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Minutes 07-11-11 I MINUTES OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, JULY 11,2011 AT 5:00 P.M. AT FIRE STATION #2, 2615 W. WOOLBRIGHT AVENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Warren Adams, Chair Ed Breese, Principal Planner Barbara Ready, Vice Chair Gaylord Allan Hendricks John McGovern Linda Stabile ABSENT: Janet DeVries 1. Call to order Chair Adams called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m. Several members of the newly formed Historic Resources Preservation Board were present and self-introductions were made. Mr. McGovern announced this would be his last meeting on the Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee. He has been with the Committee since its inception and will be devoting himself entirely to the Boynton Beach Foundation, where he serves as Chair. 2. Approval of minutes Motion Ms. Ready moved to approve the minutes. Mr. McGovern seconded the motion for discussion. Mr. McGovern recalled he had discussed trying to move the transition of the Board up, but was unsure if it was discussed after the meeting. Vote The motion unanimously passed. 3. Welcome Board Members Chair Adams welcomed the new Board members and each member provided a brief summary of their background as follows: 1 I Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee Boynton Beach, FL July 11, 2011 Barbara Ready became interested in Historic Preservation due to the Old High School. She serves as Chair of the Arts Commission and they had an interest in saving the Old High School and using it for an art function. When she learned the City did not have a meaningful Historic Preservation Ordinance, she thought they should. She also became involved in the Boynton Historical Society, who provided funds to match grant monies received from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She announced an Ordinance is now in place and fortunately, she has the Mayor's ear. Linda Stabile lives in a home that is located in a County pocket near the Boynton Beach line. She has worked with Michael Howe and Chris Davenport, the County Archeologist, and went through the County's Historic Preservation process. As a result, her home was the first to receive a historic designation in the County. Since, at some point, the County pocket may be annexed into Boynton Beach, she became interested in seeing Boynton Beach continue the designation. Eric Jones has restored historic properties over many years in both Chicago and in Florida. He works for a well-known home improvement company and when the Ad Hoc Committee was being formed, he became a member. He wanted to ensure the Ordinance achieved what was intended. Paul Gianfriddo is a writer and producer. He completed a documentary on Boynton Beach entitled "The Miracle of the Woman's Circle." By doing so, he spent a lot of time with the Historical Society and the Library. He commented he found a treasure trove with the Andrews Home, but the home was dilapidated. He felt it should be preserved. He traced the history of Boynton Beach through long-time resident, Harvey Oyer, who told the story of the first arrivals. As a former employee of CBS in New York, he was assigned to do a documentary on the Constitution and he had to visit some of the oldest towns in the State of Connecticut. He marveled at how beautifully the homes were restored and maintained. He noted Windsor, Connecticut and the other areas such as Harford have very active Historic Preservation Boards and they assisted him greatly. Massachusetts was also the same - one cannot do anything unless the Historical Board allowed it. Warren Adams did not apply to be a member of the Historic Resources Preservation Board but did apply for the Historic Preservation Planner Position, so he mayor may not be with the Committee. He worked for the National Trust of Historic Scotland. Born in New Jersey, he moved to Scotland and then back to the States in 2004. He worked as a Historic Preservation Planner in Delray Beach and West Palm Beach, then became the Executive Director for the Broward Trust for Historic Preservation. Due to the downturn in the economy, he returned to his former profession as property appraiser. He sat on the State Board and County Historic Preservation Board. He has been involved with every aspect of historic preservation, having moved and restored homes and had structures placed on the Historic Register. He has been with the Ad Hoc Committee since inception and during the two years the Committee has been in 2 I Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee Boynton Beach, FL July 11, 2011 existence, had the ordinance enacted. He helped the Committee obtain the current grant, and created both brochures. John McGovern was also with the Committee since inception. He became interested in Historic Preservation because of the Old High School. His family has helped save two old schools in New Jersey, which are now cultural art centers. He has a reverence for vintage things. Allan Hendricks, a landscape architect and resident of southeast Boynton, was enlisted in the cause through Barbara Ready who suggested he apply for membership on the Ad Hoc Committee. He welcomed the new Board members. He was glad they were present and he offered the Committee's support. Dr. Ginger Pederson has a keen interest in local history. She was born in, and her family has been in Palm Beach County since the 40's. Her grandparents had a large tourist attraction in Boca Raton that was destroyed, and her interest was