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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-24-09 Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board Minutes Historic Preservation Advisory Board – 24 September 2009 Members Present: Courtney Kramer (staff liaison), Courtney Gunderson, Mark Hufstetler (chair), Jane Davidson Klockman, Richard Brown, Lesley Gilmore, Ryan Olson, Mike Neeley, Lora Dalton, Crystal Alegria -- quorum established. Guests: Jeff Rupp, Jeff Kraus, Chris Pope, and Carson Taylor. I.Call to Order II.Minutes from the August meeting were unavailable; there was no meeting in August. III.Public Comment A.There were no members of the public in attendance. IV.Introduction of the guests: A.Jeff Rupp, City Commissioner B.Jeff Kraus, City Commissioner – liaison to Historic Preservation Advisory Board C.Chris Pope, Owner of Osborne Building D.Carson Taylor, City Commissioner candidate V.Project Review - Osborne Building A.Chris Pope presented the building demolition project he’ll be submitting to the City Commission for approval. B.Code doesn’t require BHPAB to review demolition; no formal action will be taken tonight. C.Project Description: 1.The Osborne Building, at 229-233 E. Main Street, was affected by the gas explosion on March 5, 2009. 2.Chris Pope, who has owned the building since 1991, has engaged in a 6-month long study which has cost $100,000. The study has identified a host of problems. 3.The bottom line: a)$1.8m appraised value for the building b)$1.7m for structural repairs i)It will cost more - perhaps $2m - to upgrade the building to comply with current seismic requirements, which the City can waive for historic buildings. ii)Pope stated the building could be put back together and be seismically sound; it would just cost a lot more money and would give up a large amount of the existing building to accomplish this. iii)Pope feels moral obligation to build to the modern code and make sure that downtown is safe. c)Problems: i)The cost to fix will cost more than the building is worth. ii)American Legion has stated they can’t build to the west, due to Pope’s delay. 4.Pope would be open to re-using just the front façade. D.Request: Pope asked for BHPAB’s support, with the understanding that historic preservation is a complicated responsibility. E.Discussion with Pope 1.Cost of replacement cost (demolition and new construction) compared to making these improvements? a)Pope received a demolition quote for $80,000. b)New two-story building with same footprint at $215/s.f. costs $2.3m 2.Pope was thanked for coming and providing his information. F.Board Options 1.Recommend no demolition. 2.Put a stay on demolition for up to two years. 3.Take no exception to demolition, with condition that front façade be saved. 4.Be open to other options. VI.Chair’s Report A.“Historic District” sign on I-90: The chairman would like a sign at the east and west entries, about 1-2 miles out of town. This will require a letter of support from the city. 1.Jane Klockman made a motion to submit this request to MDT. 2.Lora Dalton seconded the motion. 3.The motion was approved unanimously. B.Update on intersection of College & Wilson: Jon Axline at MDT sent the Board a letter requesting review comments on the options for improving traffic flow. We’ll need to take action on this. Mark will organize. C.Survey Property Record Forms: 1.Since the forms are out-of-date, the information – particularly contributing status – can be incorrect and be misleading. 2.Since they are public documents, the planning office is required to provide them upon request. 3.Ryan Olson made a motion that a stamp be applied to each distributed form, saying: “The information contained herein does not meet current historic preservation professional standards and should not be solely relied upon for making judgments that could impact a historic structure.” 4.Richard seconded the motion. 5.The motion was approved unanimously. D.National Register nominations: Given the long time lapse since any nominations have been written and the age of the survey information, Mark presented the need for writing nominations. It was agreed to establish a standing committee for writing nominations. 1.Mike, Crystal, Ryan, and Lora are interested in serving on the committee. 2.Lesley offered to review nominations for quality assurance. E.More Board members are needed: It was agreed we need to reach out to potential board members, to represent citizens on the north side and “at large.” VII.Policy & Planning Committee Report A.Demolition by Neglect Ordinance: Anne & Mark will draft an Op-Ed piece for the newspaper. VIII.Sub-committee meetings were scheduled as follows: A.Education and Outreach, Tuesday, October 13 at 6:30 pm. at Jane Klockman’s house. B.Planning and Policy, Tuesday, October 20 at 6:30 pm at Richard Brown’s house IX.Staff Liaison Report: The number of COA’s has dropped significantly. X.Preservation Awards A.Award nominations were reviewed. B.Award categories were agreed upon. C.Courtney Kramer will email the list of potential awardees to the Board for final concurrence (to be received by Monday). XI.Meeting adjourned.