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Minutes 01-13-20 Minutes of the Historic Resources Preservation Board Meeting Held in the Intracoastal Park Clubhouse 2240 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach, Florida On Monday, January 13, 2020, AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Barbara Ready, Chair Mike Rumpf, Board Liaison Ben Lowe Mike Wilson Jesse Wilson Absent: Hollis Tidwell, III I. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance Chair Ready called the meeting to order at 6:36 p.m. Mr. Feldman led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. II. Agenda Approval Motion Mr. Wilson moved to approve. Mr. Feldman seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. III. Approval of Minutes July 8, 2019, and September 19, 2019 Mr.Wilson noted he was not listed as present or absent at the July meeting. He supported amending the minutes to reflect whether he was present or not. Motion Mr. Feldman moved to approve the July Minutes as amended. Mr. Wilson seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. Motion Mr. Wilson moved to approve the September minutes. Mr. Feldman seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 13, 2020 IV. Communications and Announcements Mike Rumpf, Board Liaison, explained he hoped to have a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) filed soon and the Old High School is nearly ready to receive a temporary Certificate of Occupancy. He hoped the Board's vacancies would be filled. Currently, there are two regular and two alternate positions available. Annual CLG Report. Mr. Rumpf advised the Annual Certified Local Government (CLG) report was timely sent to the State and he anticipated it was accepted. He explained a CLG is a title granted by the State Division of Historic Preservation to municipalities that meet certain criteria. Achieving CLG status results in networking, training opportunities and priority for grants. Mr. Rumpf explained it is a status the City will maintain. Mr. Rumpf explained the COA is approval process required of a property proposed for modifications when the properties are on the City's Local Register or National Register. It reviews proposed changes against the Secretary of the Interiors standards for modifications of historic structures. The State has a registry of properties eligible for designation. The criteria for designation is the property must be at least 50 years old. Other criteria included architectural style, if a historic person is affiliated with the property or a special event affiliated with the property. The City has 11 properties on the Local Register and five are single-family homes. The other properties are sites, commercial properties or institutions such as the Boynton Woman's Club. One of those on the list is 311 NW 15t Avenue, known as the Gerger House. Audrey Gerger was a longstanding owner of the house., which is a duplex. Ms. Gerger lived in one half of the building. In 2012, she petitioned for local designation. The home was sold and she moved. The new owner is a small corporation LLC owned by a real estate investor and his mother, who love the property. Mr. Rumpf met with them to review the process to make improvements, but they want to preserve the structure. Over the past few years, some historic properties were demolished due to lack of care. There are one or two other properties, which are ideal candidates for the Registry, but the City cannot force designation, but they were so deteriorated they eventually had to be demolished. Mr. Rumpf took pictures so the City could document the structures. Mr. Rumpf explained the windows on the Gerger House were changed prior to designation and discussion followed, generally, the interior of the residence can be changed, but not the exterior. The more visible the property, the higher the scrutiny of the review and the tighter the requirements. If someone wants to add a solar panel, dish or antenna, they can only be added behind the structure as the front is the most protected and the addition must be permitted and reviewed. Mr. Wilson explained his home was built in 1958. It originally had jalousie windows and doors, which were changed out. The home faces a cul-de-sac. Mr. Rumpf explained windows are more temporary. Mr. Feldman agreed. Warren Adams, former Historic Preservation Planner, had looked at Mr. Feldman's home. The entry door on the front part of the house, was not originally as the area was a sleeping porch, but the original front door and windows to the interior of 2 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 13, 2020 the home were still intact. Mr. Adams had agreed; the home could be designated in the future if desired, The Woman's Club had undergone a more stringent review. The Board tried to make the criteria to be on the Local Register less stringent to encourage people to participate. Mr. Rumpf distributed a matrix of what is used to determine the review process for a specific change to a historic structure, is was reviewed. He then reviewed the table. If changes are not more than 20% tot structure, staff could conduct the COA review. If higher or on the front of the structure, it would come before the Board for a COA review. It was noted it is costly to go through the review. Mr. Rumpf reviewed the criteria for staff and Board reviews for COAs. Dr. Lowe asked about the term "contributing." Mr. Rumpf explained the term would not apply as the City does not have a historic district, but does have historic sites. A historic district would have a cluster of historic homes and individual assets. If someone lives next to a