to preserve what they have. She thought what was available in Boynton Beach was unique. The High School and older pioneer homes could serve as a core to create something unique on the southeast coast. Dr. Pederson does a lot of historical research and writing online. She was very familiar with the history of Boynton Beach. She pointed out Birdie and Fred Dewey laid out the plat for the Town of Boynton and named the original streets. She commented she would prefer to use the original street names. Harvey Rosenblum, a New York resident, moved to Copenhagen Denmark. He was self-employed in an internet business there for 26 years. During his time and travels in Europe, he experienced many changes in the architecture of the cities, particularly in Copenhagen where old warehouses from the late 1800's were converted to condominium homes, as was a submarine base from World War II. Photography has always been his hobby and he has taken many photographs of old and dilapidated buildings throughout his travels. He moved to Florida in 2005 and he still photographs old buildings. While in Denmark, family members constructed two homes and he took an active part in the construction. He was also selected Chairman of the Board of the building he lived in and other adjoining buildings constructed in 1892. The buildings were cold-water flats without baths that only had a gas heater. He took an active part in modernizing the buildings with central heating systems, windows and dealt with the contractors. He now lives in Palm Beach County and wants to take an active part in maintaining old buildings in Boynton Beach. Michelle Dion was born in Key West and has lived in Florida all her life. She is impressed with buildings constructed in the 1800's and 1600's and acted on the information about the Historic Preservation Board contained in the water bill. She has lived in Winter Park, Coconut Grove and since 1984, in Boynton Beach. She is a real estate appraiser for over 30 years and is currently working with the Property Appraiser's Office. Her family was in construction, so she was very familiar with the various trends 3 I Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee Boynton Beach, FL July 11, 2011 in construction and she observed there were many cute properties in Boynton Beach. She was not sure what the goals were, but she favored saving the older homes. Vice Chair Ready expressed her thanks to Chair Adams Mr. Hendricks and Mr. McGovern for their service, and to Mike Rumpf and Ed Breese. She commented City staff was invaluable and the individuals worked tirelessly on the Ordinance. She was also grateful to Ms. Stabile and Mr. Jones. She expressed there was a good mix of backgrounds at the table. Mr. Breese also commented Historic Resources Preservation Board members Francois and Salomonsson indicated they were unable to attend the meeting. 4. Progress report from Chair Chair Warren stated the Ad Hoc Committee has been meeting once a month for nearly two years. The Committee's accomplishments to date are: ~ Created a comprehensive Historic Preservation Ordinance adopted by the City Commission; ~ Employment of a full time Historic Preservation Planner; ~ Established a Historic Resources Preservation Board; ~ Commenced Community Education Campaign; ~ Obtained a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation; ~ Obtained a grant from the Boynton Beach Historical Society; ~ Created two educational brochures; and ~ Created a tax exemption program to encourage one to renovate historic homes. Chair Adams gave an example of the tax exemption program and explained if a home was valued at $200,000 and appropriate renovations were made, the value of the home could increase to $250,000 and the difference of $50,000 would not be taxed for up to 10 years. He observed in some locations, Historic Preservation is a restrictive tool; however, in other circumstances it is to promote appropriate repair and alterations. It was about obtaining the right balance. As it pertained to becoming a Certified Local Government, all of the accomplishments were needed and they would be especially helpful when applying for grants. Discussion followed the Committee accomplished a great deal in a short period. The City's website included a section dedicated to Historic Preservation and it has the Public Service Announcement. A second Public Service Announcement produced by the National Trust has links to other websites. It was noted the website was also listed on the back of the brochure. 4 I Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee Boynton Beach, FL July 11, 2011 5. Grant information update and discussion of follow-up brochure The members reviewed the brochure and submitted changes to the Chair. Discussion followed about using photographs of architectural details from the Old High School and the Woman's Club as opposed to photographs of the entire building. It was also suggested the photographs be uplifting to help inspire the reader to enlist in the program. The photographs would be in color or from the National Historic Preservation and identified as such. It was unknown whether a homeowner had to give consent to have their home photographed and used in the brochure. Ms. Stabile agreed to have her house photographed for the brochure and the other photograph will be of the Woman's Club. The first brochure was written to appeal to a first time reader. The purpose of the second brochure was to provide additional information and emphasize what was planned to continue the process. Dialogue ensued the