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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 1974r HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OF SOUTH BEND AND COUNTY, INDIANA Regular Conference Room Monday, August 12, 1974 Area Plan Comm ission 7:30 p.m. Room- 1123,.County- City,tiBuilding A' G'- E` N: D A L. Call to Order 2. Roll, Call 3. Approval of Minutes 4. Treasurer's Report 5. Correspondence 6: Hearing of Scheduled Visitors Mrs. Gwen Stiver, Chairman of'the Bicentennial Program 7:30 p.m. Mrs. Wendy Schlereth, 8:00 Mr. Brian Crumlish, Crumlish /Sporleder and Associates, 8:30 p.m. 7: Committee Reports Budget and Finance Committee Historic Landmarks Committee Historic .Districts 'Committee. 8. Old Business Review of consultants' and selection of a firm Proposed amendment to - the Zoning Ordinance By -laws Secretarial and research assistance Proposal for cataloging slides for mutual use by interest groups Letterhead design Grant application-- .Indiana on the Humanities Library Standards Report,on the Railroad Conference,,July 22 -23, in.Indianapolis 9. New Business 10. Hearing of*Other Visitors 11. Announcements and Miscellaneous Matters 12. Adjournment HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION- OF SOUTH BEND AND ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, INDIANA (r,! M I" N U T E S Regular Meeting Conference Room Monday,,August•12, 1974 Area Plan Commission .7:30 P`.M: Room 1123, County -City Building n1. Call to Order Chairman "Smith Called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. 2. Roll Call MEMBERS PRESENT: Mrs—William Davisson, Mr. F. Jay Nimtz, Mr. John Oxian, Mr. Russell- Rothermel, Mr.'Jack Smith, Mrs. Mr. Al Stivers, Mrs. George Woolridge" MEMBERS ABSENT: Mr. Al Paszek ALSO 'PRESENT: >. Mr. Brian- Crumlish, Mrs. Kerr, Mrs. Mary Looney, Mrs. Ruth'Price, Mrs. Wendy Schlereth, Mrs. Judy Studer, and Gerald Lutkus of the South•Bend Tribune 3., Approval of Minutes The minutes of the July 1974 meeting were approved as '" submitted... 4 - Treasurer's ` Report Mrs. Davisson apprised the Commission that she was advised of -how the books are set up earlier today from the Plan Commission office Mrs. Davisson" -said that the Commission should make a decision on whether they should have Dick Johnson, Area Plan Director, sign the purchase orders and -claim forms. After due consideration, the following action was-taken: A motion was made by Joanne'Sporleder, seconded by Chris Woolridge, and unanimously carried, authorizing Dick Johnson, Executive Director, Area Plan Commission, to sign purchase orders and claims for the Commission. 5. Correspondence Mrs. Davisson stated that she:'received a letter from Mr. Martin Sullivan, Executive Director of the Indiana Committee for the•Humanities stating that the Commission's application for a grant from the Committee to present.a series,of public education workshop/discussion seminars had,been turned down. She that she'will pursue other sources of funding for the,project. Mr. Smith noted he received a letter dated July 30, 1974,, from'Southhold Restorations; Inc:_ Heathen read the letter which reads as follows : - ` "July 30, 1974. Mr: Jack Smith,,Chairman ' Historic Preservation'Commission- 2814 South Bend, Indiana Dear Jack: Please convey our support to other members of.the Historic. Commission-on-the need for .a ,complete ' and professional survey of- Historic properties in St. Joseph-County. Until this step is taken preservation of these buildings will be haplidzard and systematic planning, can not take" place.' You may know that because of -our concern, quite some time ago�Southhold'started to survey the county. Much time and effort was devoted to organizing,the task and developing, forms etc. Mrs. Sporleder acted as chairman and we had set up what we considered a blue ribbon review committee which would make the ultimate judgments We soon realized the project was too big for volunteers and that the key word is° "professional ". Although we have not been working on the project for some time we.still come across'pockets of interested - people. We are happy interest remains as we are convinced people all over the county support'the concept of Historic Preservation. So, please persist in your endeavors and,please count - on - , us for cooperation. Respectfully (s) Ruth Price"� 2 6`. Hearing of Scheduled Visitors a. Mrs. Wendy Schlereth, Technical Archivist,>University of. Notre Dame. Mr.'Smith informed Mrs..Schlereth that, at last regular 