designated property in a historic district and that person's home has some historic qualities, but was not individually designated, they would be subject to some standards to protect the other designated home within the district. Forming a district requires polling the homeowners in the proposed area and receiving approval from a super majority of homeowners. Mr. Rumpf explained some individuals may fear an insurance company requiring a premium to insure historic homes because it was thought they were more expensive to maintain because oft requirements. The advantage of having a designated historic home was the tax credit given for 10 years. The ad valorem credit applies to anyone on the Local Register, not just historic districts. There is no minimum number of homes required to be a historic district. Chair Ready thought the Board could make a renewed effort to form a district, as in the past they were almost able to create one. The Board could help write a letter and go door-to-door to explain to homeowners why they would want to designate. Mr. Rumpf recalled there was an area south of Boynton Beach Boulevard and west of Seacrest, behind the Post Office, along NW 1st Avenue that was a potential district. 1-95dividedthe area as there are some beautiful older homes west of 1-95. The City had a consultant develop a complete list of eligible properties in 1986. Mr. Rumpf commented he had thought about sending out basic letters to those on the original inventory, whose homes were most valuable. There were it a few properties that were not re-inventory that are now 50 years of There are more properties that could be added, but do not have the same value and characteristics such as age, appearance and architectural style. Mr. Rumpf attended a training session held for Certified Local Governments. They were discussing ranch style homes, and whether the homes were worthy to be designated. The homes do represent a style at one time, but there was no consensus to do so. Mr. Rumpf favored contacting those individuals on the original inventory as it contained a list of eligible homes for local designation based on architectural style. Mr. Rumpf would like to send letters to make them aware of the Historic Preservation program and the benefits of it. As to districts, it was noted there was another home on the fringe of Ms. Gerger's 3 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 13, 2020 home, which could have created a District. Chair Ready noted a prior discussion about Leisureville, Sterling Village and older condominium, senior-type communities. They had no architecturally redeeming qualities, but they contributed to the fabric and the development of the City. In the past, they had tried to convince Sterling Village to be the first community to be designated due to the history of Boynton Beach. The tricky part was trying to get a 51% of Sterling Village. Historic Trail Sites. Mr. Rumpf announced that staff is beginning an inventory of signs that need to be replaced along the Trail. He noted the signs are budgeted. Board Meeting starting time. Mr. Rumpf explained the City Commission changed its meeting times from 6:30 pm to 5:30 pm. Liaisons are offering the advisory boards the same option. Mr. Rumpf asked if there was a preference. After brief discussion, there was agreement to continue the status quo and meet at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Rumpf pointed out the public hearing items at City Commission meetings would be heard at 6 pm and not 5:30 pm. 5 Old Business: A. Historic plaques. At the last meeting, staff was to continue exploring using Grandview Aluminum products, but they had a glitch in the design. The Board had contemplated whether to include the date or not, or some version. The plaque went to the company's simple design version, but the Board was not pleased with the outcome. The company used a basic graphic selected from a library of graphics. The sign was a two-dimensional process. The options were to use a 3-D, more complex design, or a 2-D which is much simpler. A more intricate design requires a 3-D version, which was costlier. The Board was steered towards the 2-D process, rather than using a graphic artist for the 3-D design. The Board had wanted to provide the computer version, buy Mr. Rumpf was informed they could not, as Grandview uses a specific sculptor for the process. The Board could not use their own artist. Mr. Rumpf was dealing with a representative of the company and learned he has to go back to the manufacturer directly to see if he could work with them, and asked what was the minimum graphic they could provide them, because the representative indicated it would have to be sent to the company's sculptor. It would be more expensive to create a 3-D plaque to create a 3-D mold as opposed to a 2-D mold. Mr. Rumpf wanted to research the matter further to help the Board determine if they want to continue with the graphic or move onto someone else. The plaque is aluminum so the option may be limited. Mr. Rumpf noted there was no rush to pursue because there were few property owners requesting the plaques and they were under no obligation to use Grandview. The City has not used the company previously. Mr. Rumpf had video slides the members 4 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 13, 2020 viewed. Chair Ready inquired if he knew what companies made plaques for other municipalities and learned Mr. Rumpf had their contact information. Discussion followed that other than the Old High School or Woman's Club, the City did not have any iconic buildings. It was not uncommon for municipalities to use an