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Minutes 01-09-17MINUTES OF THE HISTORIC RESOURCES PRESERVATION BOARD MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017, AT 6:30 P.M. IN CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, 100 E. BOYNTON BEACH BOULEVARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Barbara Ready, Chair Warren Adams, Historic Preservation Planner Eric Salomonsson, Vice Chair (arrived 6:34 p.m.) Cheryl Black Susan Oyer Dr. Ginger Pedersen Jason Shaffer Hollis Tidwell, III Michael Wilson, Alternate Jesse Feldman, Alternate 1. Pledge of Allegiance Chair Ready called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Ms. Oyer led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 2. Agenda Approval There were no changes made to the agenda. 3. Approval of Minutes The November minutes were not available. 4. Communications and Announcements Chair Ready acknowledged new member Jesse Feldman. Mr. Feldman advised he is an attorney who bought a historic home across the street, and spent six months working on it. He cares about the history of the town and wants to preserve it so he got involved. 5. Old Business: A. Boynton Woman's Club window and door repair update Mr. Adams explained this item was a $210,000 project for the Boynton's Woman's Club funded through a $140,000 grant from the Florida Division of Historical Resources. The materials were $70,000. The project was split into three phases. The first phase was the second floor windows on the east elevation, which were fully completed, restored and installed. Mr. Adams last visited the premises December 5t" and at that time, they were in the process of putting the restored windows into the second phase which was the south elevation above the main entrance. He has not been back to the property since then, but he assumed they were nearly installed and almost completed and the windows were being removed for phase Ill. Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2017 The project was on schedule, but the Woman's Club has having issues getting their first grant payment. They had submitted the claim two months ago and normally there is a quick turnaround. The Woman's Club does not have a lot of money, and they planned to pay for the first phase, get the payment and use it for the second phase. He received an email from the State indicating the matter was sorted out and they should receive payment soon, but the contractor had to stop work. He hoped the matter would get back on track. The project is scheduled to be finished by March which is well ahead of the deadline. He invited the members to visit the Woman's Club once the job is completed as he was sure they would be pleased to show off the work. Mr. Wilson announced the Boynton Beach Historical Society has a program coming up Monday, January 16th at the Woman's Club, entitled Cottages of Lake Worth. B. Certified Local Government Grant: Black History Interactive Website update Mr. Adams explained the Black History interactive website was fully funded by a grant from the State and this is Phase ill of the City's Heritage Education program. The issue with this project is the City did not receive the contracts back until November which put the project four months behind. Mr. Adams will ask the State for a one-month extension and did not know why everything was running so far behind. He held two meetings with ITS and Planning staff, who will be involved in the project, and asked ITS to order 3-D imagery from Pictometry, which will form one of the layers on the interactive map. They will use other layers showing the subdivisions, individual lots and aerial the user can turn on and off to receive detailed information, including who owned the various properties. Mr. Adams explained the website uses 1958 as the base year because they have aerials from 1957/1958. Some lots will have just a name as no other information is available and other lots will have more information. The layer with the 3-D renderings will show the most important buildings. When selecting an individual building, the user should be able to zoom in, enter, click on items associated with the building and learn about prices, types of food, produce and other items sold. The zoom feature will be a good tool if they can get it to work; if not, the user can click on the building which will link to a dedicated page with information about the family. He also hoped to obtain information about family trees. Church buildings could have traditional music, schools could provide a traditional lesson plan, all of which is contingent on what they can obtain from the community. Mr. Adams explained they also plan to create a treasure hunt for children. Youth can virtually enter the buildings, explore them and try to find everything on the treasure list. Attiya Anthony, Digital Media Specialist, is involved in the project, has contacts in the area and will help with advertising and speaking with community members. They plan to meet a few nights at one of the neighborhood centers to scan information residents provide. Mr. Adams explained more photographs were needed. The project ends in June, but Mr. Adams will ask to extend the deadline to the end of July. 2 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2017 After the deadline, staff