'Commission meeting it' was decided' that the Commission needs to have a secretary Mrs.,,Studer apprised Mrs. Schlereth that.what• the Commission is basically`looking for is a - research assistant.Q'. She would doing'secretarial and administrative work .well as historical research in connection -with the Commission's activities-,; Mrs. schlereth said =that she would rather work as historical researcher. She -is now working on a Ph. -D. .in History from the University Iowa, and is'also employed at Dame in the Archives office. b. Mr. Brian Crumlish,. Crumlish /Sporleder and Associates Mr. Smith noted.that Mr. Crumlish asked to.be`at this meeting with,rough figures'of' what his might charge the .Commission ,to 'develop standards applicable to the West Washington Street area based the survey of - the area prepared by the firm for Southhold Restorations. After some discussion, Mr. Crumlish" read his letter, dated August 12, 1974, to the Commission. The letter read as' follows: - ; "August 12, 1974 Historic Preservation Commission c/o Area.Plan,Commission 227 West Jefferson Boulevard South Bend, IN 46601 Members of ..the Commission: In order to assist-your commission in preparing a more complete presentation of the proposed'West.Washington Avenue Historic District - ; our firm.proposes to.develop a series of- standards for the district. Generally,.we envision this as: defining the controls of the visual scene within the area. We are primarily concerned in.this district with'maintaining the exterior - treatment of existing structures;`but, ;standards.must also be prepared for -the possible event. of clearance "of an existing structure and the subsequent limitations ' to. be imposed' upon new„ structures and also the,possible treatment,of resulting open.space. . - 3 Necessary work items to insure set of� standards appropriate for the area would include•an examination of the area, study of other.work already,accomplished in other cities, and on -going consultation-with your-commission and/or - staff: The end product should be.a brief. booklet -describing and illustrating, where necessary, the-proposed standards. The material will be presented to-you in black - and white Lformat- and suitable for reproduction.' We -propose the completion of this work within 90 days of your request - to proceed and will complete the.work for a sum- not exceed $450: Sincerely, (s) Briars Crumlish, AIA" 7. Committee Reports a.. Budget : and Finance Committee , - .Mrs. Davisson apprised the Commission members that their meeting-;with the County,Commissioners regarding the proposed budget went well.-: Mr. Smith noted that each township has revenue sharing, and that,the Commission -could possibly ask each one have a done for their township. b.- Historic Districts Committee After due consideration, the following action was taken: A motion was made by John.Oxian to address a letter to'Mr. Joe Cloud, State,Preservation Officer', Department of Resources for the State of Indiana in support of.Southhold's application for designation of the West Washington Street area on the National Register. His motion was seconded by Chris Woolridge and carried. c. Historic Landmarks-Committee. After due consideration, the following action was taken: A motion was made by John Oxian.to take 19 sites from.the state survey -plus any additional recommenda- tions from Southhold and any recommendations from the Commission and bring them,to the next meeting to be given- to- the•Historic Landmarks Committee for their consideration: His motion was seconded by Al Stivers and carried. - 4 - 8. Old Business a. Review of,consultants' proposals and selection of a firm Mr. Smith asked if the Commission should select , a firm at this point. Mrs. Studer said that the Plan Commission has had a number of phone calls the last three'weeks or so from the firms considered, asking if a decision had been made'as to which firm would be selected to do the survey. Mr. Smith then authorized•Mrs. Studer to send out a letter to the consultants explaining the circumstances involved and -why.a consultant "for the survey has not yet been chosen. It was decided'to.hold off any on the selection of a•firm until after the County has determined how much money the Commission will have to work with for next year. b. Proposed amendment to the Zoning Mrs. Studer reported that she had met with the Area Plan Commissions attorney, David Weisman, regarding the proposed amendment. It is Mr. Weisman's opinion -that, standards should be developed