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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDecember 1974HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OF SOUTH BEND AND ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, INDIANA Regular. Meeting Conference Room Monday, December% 197+ County Commissioners' 7:30 p.m. Fourth Floor, County -City Building AGENDA 1. Call to Order Roll Call 3. Approval of. Minutes 4. ..Treasurer's Report 5. Correspondence National Trust Ethnic Heritage Consultants Reply' 6. Committee Reports "w Budget and•Finance'Committee'(Stationary.& Office -Furniture) Historic Districts Committee Historic Landmaxks Committee (Correspondence: Bednar, Coy,.St. Josepji's Church; Darden.,Bridge, Courthouse) 7. Old Business Discussion of Consultant's Proposals (Correspondence). Cataloging Proposal Humanities Proposal (Correspondence and Report from Davisson) Standards Redevelopment Buildings List Expiration of terms of appointment (Davisson and Rothermel) Community Development 8.. New Business . Consultant's Contract Expiration A�enabex Deem teas V153t°xs • sael�-fie°us �t 9 gear is d VOL A�°�ee�en 10- x,�ent 1a-• A�°� HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OF SOUTH BEND AND ST. JOSEPH COUNTY Room 1123 County City Building ' South Bend, Indiana 46601 Phone (219) 284-9798 M I N U T E S Regular Meeting .Conference Room Monday, December 9, 1974 County Commissioners-' 7:30 p.m. Fourth Floor, County -City Bldg. 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call President Smith called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. MEMERS PRESENT: Ms. Deloris Davisson, Mr. F. Jay Nimtz, Mr. John Oxian, Mr. Jack Smith, Ms. Joanne Sporleder, Mr. Al Stivers, Ms. Christyne Woolridge MEMBERS ABSENT: Mr. Al Paszek, Mr. Russell Rothermel ALSO PRESENT: Mrs. Richard Doyle, Mr. Jerry Lutkus of the South Bend Tribune, Mr. James Newkirk,.Mr. Louis Sabo, Ms. Wendy Schlereth, Ms. Judy Studer 3. Approval of Minutes Mr. Nimtz moved that the minutes of November 12, 1974 be accepted as submitted. Mr. Stivers seconded the motion and it: passed unanimously. 4. Presentation by Photographers Mr. Smith turned the floor over to Ms. Davisson. Ms. Davisson stated that in the grant that the Commission has been awarded from the Indiana Committee on the Humanities, there is $500.00 budgeted for photography. Ms. Davisson introduced Mr. Louis Sabo, a'photographer for the Tribune and a student at I.U.S.B. Mr. Sabo stated that he was interested in architectural photography and showed the Commission a book containing photography he had done while traveling in Europe. Ms. Schlereth then introduced Mr. James Newkirk,.a photographer working at the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Newkirk explained his interest in photography as historical evidence -and showed the Commission the type of work he has been involved in, both in architectural photography and in the preservation and re -photo- graphing of historical pictures and documents. Both photographers submitted bids for their work. December 9, 1974 Page 2 5. Treasurer's Report Mr. Smith read an itemized report of the funds remaining in the 1974 budget, totalling $2,698.84. Mr. Smith then read a list of bills that are awaiting payment: County Commissioners 3M Copier Paper 50.00 October Postage (Area Plan Comm.) 68.23 Forbes Typewriter Co. 410.00 $528.23 Mr. Nimtz moved that these bills be approved for payment. Ms. Sporleder seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mr. Smith then stated that the Commission's funds must be en- cumbered by Wednesday, December 11, 1974 or the Commission would lose them. A discussion ensued on the best way of using these funds. Mr. Smith presented an itemized list of office supplies and furniture that the Commission might wish to purchase, totalling $480.91. Ms Schlereth had compiled a list of necessary items ana gathered prices from several local retail distributors. While the costs of office supplies appeared to be fairly stable, the cost and availability of office furniture from Office Engineers, Inc. seemed to be most practical. A discussion ensued on the possible necessity for more office file folders, additional copy paper, file dividers, and the costs of some of the supplies. The possibility of using the remaining funds for legal fees to have an attorney look at the standards drawn up by Crumlish/ Sporleder and Associates for the West Washington area was also discussed. However, with the lack of a specific lawyer willing to undertake the task, and also lacking the clean copy of the standards that are still being prepared by Crumlish/Sporleder, the Commission generally concurred that it would be impossible to encumber funds at this time for this purpose. A discussion then followed on the possibility of using some of the funds to have two maps drawn of the West Washington area and the Chapin Paxk area, showing zoning and land use. These maps could be used for a visual presentation during the workshop -discussions that the Commission is sponsoring under the ICH grant in the spring. Ms. Davisson