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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20100511minutesMINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF JEFFERSON HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION May 11, 2010 MEMBERS PRESENT ATTENDANCE Ralph Bray, Chair 5 of 5 Cathy Bordner, Co -Chair 4 of 5 Russ Mitten, Secretary 5 of 5 Diane Light 5 of 5 Ric Telthorst 5 of 5 Jim Chilcutt 4 of 4 Art Langston 4 of 5 Jenny Smith 4 of 5 Richard Moore 1 of 1 MEMBERS ABSENT None COUNCIL LIAISON Carrie Carroll 5 of 5 STAFF Ron Davenport, Community Development OTHERS PRESENT Jo Ann Radetic, State Historic Preservation Office CALL TO ORDER The Historic Preservation Commission ("Commission") met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. in the Small Conference Room of the John G. Christy Municipal Building, 320 East McCarty Street, Jefferson City, Missouri. The meeting was called to order by Chair Ralph Bray. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The members reviewed the minutes from the April 13, 2010 meeting. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes. The motion carried. INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBER The Chair introduced Richard Moore as a new member of the Commission. Mr. Moore briefly described his background and experience and was welcomed -by the other Commission members. CITY ISSUES/COUNCIL UPDATE Ron Davenport reported that a new ordinance has been proposed that would establish standards for accepting donations of preservation easements in the "Old Town" section of the City. Although the proposed ordinance was not sponsored by the Commission, Ron believed the Commission should be made aware of it because it deals with historic preservation issues. He suggested that the Chair and other interested members should consider attending the next meeting of the City Council's Administration Committee where the proposed ordinance initially will be considered. Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City of Jefferson Historic Preservation Commission May 11, 2010 Chair Bray explained to the members that federal law allows private parties to donate historic facades to qualifying non-profit organizations as a way to encourage and provide financing for historic preservation. He stated that his cursory review of the proposed ordinance suggested it was intended to facilitate that process in Jefferson City. Information regarding applicable federal laws and actions that have been taken by communities to implement those laws is available on the Internet, and he urged the members of the Commission to peruse some of that information on their own. He further stated that he did not know who had proposed the ordinance, but did believe it was something about which the Commission should have input. A g eneral di scussion o f t he p roposed o rdinance f ollowed w ith several C ommission m embers raising questions and expressing concerns. At the conclusion of the discussion Commission members expressed the consensus opinion that the progress of this ordinance should be carefully monitored so that members of the City Council could be made aware of the Commission's desire to be involved in any further discussions of, or revisions to, the proposed ordinance. Mr. Davenport also reported that the City has begun a sweep of public records to determine the owners of certain structures on Jackson Street so that those property owners can be urged or forced to perform necessary maintenance on or shore -up those structures. He noted that deteriorating structures tended to destabilize the neighborhoods in which they exist. He stated that the City is considering expanding its efforts to identify and hold responsible negligent property owners to areas on High Street and Capitol Avenue, and also noted that the City already has commenced efforts to force owners of derelict structures on Elm Street to maintain or stabilize certain structures in that area. Council Liaison Carrie Carroll reported on the status of ordinances that had been drafted by the Commission several months ago for possible submission to the City Council. She stated that the Council would take action to correct what appeared to be a clerical error in the ordinance dealing with demolition petitions. She further stated that the Council was considering ordinances that would: 1) allow persons who own property within the city limits but live outside the city limits to be eligible to serve on the Historic Preservation Commission, and 2) provide a means to bring Commission actions on demolition applications before the City Council. Commission members Mitten and Telthorst asked Ms. Carroll how the ordinances drafted by the Commission had come to be presented to the Council as actual proposals of the Commission. They noted that the Commission had requested, and was still awaiting, input from the City Attorney before a final decision would be made regarding whether the Commission would recommend any or all of the draft ordinances. Ms. Carroll stated that there apparently was some confusion regarding what the Commission was seeking from the City Attorney and suggested that the Commission invite the City Attorney to a future meeting to clarify remaining questions. Councilmember Carroll also reported that the City has nominated the old County Jail as a historic structure in Jefferson City. She further stated that Sheriff Greg White has been invited to the Landmark Award presentation ceremony to receive the award previously conferred on the old jail by the Commission. OLD BUSINESS Preservation Plan Chair Bray reported that the proposed Preservation Plan has been posted on the City's website for public comment but that no public comments were received. Jo Ann Radetic appeared on behalf of the State Historic Preservation Commission and presented written comments to the Plan from Michelle Diedriech and Tiffany Patterson. Ms. Radetic stated that she had difficulty finding the -2- Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City of Jefferson Historic Preservation Commission May 11, 2010 proposed Plan on the City's website and suggested that may be one reason no public comments to the Plan were received. Commission member Telthorst stated that he, too, had experienced considerable difficulty in locating the proposed Plan on the website. Chair Bray stated that he understood and appreciated the concerns expressed about the lack of publicity regarding the proposed Plan and the difficulty people experienced in trying to access the Plan on the City's website. He therefore proposed delaying final consideration of the Plan to give interested members of the public more time to review and comment on it. A general discussion followed among the members as to how the proposed Plan could be better publicized to give interested parties the opportunity to review it and provide comments. Landmark Awards/Greg Stockard_Distinguished Service Award The Chair reminded the members that the Landmark Awards ceremony will be held May 27th and urged all members to attend. He stated that the ceremony will begin at 4:00 p.m, in the Council Chamber. In addition to Landmark Award winners and the recipient of the Greg Stockard Distinguished Service Award, art and essay contest winners also will be recognized at the ceremony. NEW BUSINESS Demolition Applications The Commission considered the application for demolition of the structure located at 2309 West Main Street. Several members noted that critical information was missing from the demolition application, including the age of the structure and the reasons it was proposed for demolition. Ron Davenport offered to contact the applicant to see what additional information regarding the structure could be obtained. Pending Ron's report at a future meeting, the Commission deferred formal action on the demolition application. DATES TO REMEMBER The Chair again stated that the Landmark Awards ceremony would be held on May 27th. He also noted that the next scheduled meeting of the Commission will be June Stn There being no further business to come before the Commission, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. itted, Mitten, Secretary -3-