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Minutes 02-12-18 MINUTES OF THE HISTORIC RESOURCES PRESERVATION BOARD MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2018, AT 6:30 P.M. IN CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, 100 E. BOYNTON BEACH BOULEVARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Barbara Ready, Chair Mike Rumpf, Board Liaison Cheryl Black Dr. Ginger Pedersen Susan Oyer Hollis Tidwell, III Michael Wilson Jesse Feldman, Alternate ABSENT: Eric Salomonsson, Vice Chair 1. Pledge of Allegiance Chair Ready called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. followed by the members reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 2. Agenda Approval Motion Ms. Oyer moved to approve the agenda as presented. Mr. Wilson seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 3. Approval of Minutes Mike Rumpf, Planning and Zoning Director, noted an edit on the November 2017 meeting minutes: Communications and Announcements, fifth line, replace the two words "and intern" with "serving as interim."; and eighth line adding an "s" to building, and changing "eligibility for" to "eligibility of . . Motion Ms. Oyer moved to approve the minutes as amended. Mr. Tidwell seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Meeting Minutes Historic Resource Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Floridara 1 , 2018 4. Communications Mr. Rumpf explained since the last meeting, Jason Shaffer resigned his position on the Board and an alternate was moved up to a regular position. The Annual Certified Local Government (CLG) report was timely submitted to the State and staff continues to fill a vacant staff position with a candidate that hopefully has some Historic Resource Preservation experience to assist Mr. Rumpf with the Board's mission and work. Former Historic Preservation Planner, Warren Adams had been contacted by a few parties regarding historic designations; however, Mr. Rumpf has not heard anything since and will follow up. Mr. Rumpf had made a contact regarding work by Conrad Pickel, at St. Cuthberts Church. He was waiting to hear from Ms. Barbara Smith, a parishioner, who may have access. Ms. Oyer noted the Unity Community Church has one Pickel piece with his name on it and possibly another. The Church is for sale and she did not know if the Church wanted to keep those pieces, move them or sell them. One piece was a window and the second was a sculpture. She agreed to provide the information to Mr. Rumpf to hopefully include in the tour. Mr. Rumpf explained the Board had previously discussed historic trail markers. He was unsure of what the average condition of existing markers were, but staff saw one that was badly damaged and off its post, which predicated further evaluation of all the markers. He noted the annual Boynton Beach Calendar was available to the members and it was mailed to City residents. 5. Old Business: A. Boynton High School (125 E. Ocean Ave.) — Rehabilitation and adaptive reuse project update, and recommendation on building color scheme. (see accompanying back-up material) Mr. Rumpf advised the Board had previously discussed this item and Brian Perrault, Project Manager, from Straticon and Colin Groff, Assistant City Manager, were present to answer questions and give an update. Colin Groff, Assistant City Manager, gave a visual update of the 16-acre Town Square redevelopment project. It is a public/private partnership with E2L Real Estate Solutions. They finished the preliminary design work and have costs for the work and draft contracts. Construction on the Old High School (OHS) has begun and they are no longer deconstructing the building. The OHS is a key component in the redevelopment along with the Schoolhouse Children's Museum in the center of the Town Square. The OHS would be renamed as a Cultural Center at some point. He identified the location on a map and advised there will be a new City Hall, a hotel on the north block, apartments, parking, retail and commercial space, more apartments with restaurants on Ocean and workforce housing units and a parking garage. The Town Square will include a few large 2 Meeting ius Historic Resource Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida February 12, 2018 parks, a smaller park, a new Cityall Library building nd the OHS. They are planning, if they can develop i , to haveII restaurant r food spacein the OHS including 500-seat auditorium. A 120 to 140-roorn hotel will be constructedr is ill be an asset to the OHS and the Town Squareill be the placeto hold events. The building ill become the center for indoor and outdoor events. There will be public restrooms i the garage large enough to accommodate large events to accommodate event goers. The Police Department will be located on HighRidge Road. Mr. Groff advised event planning is important and the City is planninglot of security for the site. Photos of the proposed Library/City all depicted a contemporary Mediterranean-styled building e complementary the OHS. There will be light colors on the Its and they will use energyvin in r items to save money. It will have a barrel tile roof, light colors and glass. The Library is a bitore contemporary. Residential commercial r ri s were viewed whichill also have barrel tiles and lighter colors, not the dark browns and oranges as they do not fit Boynton Beach. The City put together a brochureto use to when speaking with investors who sponsor projects such as the Town Square. Mr. Groff advised at a meetingwith investors, the project very well received and ranked second or third out of hundreds of potential projects. The City's partner explained the City planned to reuse the school for career source and educational activities, technology training, art and wellness classes, and events and conferences. It