discussed the two bids that the Commission received to do this work. One bid from the draftsmen at the Area Plan Com- mission totalled $886.00 for the two maps and over -lays showing zoning and land use. A bid from Crumlish/Sporleder for two maps and over -lays for $1,000.00 was also discussed. Ms. Davisson and Ms. Schlereth explained the differences in the two bids. A dis- cussion ensued. December 9, 197+ Page 3 Use of funds to purchase stationery from Rink Riverside Printing, Inc. was the next item of discussion. Mr. Stivers presented the Commission with 500 sheets of stationery which he had printed for the Commission, at no cost to the Commission, with the Commission's letterhead. The cost of stationery from Rink Riverside was stated as totalling $261.16 for 1,000 sheets of letterhead stationery, 11OGD plain sheets, and 2,000 envelopes. Mr. Smith also brought to the attention of the Commission the estimated bills for November from the County Commissioners for postage and duplication. Ms. Davisson moved that the itemized list of office supplies and furniture to be purchased at Office Engineers for a total of $x+80.91 be approved. Mr. Nimtz seconded the motion and it passed, with Mr. Oxian abstaining from the vote. Ms. Sporleder then moved that the stationery from Rink Riverside be purchased at a cost of $261.16. Mr. Nimtz seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Ms. Woolridge expressed the thanks of the Commission to Mr. Stivers for his generous gift of stationery which would be used until the stationery from Rink Riverside'was available. Mr. Nimtz then moved that November bills from the County Commissioners for postage and duplication be approved for an amount not to ex- ceed $25.00. Ms. Sporleder seconded the motion an it passed. Ms. Davisson re -introduced the possibility of using the remaining funds for maps of the West Washington area and of the Chapin Park area. A discussion of the two bids ensued. Mr. Oxian concluded the discussion by stating his belief that the Commission should accept the bid of Crumlish/Sporleder, since they had already done preliminary work in the West Washington area for the Commission, and he so moved. Ms. Woolridge seconded the motion, and it passed. Ms. Sporleder did not participate in the vote. Ms. Davisson moved that $300.00 be allocated for architectural sketches to be done by Mr. Carl Doozan, a licensed architect who . would be working on the ICH grant project, for sketches that would complement the photographs and drawings funded by the ICH grant. Mr. Oxian seconded the motion and it passed. Mr. Nimtz suggested that some of the money left in the budget could be used to purchase copy paper to help defray expenses for the coming year. Mr. Oxian stated that in talking with people about various buildings and structures he found it would be helpful if he and pictures of these buildings or structures so that people would know what he was talking about. Mr. Oxian then moved that additional funds in the budget be used to buy more file folders that those estimated on the already approved list, dividers for the file cabinets, and copy paper, not to exceed a total of $100.00, and two rolls of film and processing costs. Mr. Stivers seconded the motion and it passed. December 9, 1974 Page 4 6. Correspondence Ms. Schlereth read a letter from Mr. Martin E. Sullivan, dated November 11, 1974, informing the Commission that the Indiana Committee for the Humanities had awarded them a program grant in the amount of $2,622.00. A postcard had been received from the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana announcing a meeting for the election of directors and other business to be held December 9, 1974 in Indianapolis. A letter, dated November 26, 1974, was received from Mr. Joseph L. Mathews of Mathews-Purucker-Anella, Inc. stating their continued interest in starting a survey and evaluation of buildings, structures and sites of historical significance, if Ms. Joanne Sporleder could work as their Consultant. Ms. Schlereth then read a letter, dated November 18, 1974, and addressed to Mr. Russell Rothermel, concerning the federal grant program at Indiana University at South Bend concerning the --develop- ment of -curriculum materials for Afro-Americans; Hungarian -Americans, Italian -Americans, Mexican -Americans and Polish -Americans under their Ethnic Heritage Studies Grant. The letter, signed by Dr. Richmond Calvin, Director of the program, requested an opportunity to acquaint the Commission with.the work of the Ethnic Heritage Studies Program. Mr. Rothermel, in a letter to Ms. Schlereth, re- quested that after briefing Mr. Smith on the contents of the letter, that Dr. Calvin or his associate, Ms. Gollnick, be invited to attend the January 13, 1975 meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission. Ms. Schlereth reported that an invitation had been sent. Ms. Schlereth reported that a letter had been received from the National Trust for Historic Preservation welcoming the Commission to its membership. Ms. Schlereth then read a letter, dated December 3, 