or adjustments to the agenda Mr. Hines indicated that it was time to vote for chair, vice-chair and archivist positions and that this would be discussed under item 13. Chair Ostrand approved the agenda. Item 3: Approval of minutes of September 7, 2016 meeting Chair Ostrand suggested changing “Ms. Trueblood” to “Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood” under item 5. Motion: Mr. McCullough made a motion to approve the minutes as amended from the September 7, 2016 meeting. Second: Ms. Gaede seconded the motion. Vote: Unanimous Mr. Hines stated that the remainder of the meeting would be recorded due to the length of the agenda to assist Ms. Johnson with minute preparation. Item 4: Speaker: Sarah Lowry, New South Associates, to discuss August OTC GPR results Ms. Lowry presented the committee with the ground penetrating radar draft report from her work in the Old Town Cemetery on August 18 and 19. She indicated that she made her best attempt to put a marker map in place but the 1960s Old Town Cemetery map was not spatially accurate so some marker distances are off. Some graves are indicated to be very shallow (less than one foot in depth) and she has seen this in other historic cemeteries. She mentioned that the “six-feet under” saying is a myth and not even a law in most states and that it started with the English plague. Ms. Lowry errs on the side of caution when marking graves on the map because she would much rather have a false-positive than not based on her reading and experience. The GPR survey identified a total of 125 possible graves, 94 of which were not marked with a grave marker or shown on the map. The combined GPR data and 1966 map revealed an estimated total of 129 individuals in the survey areas that should be marked and identified as probable graves. Ms. Lowry will collect comments on the draft report and will then produce a final report. Committee members should send their comments to Chair Ostrand by December 10. Ms. Lowry further recommends making a map of the entire Old Town Cemetery with survey grade equipment. This map could be put into an interactive map online with information for each burial. You would be able to click on each grave and get all the details for the burial and even a photo of the marker could be included. New South Associates worked on a similar project with the Wake County Historical Society for a slave cemetery. You must start with a spatially accurate map of the cemetery, then collect the demographic information, and then put all the details for each grave into a database that can be used on a website. This project would cost anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 and depending on schedules, would take about two months or so. Ms. Lowry will send examples for committee review. This project would be important for tourism for the town. Mr. Hines indicated that right now the committee’s priority is cleaning, repairing, and resetting gravestones. The website idea could potentially come later in the year three budget for the committee. Item 5: OTC Display in Visitor’s Center [McCullough] The display would start March 1, 2017 and run through June 1, 2017. The display area will be the first office on the right once you come through the main entry of the Visitor’s Center. This room has a display case, a corner cabinet and wall space. The committee will be responsible for providing all materials for the display. There is potentially room to place a gravestone or portion of iron fencing in one display case. If provided, raw examples of each type of gravestone, such as slate, granite and quartz, will give visitors something to touch while visiting. Mr. McCullough suggested the display feature the history of gravestones and their changes over time from the earliest years to more recent gravestones in all three of the town’s cemeteries. Ms. Poole-Kober suggested not putting gravestones on display and indicated she has an issue with the removal of gravestones from the cemetery. She mentioned that the committee and the town has been working to preserve the stones and it would be bad public relations for the town to display a gravestone taken from the cemetery. One of the stones is an extra stone for an individual who already has a replacement stone. The extra stone was found being used in the Old Town Cemetery as a step. The other stone is the “Hogg” stone located in the town manager’s office. Chair Ostrand indicated that the Orange County Historical Museum Director Candace Midgett would like to accession the extra stones in the museum’s collection. Vice Chair DeSena mentioned she would prefer the stones be accessioned into the museum collection first and then loaned to the Visitor’s Center for display. The accession agreement should also indicate that the stones are and will remain town property and would only be accessioned for a period of time for storage, safekeeping, or display purposes. Mr. Hines indicated the town can store the extra gravestones and maybe the “Hogg” gravestone could possibly be used for display and could be accompanied with an explanation for its presence. Motion: Ms. Poole-Kober made a motion to authorize spending up to and no more than $300 for the Visitor’s Center display. Second: Vice Chair DeSena seconded the motion. Vote: Unanimous A subcommittee will be formed to assist with the display project. Archivist Culp, Vice Chair DeSena and Ms. Poole-Kober will help Mr. McCullough. Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood joined the meeting at 10:07 a.m. Item 6: OTC Restoration of OTC: Ruederich; ‘new’ tombstone [Hines]; OTC boxwood’s analysis. [Ostrand, Hines] Dean Ruedrich will start with the Old Town Cemetery to finish it completely and then move to the New Town Cemetery to start with the worst broken gravestones first. There are only six or so stones left to repair in the Old Town Cemetery and Ms. Williams made a list of needed gravestone repairs in zone 1, section A of the New Town Cemetery. Ms. Trueblood reminded the committee that Dean Ruedrich is coming to the upcoming Old Town Cemetery workshop to demonstrate gravestone repair so a couple broken stones in the Old Town Cemetery need to be left for repair during the April 2017 workshop. Chair Ostrand found a “new” gravestone in the Old Town Cemetery. The gravestone is broken and being used as a step. The committee members discussed what to do with “new” stones found in the Old Town Cemetery. Mr. Hines suggested that the town will store loose or broken gravestones and later use them in a new monument inside the Old Town Cemetery, similar to what was constructed in the Margaret Lane Cemetery. Ms. Poole-Kober expressed that she wants to keep the gravestones in the cemeteries where they belong and close to the other gravestones original placement, if it has since been replaced with a newer tombstone. The stones should not be removed to a museum. Vice Chair DeSena suggested a policy be developed about gravestones found in the cemeteries or elsewhere that could be added to the Town Code of Ordinances. The Old Town Cemetery boxwoods are supposedly over 100 years old but have been shown to be very small in photos from the 1940s. Bill Harris, a Town of Hillsborough resident, has taken over the care of the boxwoods and discovered, after testing, that two and half plants are infested with nematodes. Mr. Harris suggested cutting out and removing the two and half plants and their roots and letting the ground, where they were, lay fallow for five years and be replanted after that time. Mr. Harris volunteered to do the work for free with assistance from the town. The testing invoice submitted by Mr. Harris was for about $20 and will need to be paid. Motion: Archivist Culp made a motion to authorize paying the boxwood testing invoice and recommends that the committee move forward with Bill Harris’ nematode treatment plan recommendations. Second: Ms. Gaede seconded the motion. Vote: Unanimous Item 7: OTC Tours, and Walking Brochure: Discussion. [Ostrand] The Old Town Cemetery brochure has been well received by the Visitor’s Center, the Hillsborough Presbyerian Church, and the public. There will need to be changes made to update it in the future. Item 8: Walking Tours: OTC; NTC [Ostrand, Williams] The Visitor’s Center Old Town Cemetery walking tours have generated proceeds for the Visitor’s Center and Cemetery Committee. The tours are $10 per person and half goes to the center and half to the Cemetery Committee. The town should receive a check or more than one check for the donation. Archivist Culp suggested linking the walking tours with the Chamber of Commerce’s train tours. The tours could be tailored to go by the cemeteries. Ms. Poole-Kober suggested working the tours in with the Garden Club’s biannual tour next spring. Item 9: Subcommittee reports: Steward Reports: OTC, MLC, NTC Ms. Poole-Kober mentioned the removal and replacement of the cedar trees in the Margaret Lane Cemetery and the stabilization of the bank. Ms. Trueblood indicated that the Tree Board 2016 planting funds have already been designated for other areas. The Tree Board members met on site and developed a potential planting plan and it may be able to happen in fall 2017. Ms. Poole-Kober suggested at least pruning the mass of dead branches and removing the weeds out of the trees, if they cannot be removed. Ms. Trueblood indicated that if the neighbors of the Margaret Lane Cemetery contacted the Tree Board directly, they may reconsider their decision but the board members have expressed that they do not want to remove the trees until they can be replanted. The “planting for the future” sign still needs to be removed from the Margaret Lane Cemetery. The Old Town Cemetery has broken down construction fencing that needs to be reinstalled and a 2x4 in one of the family grave compounds. A fig tree and Crape myrtle were mangled, a wall hit, and a sign bent. Mr. Hines suggested if there are any issues that the church should be notified first and then they will deal with their contractor. Ms. Trueblood indicated she would make a site visit to speak with the contractor and church representative after the meeting. Ms. Williams found several large branches in the New Town Cemetery and dragged them to the street for town collection. Item 10: Budget and Expenditure Updates: Gravestone Association Mr. Hines advised the committee that Ms. Trueblood has been promoted to Public Space Manager and will take over staffing the committee in the near future. Mr. Hines will update Ms. Trueblood on the budget. There is money to restore the gravestones and purchase new brochures (if updated later on due to GPR results). The committee’s next focus will be resetting the priority gravestones in the New Town Cemetery to address