for the West Washington Street area and a zoning district established under the normal procedure, "rather than attempting to enforce restrictions on properties before standards are developed, as is proposed in` the - amendment. It was agreed that,.since.Mr. Crumlish had indicated that such standards could within a matter of 90 days; it would be to table any further consideration Of the proposed amendment. c. By -laws There was general agreement as to the corrections and additions in the proposed by -laws that had been made at the July meeting. Chairman Smith directed Mrs. Studer to have the proposed by -laws retyped, approved'by Mr. Nimtz, and prepared for final action at the September meeting. d. Secretarial and Research Assistance It was generally agreed that Mrs. Schlereth's qualifications and experience would be extremely useful to the Commission. Mrs. Davisson' apprised the Commission that it would take about $1,166.00-to acquire Mrs. Schlereth's services for the remainder of 1974. - 5 After due consideration,'the- following action was taken: A motion was • made • by Delores 'Davisson, ,for the Commission to hire Mrs. Wendy Schlere�th as -a Secretary- Research Assistant, at a cost of abput $1,166.00•for the remainder-of- 1974. Her motion was seconded by Chris Woolridge and carried. It was decided that Mrs. Woolridge and Mr. Rothermel .would meet with Mrs. Studer and'Mr. Johnson to work out the details'of her responsibilities and to draw,up a contract to be. presented to Mrs. Schlereth for her approval. e.' Proposal for cataloging slides-for mutual use Mrs. Price apprised the Commission that she had -,talked with Miss Larson and that she would be willing , to - do.this - for the Commission for - standard- summer• school - teachers pay, approximately:$50 per day Y . 1 'Mrs: Price said she thought Miss Larson-could complete the cataloging within one week. 'Mrs. Woolridge suggested that the Commission write Miss Larson,.Miss Pearl " Day, and'Miss Helen E. Spears, -and Ms. Mary Ellen Lupke; explaining'the purpose of the catalogue system, outlining.the responsibilities of.the .cataloguer, and inviting them to indicate the extent of -- their interest, -time committments, and monetary requirements in writing by the September meeting.'. f. Letterhead Design. .Mrs. Davisson reported that A- 1-Printers, Inc: had., submitted the bid for'the proposed letterhead design, but that due to a recent fire at the establishment, she would have to rework the design with them.. Mrs. Davisson suggested that she plan to bring a "mock- up "'of the proposed design to the.next regular meeting.' g. Library Mr. Smith suggested that follow -up letters be.written to the- Historic.Savannah and Historic Charleston Foundations regarding the Commission's desire to purchase their publications. He also directed Mrs. Studer to order the publication by Marshall, Michigan'. Mrs. Davisson suggested that the.Commission's bibliography of resource material be updated periodically. She also noted that the Commission might want to consider meeting twice a month,`_with every other.meeting being devoted to educational- presentations. 6 - Mrs.,Woolridge suggested that members of the Commission might wish to donate books to the Commission's library, h. Report on the National Conference on Re -Use of 'Railroad.Stations` Mrs.- Davisson reported . that - she and Mrs. Price had attended the conference in Indianapolis,on July­22 -23 and had, found it'to be most educational. The scope of-the conference ranged from a - discussion of adaptive uses to•inceritives *,for local governments and the.private- sector.' She suggested that the materials she reveived at the conference be.placed in,- -the Commission's library and further that such Materials�might'be made available - to persons interested in Union Station in South,Befid. Chairman Smith directed to'address letters to Mr. Chapleau and Mr. Barrett regarding this information. Mrs. Davisson submitted.bills totaling $70.21�to cover her expenses'and.transportation in connection - with -the- - conference . Mrs',Woolridge moved that the .Commission approve Mrs. D avisson's expenditures. Mrs. Sporleder seconded the: motion, and the,Commission voted unanimously - to approve the expenditures. is Standards 'Mrs. Sporleder "excused herself from this portion of the meeting, due to the possible ethical questions involved in Commission',s,.hiring of Crumlish /Sporleder and - Associates to prepare standards applicable to the West 'Washington Street area. Mr. Smith said that he is very interested in completing the'survey before them. After due consideration, the following action was taken: A motion was made by Russell Rothermel-authorizing the Chairman to,proceed with Crumlish /Sporleder- and Associates to contract for a maximum $450.00 to.dev61op a series-of standards for the proposed, West Washington Avenue Historic District as presented by Mr. Crumlish. <The motion was seconded by.Al Stivers and carried unanimously. 