outline of a structure. Mr. Rumpf would contact other cities to find out who made the plaques and how they were made. Some cities use different materials. Dr. Lowe commented people he spoke with wanted a historic district or building. A lot of the members wanted to have dates on the plaque. Chair Ready explained adding the date added to the cost. Mr. Rumpf explained excluding the up-front design cost, he anticipated the cost was about$300. Chair Ready did not favor using the silhouette of the Children's Museum as the Historical Society uses it too although it would be more recognizable. She supported honoring the Old High School. Dr. Lowe liked the main feature of the high school. There was brief discussion about including the date on a smaller oval plaque that could be attached into the larger oval. Chair Ready queried if Grandview had provided a cost for the more detailed plaque and learned they had not. The Board would have to give them a digital graphic image they would forward to the sculpture. Chair Ready approached the Historical Society to help subsidize the signs and the only hold up was providing a cost. Mr. Rumpf was already pursuing a 3-D version with them, but he could discuss converting a high school fagade graphic into something simple in two-dimensional version, or send a picture to Grandview in a two- dimensional. Mr. Feldman suggested using an image of the kapok tree. It is the big tree with really deep roots and a good photographer could take the photo. Dr. Lowe noted the current bridge could also be used as an image. Mr. Rumpf commented he would use some of the examples given and work with the company with the different ideas to see what options the City has. A silhouette of the entire high school, the Kapok tree or the bridge would be considered. Mr. Rumpf agreed to check with the company and report back to the Board. If there is information he can exchange in the interim, he would email the members and get their opinions. There was consensus the Board liked having the dates being added on and there was agreement the members like the words "The City of'. There was consensus to use the word "site" and not the word "property." Mr. Rumpf will continue using the oval plaque. B. Boynton High School (125 E. Ocean Ave.) — Update on the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the City's historic high school (see accompanying combined staff report for update.) Mr. Rumpf explained the building is moving along and most of the Board members toured the facility. It was hoped City staff would move into a portion of the building by the end of next month. Chair Ready asked what color the school would be. Brief discussion followed there were issues with the stucco and the contractor was fixing some items. The beige color was similar to the original color of the building; however, it was thought it was not very attractive. The members noted there was a hallway, which divided the downstairs which previously was a wall. Mr. Feldman lied that the City found the space for the 5 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 13, 2020 staging and storage in the area around the stage for events. He thought it would be great for a conference or wedding. Mr. Rumpf noted this was the first building to be a stage requiring air conditioning, which ties into the District Energy Plant/System (DEP/DES) which is cooling the building. The chiller was more cost effective to have. The DES is a giant cooling system. Air conditioners have a condensing and coil system and then an air handier to circulate the cold air. It is a two-part process. It is cheaper to have a giant cold water production plant that pipes and circulates the water to the independent systems it was designed to service. The DES creates the cold water and pipes it through insulated conduits to the air handlers in the units, which it is energy efficient. The DES will handle the public buildings in the town Square and other buildings on the campus or surrounding campus. The cost to the end user, in part, will be based on how warm the water is that is sent back to the chiller. The chiller uses an insulated system and there is vey little radiation of heat. A DES could be an option for the Mall Master plan. C. Woman's Club of Boynton Beach — Update on the reroofing and renovation of the City's nationally-registered, 1926 Woman's Club Mr. Rumpf explained they are finishing up contracted work and seeking a tenant or management firm for the building. The CRA and City are both exploring options. He noted the building has parking deficiencies, which is a factor in considering prospective tenants. In order to secure an agreement to use the Woman's Club for a wedding, the renter must have a parking plan. Parking was always a problem. The Florida Surfing Museum is reviewing the building. The Historical Society was also looking for a permanent home. Mr. Rumpf agreed to keep the Board apprised. 6. New Business None. 7. Other 8. Comments by members Chair Ready announced the Historical Society is hosting, with the 1st Presbyterian Church and the Woman's Club, a Highwayman's artist show and sale, Saturday at the Church on SW 6th Avenue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. In February, the Historic Society's next program is the Panther Ridge Conservation Center, which is a big cat rescue in Loxahatchee. 9. Public Comments None. 6 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 13, 2020 10. Announce date of next meeting — March 9, 2020 11. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, Chair Ready adjourned the meeting at 7:46 p.m. J " Catherine herry j Minutes Specialist 4 7