could still update the site in the future as items are received. Voncile Smith of the Boynton Beach Historical Society also provided Mr. Adams with information. He will include information earlier than the late 50s and 60s. It was taking him a long time to identify what the street address was in the 1950s as some parcels were listed, as an example, as 215.5 having a half address. Mr. Adams advised he will use current addresses and when the user clicks on a structure, it will specify the property was formerly known as, indicate the property was split into two parcels, and give the history. Mr. Adams created spreadsheets with every property in the area and every name and address. He has to look at development applications and it will be a lot of research. He hoped to have a complete list of every property with dedicated information as well as information from the property appraiser's records. Mr. Shaffer asked if there is a way to determine where the descendants currently reside. Mr. Adams explained some directories provided the occupation of the person who lived there and thought the project would be special when up and running. The ITS department already started work on the website and there is a placeholder on the City's website. Mr. Shaffer thought a good way to launch the project was through the schools. Students could access the treasure hunt, go home and tell their parents. Mr. Adams noted some teachers wanted the students to be involved. (Dr. Pedersen left dais at 6:59 p.m.) Chair Ready thought the City should have some type of event when the project is completed. Mr. Adams emphasized they have to get people on board and Ms. Anthony was handling that aspect. She planned to promote the project at the upcoming MLK celebrations and would create a flyer to distribute that day. (Dr. Pederson returned to the dais at 6:53 p.m.) Mr. Wilson asked if elderly residents could provide an oral history and learned Mr. Adams had spoken with some and they left the door open for video, music and oral histories to be included in the website. Ms. Oyer suggested Connie Coleman, a retired teacher and parishioner at St. John Missionary Baptist Church would be a good resource to direct Mr. Adams to other people. Mr. Adams thought if there are no photos on the website, the public will not be so inclined to use it. Mr. Shaffer inquired about old newspapers and learned Mr. Adams found some information but the images were black and white and were not usable for what he needs. There would also be concerns about copyrighted images and the cost to purchase them. He thought it better to obtain photos from residents as staff would get permission from the owners to use them. 6. New Business: A. Potential designations in 2017 3 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2017 Over the past year, Mr. Adams spoke with 17 property owners regarding designation and he wanted to push harder this year. He thought between the potential designations and potential development proposals for 2017, the Board will have a busy year. He noted this will be the culmination of all the work done, including the ad hoc committee. During the last four or five years, the City received Certified Local Government designation, crafted design guidelines and established the Board. There were not a lot of designation applications because the program was new, but there were two National Register sites, the Magnuson House and the original application for the Old High School. He noted with changes pending to the development plan, proposals, and increases in the property market, it was good their efforts put a program in place. He wanted to get as many designations as soon as possible. Many people are aware properties are eligible and while some people decided not to move forward for various reasons, they may just have to wait for the time to be right for them. Mr. Adams advised he will re -contact people and find out if they are still considering designation. The priority is individual designation and possibly districts. B. Potential development proposals in 2017 Mr. Adams commented development would occur for the Town Square, and the Coastal Star indicated four groups responded to the RFQ. The proposals will be narrowed down and when a proposal comes forward, the Board will review it. He noted the Schoolhouse Children's Museum is on the National Register and the high school is on the Local Register. Both buildings have to be retained. The Board will have to review the proposed reuse of the high school and there will be other development applications that pertain to other parts of the City. it is possible some of them might affect historic properties or be close to a historic property. He recommended the members avoid forming an opinion and refrain from any discussions regarding proposals because the Board will review them. Development and tax dollars are good for the City, but the Board needs to ensure significant sites are incorporated appropriately. He anticipated 2017 would be a busy year. There was brief discussion about the status of the Magnuson House. Mr. Adams advised the application was approved with conditions; however, nothing was submitted to him regarding the items identified. Work started on the Little House, but there was not much progress. The owner submitted an application