Committee could apply for another grant from the Trust and the Chair queried the members for their ideas. He stated the grant would need a match and the current grant had to be expended by late August, 2011. Mr. Breese received three phone calls in response to the mailing and discussion followed public participation has been low. The meetings were advertised, but only four or five people have attended. The second brochure would help reinforce the initiative. Vice Chair Ready felt the first brochure should be redistributed because only three responses were received; however, discussion followed the public needs to see the information at least three times for the program to begin to take hold. The brochure would alert the residents they reside in a potential historic district and the program was a voluntary program. It was intended to pique the readers' interest and the response rate was not indicative whether the recipients read the information. It was pointed out marketing is a multi-stepped process. The next brochure would alert the residents that community input hearings were planned. Additional discussion followed about prioritizing events. A suggestion was made the brochure should direct recipients to the website, which contained email addresses and other important information. Conducting a survey was also discussed and Mr. Breese agreed to research whether they could utilize "Survey Monkey." The suggested changes would be incorporated into the brochure and distributed to the members. It was also mentioned that historic buildings owned by the City should be repaired; however, only the Board could submit an application to have it designated as historic. Mr. Breese anticipated the Historic Preservation Planner would be onboard in August and the Historic Resources Preservation Board would meet in September/October. Accordingly, the Ad Hoc Committee needed to determine the date of their final meeting. After brief discussion, there was agreement the Ad Hoc Committee would meet in August to label and stuff envelopes for the mailing and the first meeting of the Historic Resources Preservation Board would be set by the Planner. 5 I Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee Boynton Beach, FL July 11,2011 The initial meetings of the Board would be for education, review of the design guidelines and application forms. Chair Adams circulated examples of design guidelines he possessed and suggested the members review websites of other municipalities that have historic preservation for ideas. He noted each City creates the design guidelines their own way and they should be flexible as there are no hard and fast rules. The purpose of the documents was to provide the members with an example of how the information could be organized. Mr. McGovern left the meeting at 6:15 p.m. Mr. Breese distributed a handout detailing the grant expenditures. The postage was only $490 opposed to the estimate of $700. This posed a problem, as the expenditures did not reach the 50% mark of the grant dollars expended. At the last meeting, the members considered other printed information, such as door hangers or presentation boards. Discussion followed about the use of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for public channels. It was noted the School Board just signed a contract with WXEL. The station had to fill time slots and it was suggested the Committee provide them with several 30- second videos to air about the program and indicate more information was available on the website. The biggest challenge would be the time constraint. The deadline to expend the funds was just after the next meeting. The Committee had selected four areas that would potentially become historic districts. The members contemplated expanding the districts and providing additional mailings to those residents. Currently, the Committee spent over $1,000 and there was $2,600 approximately $1,600 remaining. Books were not an eligible grant expense; however, mailings and education were. If the second brochure was created and mailed the same way as the first, another $2,000 approximately $1,000 of the remaining $2,600 $1,600 would be spent. Then an information leaflet about architectural styles could be printed to use the remainder of the funds. This could be addressed at the August meeting and the leaflet printed by the deadline of August 25 20, 2011. Motion Mr. Jones moved to go forward with printing of architectural style information. Vice Chair Ready seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Mr. Hendricks noted there was opportunity in September or October to make a presentation to a group of individuals to start a district and to build interest and support. (Mr. Hendricks left the meeting at 6:25 p.m.) After brief discussion, Vice Chair Ready was nominated to make the presentation. 6 I Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee Boynton Beach, FL July 11, 2011 6. Summarize tasks or accomplishments for next meeting Chair Adams would have the brochure and architectural styles leaflet available for review at the next meeting. 7. Staff comments Mr. Breese announced staff selected Chair Adams as the Historic Preservation Planner; however, the action still needed approval by the City Commission Human Resources Department. 8. Public comments None. 9. Announce date of next meeting The next meeting would be held on August 8, 2011. 10. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was properly adjourned at 6:32 p.m. /, Uk c- CLJ_VLUILl I I JuLi.r Catherine Cherry Recording Secretary 071211 7