wasanticipated the building ill be used seven days a week. The first floor of the OHS was viewed. it ohave a " in the building, cookingno kitchens. There will be classrooms retail space and the team is still working on some of the designs. Large classrooms can be dividedand there will be doors tote outside areas from the rooms. The building can accommodate large dances, and ill have a green room and dressingroom for the upstairs ball area. There will be a foo warming area and doors in the backo enter the catering kitchen and a freight elevator to go up and down to serve food. The area under the stage can store the tables and chairs and the room can accommodate 250 round tables. Mr. Groff advised the gym will be restored to its original appearance. The classrooms are good for dance, karate and other similar activities. The downstairs is more for the arts. There arerestroo s on both floors. There r three elevators including ri t elevator in the back. A wide, ell-lit stairwell ill be on bothsides of the building, i re being refurbished. Mr. Groff commented they are working on partnershipswith Florida Atlantic University and Palm Beachto o become partners for education activities. Mr. Wilson asked when the building would be finished and learned it should be finished in November. The City will not cancel any recreational classes and will use a temporary location for four to six months before the classes move to the OHS. The City does not yet have a contract to move into Phase II for the building and staff working to have one to present to the City Commission i the nextthree weeks. Meeting Minutes Historic Resource Preservation or Boynton each, Florida February 12, 2018 Ms. Oyer recalled there had been discussion about having a restaurant in the OHS and rental space from hotel functions. She commented if the City was using the space for cultural activities, it would not make money for the Town Square. She inquired if the kitchen could be installed, as the building was a school that originally had a kitchen. Mr. Groff explained they spoke to event planners, and they all indicated they do not want one. They want a catering/warming kitchen so they want to cook the food and deliver it. The item they all said they wanted was a large freight elevator so caterers can go right from the kitchen to the second floor and serve the food quickly. Ms. Oyer explained the public wants to use the building. She thought the City was trying to attract a pub or something that makes the building usable for the people who live downtown. Mr. Groff explained there will be a pub one building down from the OHS. The one corner on first floor is for a small caf6, but not a cooking restaurant as there are all types of fire issues to contend with and it would be very difficult to make it fit into the building. Ms. Oyer questioned if the building would bring in enough revenue if it is loaded with classrooms. Mr. Groff advised the hotel they spoke with indicated they would fill the building all the time and it is a big name hotel. The reason they want to be downtown is to use the high school. There are not a lot of rentals for the public during the day during the week. He noted 60% of the time the rooms are empty at the Civic Center. Staff would program to make a lot of money off the building. A gift shop or retail will be on the ground floor. Ms. Oyer asked if there would be enough gallery space for art events such as the Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium. Mr. Groff thought so. The rooms are open rooms and he could create as much space as needed. Ms. Oyer pointed out if there are big name artist that will bring several pieces to sell. The front classrooms could also be converted to retail space. Mr. Groff explained the City is becoming very dense in the downtown and residents need things to do. There is 70,000 to 80,000 square feet of retail in other private buildings. Several restaurants are planned along Ocean Avenue as part of the project. City Hall will have about 3,000 square feet of incubator space for start-up companies, similar to Canvas in Orlando. The City was trying to bring in Career Source and Palm Beach State College. He commented everything in the project is flexible. The City wants the market to dictate to the project as the market will drive retail and small shops. Construction images were viewed. Mr. Groff explained Straticon finished stripping the outside and was starting to remove the gymnasium roof. Downstairs under the gymnasium a restroom was stripped. Standard windows with a historic look were ordered, Straticon is replacing floor joists where they have rotted away in one of the restrooms and they have to select a paint color. Straticon was also saving the trusses and the purlins made of Dade County Pine. Twelve trusses were removed and the rest will be saved. The architect offered some color options and recommended one. The members reviewed an image of the building painted in Dover White with the cast stone unpainted. There were various trim colors. Straticon wants to restore all the casting to what it was and 4 Meeting is Historic Resource PreservationBoard Boynton each, Florida February 12, 2018 thought it suggestion istoric I representation of the school. It alsogives guidance for what the rest the building ill look like it blends in well with Schoolhouse Children's s. Oyer liked the whitesti I reflect heat. She hoped Straticon wouldit as green as possiblet green or blue trim with little accents was satisfactory. noted the Schoolhouse Children'sMuseum is cream with whitetrim and the OHS could the opposite the Schoolhouse Children's Museum. Mr. Tidwell thought the images were a nice representation of what the building s like and noted it was used often in Palmeach. Chair Ready also thought it was nice. There