1974, from Mr. Brian Crumlish of Crumlish/Sporleder and Associates stating their on-going concern for historic preservation in St. Joseph County and their willingness to participate on a survey on any level. Ms. Schlereth then read a letter, dated December 3, 1974, from Mr. Richard Frank of Johnson/Johnson and Roy, Inc. stating their definite interest in the proposal they made to the Commission, and their interest in initiating work, if even on a limited basis at first. The Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana also sent a cir- cular announcing their Christmas activities. The circular is on file in the Commission office. Ms. Schlereth informed the Commission that besides the cor- December 9, 1974 Page 5 respondence from the various architectural firms that had just been read, she had received a telephone call from Mr. Gaede in Cleveland of Visnapuu and Gaede, stating their continued interest in working on a survey of South Bend and St. Joseph County. He stated while realizing that with only $5000.00 to put towards the survey the Commission would have to contain the scope of the survey, he would like the opportunity to come to South Bend to re -acquaint himself with the area and talk with members of the Commission and apprise them of the breadth he thinks he could bring to bear on even a limited survey. A discussion ensued on the status of the consultants' proposals and it was decided that Mr. Gaede should be invited to the January 13th meeting . 7. Committee Reports Budget and Finance Committee This business had already been taken up under the Treasurer's Report. Historic Districts Committee Mr. Nimtz announced that their was no further report. Historic Landmarks Committee Mr. Oxian summarized the correspondence that had been re- ceived in reponse to the letters sent out to the property owners listed on the old state survey. A letter has been received from Mr. John J. Bednar, 162 Kensington Dr., Madison, Wisconsin 53701+, owner of the Bartlett House, 720 W. Washington Avenue, South Bend, informing the Commission of bibliographic references pertaining to the history of the Bartlett House, and stating Mr. Bednar's interest in the house as an historical property and his current sale price of $35,000.00 Mr. Oxian then stated that a letter had been received from the Rev. Curt A. Suelzer, pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Mishawaka, dated November 13, 1971+, and including a booklet called "A Century of Catholic Faith in Mishawaka: 1848-1948" which contains a history of the church. Mr. Oxian stated that he was going to turn over a copy of this letter along with a copy of the booklet to the Mishawaka Division of Southhold. Mr. Oxian also read a letter, dated November 23, 1971+, from Mr. William M. Coy owner of a house located at 16327 Cleveland Road, known as the Savadge House. Mr. Coy expressed his willingness to aid the Commission in any way that he could, and offered to let the Commission copy some photographs that he has of the old house. Mr. Oxian then stated that he and Mr. Smith have been unable to December 9, 1974 Page 6 to meet with the County Commissioners, due to their repeated cancellation of meetings. Mr. Oxian stated that he would like the Coy-Savadge House declared an historic landmark. Mr. Stivers seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mr. Oxian then stated that there were two other building which - he wished to have the Commission consider for a possible desig- nation as historic landmarks. The first one being the Union Station. Mr. Oxian related plans to renovate the building and stated that he thought this potential owner of the building should be given the support of the Commission in trying to save the building. Mr. Oxian moved that it be declared an Historic Landmark. Mr. Stivers seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mr. Oxian then re -introduced the problem of the Kresge building as the second building he wished the Commission to consider. A discussion ensued as to what course of action the Commission wished to pursue. Mr. Oxian moved that the Kresge Building be declared an Historic Landmark. Mr. Stivers seconded the motion. The motion passed with Davisson, Oxian, Sporleder and Stivers voting "Aye" and Mr. Nimtz abstaining. Mr. Oxian then suggested that a letter be snet to Mr. West at the Building Department stating that the Commission is not getting the co-operation of the Building Department and that a copy of the letter be sent to the Mayor's office. Specifically, the Building Department is not informing the Commission when demolition permits are issued for potentially historically signifcant houses, particularly within the proposed historic district. Two such instances were cited:126 South Taylor Street and 902 W. Washington. Next Mr. Oxian brought up the subject of four fire stations built between 190+ and 1906, they being the oldest ones left standing: one on Hill Street, one on Portage (#6), one on Olive Street, and one on Notre Dame Avenue. Ms. Schlereth cautioned the Commission that in the absence of -- a survey, before they went