safety issues and prevent damages. The committee joined the Association for Gravestone Studies for networking and educational purposes. Item 11: OTC Signage—Preliminary Committee, location. [McCullough] Mr. McCullough will begin gathering content for the new Old Town Cemetery interpretive sign. This sign is on the docket for install next year. High resolution electronic copies of photos, graphics and maps should be gathered and any content should be presented in bullet point form. The Signage Committee will start meeting near the end of spring 2017 to begin the interpretive sign design process. Chair Ostrand, Mr. McCullough and Archivist Culp will assist with this project. Item 12: Review of Attendance Requirements to Maintain Membership on the Committee. [Hines] Mr. Hines was contacted by Chair Ostrand about reviewing the attendance policy. A spreadsheet of committee member attendance records was distributed for member review. The attendance portion of the committee’s Rules of Procedure were read aloud. Ms. Trueblood mentioned that work issues, doctor’s appointments, and other legitimate absences were typically excused for her advisory board members as long as the member lets staff know ahead of the meeting and there is no threat to quorum and the business of the board being conducted. Mr. Hines advised that the attendance policy in the Rules of Procedure needs to be reworded to loosen the absence restriction and indicate an unapproved absence is when it’s not communicated to staff ahead of the meeting. Item 13: Recommendation for reappointment of committee members McCullough and Poole- Kober who have membership terms expiring Dec. 31, 2016 Motion: Ms. Gaede made a motion to recommend that the Town Board of Commissioners reappoint David McCullough to another term on the Hillsborough Cemetery Committee. Second: Ms. Poole-Kober seconded the motion. Vote: Unanimous Ms. Poole-Kober indicated that she does not want to be reappointed to the committee due to contention between Chair Ostrand and herself since the formation of this committee, which was visible in emails exchanged between all committee members and staff. Ms. Poole-Kober stated she felt offended. Mr. Hines reported that the town has received two applications recently and that they could potentially be invited to attend the January committee meeting. Additionally, the public would be notified of the vacancy and additional applications would be accepted for a period of time. Mr. Hines stated that it was time to elect committee officials since it has been two years since the last election in November 2014. Motion: Ms. Poole-Kober made a motion to nominate Bartow Culp for another term as Archivist on the Hillsborough Cemetery Committee. Second: Vice Chair DeSena seconded the motion. Vote: Unanimous Motion: Archivist Culp made a motion to nominate Ms. DeSena for another term as Vice Chair on the Hillsborough Cemetery Committee. Second: Mr. McCullough seconded the motion. Vote: Unanimous Motion: Vice Chair DeSena made a motion to nominate Mr. Ostrand for at least one more year as Chair of the Hillsborough Cemetery Committee. Second: Ms. Williams seconded the motion. Vote: Unanimous Item 14: Cemetery Conference Update [DeSena] Vice Chair DeSena mentioned that the grant contract has been signed with the State Historic Preservation Office for the workshop. Ms. Trueblood imagines the State Historic Preservation Office representative John Mintz, the new planner and staff to the Historic District Commission Justin Snyder, and she will meet to plan a date for the event and then the SHPO will let the town know their involvement in coordination of the workshop. Vice Chair DeSena is welcome to attend this meeting, if available. The SHPO has expressed interest in having Dean Ruedrich demonstrate stone repair and preservation techniques and they would like to have a portion of the workshop be dedicated to ground penetrating radar demonstration. The workshop will likely be held in April or May and it is not certain if it will be one or two days in length. Item 15: Burke-to-OTC Update. [Ostrand] There are no updates. Item 16: Planting—MLC; OTC. Ms. Poole-Kober suggested planting periwinkle and lariope under the large maple tree near Occoneechee Street in the Margaret Lane Cemetery for stabilization purposes. Some dirt will need to be brought in by the town staff. Ms. Trueblood would like to work on creating master plans for all cemeteries with priorities and goals and a common vision to help with the budgeting process and timelines for project funding. Chair Ostrand will contact Ms. Poole-Kober about getting periwinkle for the Old Town Cemetery. Item 17: Set next meeting day: Please check your calendar for acceptable dates from January 1- 14, 2017. The next Cemetery Committee meeting will be held January 12, 2017 at 9 a.m. in the Town Barn. Ms. Johnson will check the meeting calendar and email committee members. Item 18: Field Trip: MLC for signage location Committee members, Mr. Hines and Ms. Trueblood went on a field trip to the Margaret Lane Cemetery to determine best placement for the new interpretive sign that will be installed next week. The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m. Submitted by: Jamie Johnson, November 21, 2016 Amended by: Jamie Johnson, January 18, 2017 101 East Orange Street · P O Box 429 · Hillsborough, NC 27278 · 919 732 1270