was brief discussion the color names may have inadvertently been switched. Dover White was a creamy color and the t s white. Mr. Groff thought the Dover White was the whiter color. The OHS will be the centerpiece of the projectr. Groff thought the buildinginterior finishes wouldo r ahead of every other City in the County as o venue. The building can offer a gardenwedding i s there are single French doors leading the outside patio area. Four rooms downstairs coulde opened to create two large rooms. Mr. Groff thought the rooms of a use frequently on the weekends as wouldthe upstairs auditorium. The upstairs would also be used for conferences and luncheon meetings and he emphasized there are not many places such as this in Palmeach County. The hotel that reviewed the plans was excite and they felt it wouldsell their hotel. Chair Ready noted the Palmeach County School system may be interested in usingthe building. Mr. Groff agreedexplained idea is to alert outside entities and public agencies it i is availablefor use. The school s needed to activate the downtown. Black asked about the playgroundand learned it wouldbe bigger than what was shown on the plans. Mr. Groff explained when the Phase II contract is signed, former City isir Mike Fitzpatrick volunteered to be the lead withthe playground as he did a great job with the prior playground. The City will try to save as much , but the playground does not meet current standards and some components may have to be replaced. Mr. Fitzpatrick has reconfigured the park addingitems. Modern materials will be used, but they will try to save all the fence pickets and bricks. The playground ill be safe all the timenot used at night. They aret i o design park withonly one entrance so there will be controlled access. There is also a large on the west side of the OHS withthe Kapok tree, i ill be another active family park. It will be one bigr i different areas, benchescontemplating a water feature. Mr. Feldman asked about the interior with gray exposed bricks and learned Straticonis tryingto restore one classroom to its original condition, and leave some of the plaster over the brick to show how a historic building was constructed. They saved 7,000 sure feet of flooring for one oft the classrooms. The stairwell has round railings that are not to Code, but there would be a safe railing in front of it that will be to Code. It will look very nice and meet ADA standards. Staff wouldIv II they could. Mr. Groff advised thereill be future workshops. Mr. Tidwell appreciated Mr. Groffs zeal forte project. It Meeting Minutes Historic Resource Preservation Board Boynton Beach, lori February 12, 2018 was noted building tours will be offered. They will repurpose all they can and will have displays. B. 2018 Florida Historic Preservation Grant Applications — Status update on Historic Boynton High School (125 E. Ocean Ave.) Special Category Grant and Boynton School / Schoolhouse Children's Museum (129 E. Ocean Ave.) Small Matching Grant. (see accompanying back-up material) Mr. Rumpf explained the information was available online and was included in the meeting materials. The City should get final word about the two applications during the summer. The OHS was ranked pretty high. Depending on what the ultimate allocation of the State budget is, the renovation funds for the other grant for the Schoolhouse Children's Museum may have less chance of approval. (Mr. Tidwell left the dais at 7.18 p.m. and returned at 7:19 p.m.) Chair Ready requested Mr. Rumpf let her know if the Board needed to write a support letter. C. Historic plaques for designated properties — Status of establishing a marker program and obtain direction from Board. (see accompanying back-up material) Mr. Rumpf advised the markers were discussed at the last meeting and some preferred designs had been reviewed. Mr. Adams had contacted a foundry that produces the markers and gives preferences to entities that identify historic structures. He did not know if Cerematalics was contacted for additional quotes. The item is on the agenda as he was looking to the Board for further direction. Mr. Rumpf commented one or two funding sources had been contemplated, but he was unsure if the Board would look to the Historical Society as a potential funding source or even a partial subsidy. The majority of the cost may also have to be borne by the property owner. Chair Ready recalled the Board was in the fact-finding mode regarding materials and cost. Some districts or towns pay for them. In other areas owners pay for them and sometimes the cost is split or there is a fund to pay for them. Chair Ready commented she could approach the Historical Society, but noted it would be an easier decision to make if they knew the cost. Ms. Oyer liked the markers used in West Palm Beach and thought it was a good template, but liked the wording of another plaque depicted on the top of the materials. She felt the City did not have to reinvent the wheel and they could use the same company. The plaques could have the City seal and a medallion looking design located on the front of the OHS. The markers are brass and West Palm Beach uses them. The seal is print ready and that might be easier and less costly. Mr. Rumpf will reach out to sister cities with historic preservation programs and markers and maybe the City could piggyback. He agreed to investigate the issue further as it has been over a year since original costs were obtained. Dr. Pedersen commented they had discussed 6 Meeting its Historic Resource Preservation Board Boynton each, Florida February 12, 2018 one company that made markersout of a modernmaterial that looked brass that also weathered well. Mr. Adams was concerned Ie would not polishthe markers. Chair Ready commented si modern material may be less costlyit uses 