too far in designating historic land- marks they should make sure that these buildings and structures were Rally documented and that evidence be on file in the Commission office. Mr. Oxian stated that he had the documentation in his files. Mr. Smith suggested that Mr. Oxian bring a form to the next meeting that the Commission could use to record this type of information to keep in the office file. Ms. Davisson distributed a sample inventory that she felt might.be useful during the gathering of information for the ICH discussion -seminars, and could serve as the beginnings of the Commission's survey file. December 9, 197+ Page 7 8. Old Business Consultants' Proposals After a brief discussion it was decided that be sent to each of the architectural firms who to the Commission's letter, thanking them for and informing them that no action was going to mediately. Cataloging Proposal a letter should responded their response be taken im- Ms. Schlereth reported that she had learned of a society on the West Coast that might have a system that they — could recommend. This particular orgainization was recom- mended -by Ms. Geri Decker, Head Librarian at the Architecture Library at the University of Notre Dame. Humanities Proposal Ms. Davisson reported on the plans that had been made to implement the ICH grant and a meeting that she had already attended in Indianapolis concerning the budget. She listed the tentative participants and dates of the meetings as being the third Monday of March, April, May and June. Standards Ms. Schlereth reported that she had spoken with Mr. Dunfee concerning legal advice on the standards. He felt that the Commission would need $1,200.00 to get a lawyer to re -write the Crumlish/Sporieder standards so as to conform to legal requirements. Redevelopment Buildings List Ms. Schlereth reported that she had contacted Mr. Harrison Miller to ascertain what the problems were with the list, of buildings that Mr. Oxian had presented to the Commission at the September 12, 1974 meeting as purportedly not up to standards. Mr. Miller stated that none of the buildings on that list were in any danger of being torn down through the intervention of the Redevelopment Commission. He further elaborated: Roma Cafe: needs some modest improvements to meet the redevelopment plan and comply with standards, but is structurally sound Tech Tool: structurally sound. There are- no buildings on either side of it so someone might Irish to buy, up.. the whole lot for development. December 9, 197+ Page 8 Business Systems: Newly renovated and re- ceived a certificate from Redevelopment. Sonneborne's: a sound building Innwoods: they have completed a new front and other structural improvements Oliver Theatre: Redevelopment has no money to biy this building, and no engineers have been through the building to determine its safety Katz Building: Structurally sound, and of no historical significance Avon Theatre: Structurally sound, merely a matter of getting the owners to clean up the front to conform with Mall standards Odd Fellows: the exterior has just been cleaned and an extensive renovation program is under- way Palms Royal: No structural problem, merely a functional one, i.e. there is a large dance floor on the second floor and so it presents a rental problem for the owners Kresge Building: Owned by the National Bank, Kresge's will vacate on January 31st, and the bank plans to demolish the building. Expiration of Terms of Appointment Mr. Smith reported that he had been unable to get any sat- isfactory action from the Mayor's Office on the expiration of the term of Ms. Deloris Davisson. I4r. Smith also informed the Commission that the term of Mr. Russell Rothermel will expire at the end of January. Mr. Smith directed the secretary to write to Mr. Roger Parent, President of the City Council, informing him of this fact. Community Development Mr. Smith reported that the Commission needs to make a specific proposal to the City on what they would like to see be the uses of Community Development funds. 9. New Business Consultant's Contract Expiration Mr. Smith reported that the contract signed with Ms. Wendy Clauson Schlereth expires on December 31, 197+. Pdr. Nimtz inquired of Ms. Schlereth if the terms of the former contract would be acceptable for renewal. Ms. Schlereth stated that given some pending projects of the Commission and her own other commitments, she wrould prefer that the contract be drawn for only a six month period, with an option for renewal, under the same terms as the present contract. Mr. Nimtz December 9, 197+ Page 9 moved that the contract be renewed for six months under the same terms as the expiring contract. Mr. Stivers seconded the motion and it passed. Street Lights Mr. Oxian read a draft of a letter requesting information on the street lights in Pioneer Square, Seattle. 10. The meeting adjourned at 10 p.m. NEXT REGULAR 14EETING: NANDAY, JANUARY 13, 1975, 7:30 p.m. COUNTY COMUSSIONERS'—CONFERENCE ROOM FOURTH FLOOR, COUNTY -CITY BUILDING SUBMITTED BY: Russell Rothermel,'Secretary DRAFT PREPARED BY: W. Clauson Schlereth