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SP: I'm sorry but if you're going to reconvene, you can't adjourn. <br />LP: Hearing of visitors then... <br />JS: We haven't done new business, and I have two items that I want to discuss. <br />V. NEW BUSINESS <br />JS: I have two requests of somebody. The Medow building, and the candy store, which are <br />owned by the Presbyterian Church, can I have whatever information we have about those . <br />buildings and the making of landmarks. When they were made landmarks, and what the <br />landmark status implies for those buildings. <br />AH: I'd be happy to prepare that for you. <br />CH: I know the Fredrickson candy store is, but I don't think that the Medow building is a <br />landmark... <br />JS: It is, it was thefirst Ford dealership, and because of the terra cotta trim on the front of the <br />building it was made a landmark, it was kind of a unique thing. It's not being looked after <br />properly in my opinion, and it should be brought to someone's attention. <br />CH: You're a member of the parish. <br />JS: Absolutely, and I have suggested that they ought to be doing something, and they just keep <br />thinking that its just going to fall down on its own accord, and I tell them that they can't do that. <br />AH: I'll double check. <br />JS: The second thing that I'd like. I have been reading that there is some new regulations about <br />easements, and we have a couple of easements, and I was wondering if you have some new <br />information about what the new regulations were, and if they'll impact anything that we have <br />anything on. <br />SP: Do you know which body adopted those regulations? <br />JS: No, I read about it in one of the other organizations that I belong to, relative to scenic <br />easements and farm easements, but its all under that same federal legislation. <br />LP: Any other new business? <br />CH: Also under new business, the conservatories and greenhouses, we had a meeting this <br />afternoon, at 5:15 with the parks board, and the mayor was there, and about 50 other people <br />were there, Don was there. And the citizens of South Bend have come up with some very very <br />positive ways of approaching how to save these structures including the Botanical Society of <br />South Bend, I'll give you their card, and they also have a website. They're talking about a <br />capital campaign and things that would generate... to raise about $4million, and then that money <br />would be used to generate the operating expenses of the conservatories of about $200,000 a year. <br />And also establishing a non -reverting fund out of their gate take, or their rental fees. Similar to <br />what the Palais Royale is doing. The Botanical Society wants to start a 501 c3; we do not know <br />at this point what's going to happen on December 31" at the stroke of midnight because Common <br />Council did pass the 2007 budget without the greenhouses in there. They could turnoff the heat, <br />they could lock the doors and walk away from it, I'm hoping not, but no one actually came out <br />and said what will happen on December 31"', and that has a lot of people concerned. We've only <br />known about this for 40 days, and have been working on it day and night with people in South <br />Bend, River Park, Friends of the Greenhouse... it's a very important issue and we'll do whatever <br />we can to help the citizens of South Bend to retain these greenhouses and conservatories. <br />MJC: What was the attitude of the Park Department? <br />CH: The attitude of the Park Department and Board, a four member board appointed by the <br />mayor was that they wanted to hear positives, and want to find a way around it, and how to do <br />it ... somethingfeasible. They didn't want to sit there and be beaten up, but to hear positives. I <br />don't think that the feeling that you get from them is that they don't want to be castigated as the <br />bad guys that killed the greenhouses and murdered the plants. <br />MJC: Well then they got what they asked for... <br />CH: They've got a lot, Jean DeWinter, and Susan Keims... have been working around the clock, <br />as has Jan Michalski and a lot of other people from that neighborhood. <br />MJC: A number ofpeople have told me that if they need a petition... <br />CH: They're going to start needing volunteers, and people with checkbooks. <br />15 <br />