3-D printing. Mr. Tidwell noted with brass, cost is for the first die and theythen have to change the year. D. Magnuson o , 211 E. Oceanvenue— Update on adaptive reuse project. (see accompanying back-up material) Mr. Rumpf explained the project remains in the permit stage. He had included explanations why the project was taking o long in the meetingmaterials. Permits came in and deviatedfrom r original site plan and therev l responses from the privateside i t ill review submissions expeditiously s possible they are timelimited. r. Wilson asked about the last contact made with Planning and Development, r. Rumpf did not know. The Building Official had made attempts to contact the architect, but has not had a response. The plans were directly from the site plan. Ms. Black recalled the developer had submittedplans that moved stairs from the outside of the building and put them inside. Mr. Rumpf explained the developer purchased the property from the CRA, however, the CRA has a reverter clause in the sales contract so there are requirements, but not anything regulating the day-by- day timi a - - ii of the project. E. Renaming of downtown streets® Project status to be discussed Board's sir direction requested. ( o back-up material included) Mr. Rumpf explainedfamiliarized himself with this item and asked internal staff out the proposal. If the Board wants to rename streets, it would go to the City Commission. He pointed out there are some logistical issues whether any renaming would be done i conjunction with street improvements for the Town Squareproject or some other way. He also spoke with Jeff Livergood, Director Public Works, and he understoodthe streets to be within the Town Squareboundaries. Chair Ready suggested becoming more familiar how the signs looked and samplesl l 1. The current name would listed and underneath, original name in smaller letters. Mr. Rumpf agreedo bring backsamples, noting Seacrestl v r originally G Street; Ocean Avenue was always Oceanvenue and therer other avenues streets that had different names. There was discussion going backto the original names. Oyer commented studies show that the value of homesincreases significantly versus number or letter named streets and crime rates go downf proper street names versus er names. Mr. Wilson explained prior to 1955, the post office requested street names as there were streets that were not numbered. He had providedr. Adams with a map with circa 1955 information that listed all the street names and what the new numberednames were. Dr. Pederson noted some streets do not exist anymore due to the construction of 1-95. Chair Ready thought the Board should pursue the item. Ms. Oyer thought it would givei r to the Town Square. it Ready thought Meeting Minutes Historic Resource Preservation Board Boynton Beach, lori February 1 , 2018 if there was a cost and examples to view, it would be easier for the City Commission to make a decision. F. Black History Interactive Website (GIS &Virtual Tour) — Project status to be presented which includes completion of the grant project and website. City I.T. staff currently trouble-shooting problems with website. (no back-up material included) Mr. Rumpf discovered an issue with the interactive map. He contacted ITS and they are looking into it. Some computers may have software issues. 6. New Business: None. 7. Other None. 8. Comments by members Ms. Oyer asked about the status of the upcoming Conrad Pickel event held in May for National Historic Preservation Month. This year is also the 50th Anniversary of the Boynton Beach Historical Society and they will plan some activities. She thought it would be nice to expand the event and include another local artist, Bernard Thomas, who painted the mural inside the Woman's Club. He donated five oil paintings to Forest Park Elementary School and the Historical Society recently paid to clean the paintings and repair the frames. Mr. Thomas was married to Betty Thomas, who was the principal of Boynton Beach Elementary School. There is also a park named after her. Ms. Oyer noted his kids still live in the area and they are willing to allow the family collection to be viewed. Mr. Thomas was a Mason and he painted Masonic Temples around the U.S. He lived in the Midwest when he was younger and painted western scenes. He painted the mural in the Lantana Autorama, which was a museum of old cars. Chair Ready thought the event could be expanded and include some of Bernard Thomas' work. Ms. Oyer suggested looking at the UCC Church as there is a Conrad Pickel piece there, but there had never been public access to it. She thought the bus tour could be dropped and a dine and dash done instead with a slide show. Chair Ready and Ms. Oyer offered to assist Mr. Rumpf with the event. On a different matter, Mr. Tidwell asked about membership and term expiration reminders. Ms. Oyer reminded the members she was collecting used, clean mascara wands to clean baby rescue animals at a wildlife preserve. Chair Ready read on the National Trust for Historic Preservation website, the government decided to continue with the 20% Historic Tax credits which will be spread out over five 8 Meeting Minutes Historic Resource Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida February 12, 2018 years. She also announced the Historical Society will hold a program on February 1VI on the history of Florida Broadcasting, by Donn R. Colee, Jr., author of Towers in the Sand. The new meeting location is the Presbyterian Church on 6th Avenue as the Woman's Club was no longer available for meetings. 9. Public comments None. 10. Announce date of next meeting —April 9, 2018 11. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, it Ready properly adjourned the meeting at 7:41 p.m. Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist 9