9. New Business . ; "Mr. SmitYi. brought ;up the matter "o'f taking local, Mr to = °, ' "areas _ ;sr - - ra -I .^P.,- <•- �. :h uc Grand ttsburg 'Rapids;== �"Pli,:or Savannah o see examples ofpresdtvationr: -work. - .,After: some"di it was ' '' decided` pursued s@ve' 1 approa h s<'torfi a c `" the c e ri n e . �. ',- _ 7 - proposed trips. In this regard, Mrs. Davisson volunteered to bring the matter before the Park Avenue Neighborhood Associa- tion and report back to the Commission: 10.' Hearing of Other Visitors No visitors were present who be- heard. 11. Announcements and Miscellaneous Matters Mr. Smith announced the Sixth Annual Indiana Conference -on Historic.Preservation to.be held September 13 -14 on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington.. He.urged - that Commission members consider attendirig_the conference. Mr. Rothermel� announced that Mr. J. Reid Williamson, - Executive Director of His Landmarks-Foundation of Indiana, will be speaking before�_the Rotary Club on.Wednesday, August 21, at the Indiana Club, 12 :00 -to 1:15 p.m. He urged{,Commission members to and suggested that -they call Chairman Smith to confirm. their -reservation. Mrs..Price announced that Mr the evening -of August 21 at sponsored by the Convention His presentation will begin that it . would . be: a good,` idea to attend the meeting. ..Williamson will also be speaking the Ramada - Inn at an open meeting Bureau of.the Chamber of Commerce. at 8:00 p.m. Mrs. Sporleder - noted `to: invite the County Commissioners Mr. Smith brought up-a matter of some concern to him, that of saving the*old street lights, such -'as those located along St. Louis Avenue. It was suggested that the- Commission contact the Indiana and Michigan Electric Company regarding their interest and ask that the Commission be informed of any future plans 'involving the removal of'such lights. Mrs. Sporleder noted that old -style street lights would be a fine addition - to the West Washington Street area. Mrs. Sporleder brought up a matter of some concern-to-her, that of maintaining and preserving the County!s old'bridges. The Darden Road Bridge is oldest bridge 'spanning the St. Joseph River. Mrs. Price noted that the bridge is on the State Register. Mrs. Sporleder voiced her concern about the - lack of maintenance of the bridge and suggested that it should be improved for pedestrian purposes. After due consideration, the following - action was taken: Mrs. Davisson moved that -Mrs. Sporleder prepare information .on the bridge for discussion.at the September - meeting. Mr. Stivers seconded her motion, and the Commission voted unanimously -to'discuss the possibilities of taking - action at the September meeting to establish the Darden Road Bridge as an historic landmark. "':Est Mr. Oxian added that Mrs. Sporleder's information should be channeled through the Historic Landmarks Committee. Mrs. Price brought up the fact that she had received two - separate.inquiries from the State - Preservation Officer relative to the filing of Environmental Impact Statements in connection with the proposed widening of Colfax Avenue from LaPorte.to Bendix Drive,and in connection with the U. S. 31'- Main Street Connector. In both instances, she had - responded that.the proposed plans had littT� effect on local preservation activities. Mrs. Price emphasized that this is al; its best, at planning stage. Mr: Oxian asked about the'list of downtown properties yet- to be,renovated in connection with the development of River Bend Plaza. Mrs. Studer reported that a letter has: been written to Mr.'Lennon.requesting -such a list, but that,no reply had been received. Mr. Oxian said that he would•contact Mr. Lennon before the September meeting. 12. Adjournment, Mrs. Sporleder moved for adjournment at approximately 10:55 °p.m. The motion was- ,seconded'by-Mr. Stivers and approved unanimously by'•the Commission. NEXT REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9,1974,,7:30 p.m. AREA PLAN COMMISSION CONFERENCE ROOM ROOM 1123, COUNTY -CITY BUILDING - 9 -