for the addition to the building, but it was not a designated or historic site so the Board had no input. All he could do was advise. He did comment any of the remaining historic fabric of the buildings should be cared for. If anything is attached, it must be attached in the least intrusive way possible and any damage to the historic fabric has to be repaired appropriately. Alterations or repairs to the high school will have to come before the Board, although it would pertain only to the exterior. The RFQ encourages keeping as much of the structure as possible. Mr. Adams noted if the developer applies for the 20% tax credits, they will be required to retain a significant amount of the interior than they would for the 10% tax credits. To apply for the 20% credits, the building has to be on the National Register. Mr. Adams explained they can submit a determination of eligibility form for C! Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2017 National Register designation as a first step. He thought it was eligible, but it comes down to finances. Currently someone could come in and completely reconfigure the interior. Mr. Adams pointed out they have an experienced board and good mix of background, qualifications and experience. There is an attorney on the Board, an architect, historian, and others which the State likes. He recommended submitting Board appointment applications early before some member terms expire as it could make a difference on who gets reappointed. Mr. Adams agreed to check with the City Clerk to see how soon members could reapply for membership. Ms. Oyer recommended applications be submitted at least two weeks before and she noted the Commission has bumped members. Appointments are rotated among the Commissioners and some want to interview. She also recommended attending the meeting. 7. Other: None 8. Comments by members Chair Ready commented there is a self -designated historic district on Federal Highway known as the Cottage District. She asked if the cottages were potentially able to be designated. Mr. Adams looked at the area and thought they may have support. He spoke to a few owners and they seemed interested. It would be a small district that would not have a high portion of contributing versus non-contributing sites, but he thought the majority would be contributing sites. The cottages were mostly from the 40's and 50's. There was an amendment to the development plan and an area on the north side of Boynton Beach Boulevard, which sits behind some stores, may be a potential historic cottage district. Since it was mentioned in the plan, it should have the support of the Board. Mr. Adams pointed out it may be necessary to move some cottages if they redevelop Boynton Beach Boulevard and make them double depth lots, which was fine because they could be moved across the street. He commented he would like to see a district developed. Mr. Adams had spoken with property owners and there should be interest. The difference between Boynton Beach and other cities is other cities have a lot of 1920s buildings. Boynton Beach was not like that in the 1920s. They had new subdivisions that were never completed, which was why there are sporadic pockets. Boynton Beach shines in the post war periods and there are thousands of properties. When people appreciate what is important about buildings and the post war buildings, there would be fantastic districts. Mr. Adams had already looked at the small pockets behind Boynton Beach Boulevard and the Cottage District. There are huge pockets of buildings between 1-95 and Seacrest Boulevard he would love to see considered, but they need the residents to support it. Chair Ready commented, in reference with the upcoming MLK project, many properties 5 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2017 are held by the same families, and they have deep roots. Mr. Adams explained districts in Boynton Beach would be small pockets if looking at pre-war architecture and they need to be protected. There are more places to move ahead with post war buildings, and he would like to see them designated. Mr. Adams had compiled a list of what structures were already lost, pointing out most of it was limited to 1920s buildings. it was important to have a program in place to protect what exists in the present day. Mr. Wilson questioned if a neighborhood was platted in the 50s that had a combination of every decade of home and there were 50 homes and asked if the neighborhood would qualify for designation if they supported the request. Mr. Adams explained historic districts have contributing and non-contributing properties. Contributing properties were historic properties that identify a period when the homes were built. If 80% of the homes were from that period and the rest were newer, it could be eligible for designation, but the next step is to identify how many homes from the 50s were altered and changed. Fifty one percent of the property owners have to agree to create a district, but ideally they would need 80% or 90% of the owners to agree for a district to be created. 9. Public comments 10. Announce date of next meeting _ February 13, 2017 11. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, Chair Ready properly adjourned the meeting at 7:21 p.m. Catherine Cherryi Minutes Specialist