Loading...
Minutes 09-14-20 Minutes of the Historic Resources Preservation Board Meeting Held in the City Hall Community Room 100 E. Ocean Avenue, Boynton Beach, Florida On Monday, September 14, 2020, at 6:30 P.M. Present: Barbara Ready, Chair Mike Rumpf, Board Liaison Thomas Ramiccio Dr. Ben Lowe Michael Wilson Absent: Jesse Feldman Bernard Wright Hollis Tidwell Jerome Small, Alternate 1. Pledge of Allegiance Chair Ready called the meeting to order at 6:32 P.M. 2. Agenda Approval There were no changes to the agenda. Motion Mr. Wilson moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Ramiccio seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. 3. Approval of Minutes — August 10, 2020 This item was deferred to a subsequent meeting. 4. Communications and Announcements A. Boynton Beach Centennial Celebration Mike Rumpf announced this item was on the agenda twice and despite COVID, Eleanor Krusell, Public Communications and Marketing Director, is attempting to have activities for this Board and would present a few options. Discussion ensued about virtual activities. The Centennial celebration could feature a historic property for the public, or the Board could hold a live event such as a short tour of Ocean Avenue featuring historic sites. In Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2020 the past, the City had used a trolley or bus to tour the city, showcasing features such as stained glass. Ms. Krusell sought input from the Board on having some type of activity within the next 90 days. B. Constitution Week September 17th — 23rd Mr. Rumpf announced the City Commission will issue a proclamation recognizing Constitution Week tomorrow night. C. Consideration for Special HRPB meeting in September Mr. Rumpf advised Certified Local Governments (CLG's) have to hold four meetings per year. He requested an exception to the requirement due to COVID and was informed by a state official that when completing the annual report, the Board should document the meetings they had and they will consider it. Mr. Rumpf recommended having a special fourth meeting to protect the City's CLG status. After discussion, there was agreement to hold a short meeting on the 17th at 6:30 P.M. and hopefully, Ms. Krusell could meet with the Board and have further discussion about a Centennial activity. In reference to such an activity, in past years, tours were given by the Historical Society of the Women's Club. Mr. Wilson noted the CRA now owns the building. He asked, if socially distanced and masked, they could tour the Woman's Club because the last time there was a tour of the building there were 40 participants. Mr. Rumpf explained the recent renovations may have created an interest. Chair Ready will reach out to the Historical Society President and further suggested giving a tour of the Women's Club, Cultural Center and the Schoolhouse Children's Museum. Mike Rumpf suggested keeping the tours simple. There could be a host at each building and light refreshments. The CRA could help with the Women's Club and Colin Groff, Assistant City Manager, may be able to help with the other two. Chair Ready asked about parking and was informed there would be plenty of parking. Mr. Wilson queried if the Cultural Center would be available and in ready condition for the public to tour, noting they were continuing work on the north side of the building. Chair Ready supported the three tours. Mr. Wilson's concern was if an accident occurred on the tour. 5. Old Business: A. Boynton High School (nka the Cultural Center) — Status on renovation project and plans for occupancy and use. Mr. Rumpf reported the Cultural Center was nearing completion and the City has been working very hard to resolve technical issues at the facility before substantial completion. They have solutions and should be reaching that point very soon. Chair Ready queried if there was any discussion of a grand reopening. Mr. Rumpf thought there would be in conjunction with Centennial events. All facilities will have ribbon-cutting, grand openings. She commented a lot of people are waiting for the facility to open. 2 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2020 B. Woman's Club of Boynton Beach — Update on the renovation of the City's nationally-registered, 1926 Woman's Club (see accompanying combined staff report for update). Mr. Rumpf commented parking and pedestrian access to the Women's Club has been an issue. The CRA staff has been managing the building, but it will be conveyed to the City and there is a consideration of using parking at the Senior Center across the street for the Woman's Club is they can develop a safe pedestrian access. He also advised there was a corridor study by Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and it was hoped they could generate some recommendations, which the City is pursuing. C. Historic Trail Markers — Status of replacing damaged and removed trail markers. Some of the; markers are old and faded including the QR Codes The Downtown Trail has 30 different sites with nine of them having an information board or kiosk that contains information on the property and links to Quick Response (QR) Codes. The QR Codes have been discontinued for now and the kiosks are not in good shape and have been removed or damaged. The City is planning to replace them and possibly upgrade them to withstand the weather better. Mr. Rumpf reported they may purchase them in phases because there is less investment. The signs are not terribly expensive, but funding is limited. Chair Ready thought the signs could be created by the Public Works Department, as they have a machine that makes signs. Mr. Rumpf did not think they could help due to the detail needed on the signs but will conduct further research. Dr. Lowe noted the tour was obsolete and suggested updating the trail before the sign replacements take place and that the maps on the website reflect the new Town Square and City Hall. D. Historic plaques for designated properties — Status of establishing a marker program for designated properties. Mr. Rumpf explained the narrative in the staff report and gave background information on the plaques. He suggested if they have a special meeting, they could discuss them then. Chair Ready recalled the discussion got to the point about changing the logo, the bridge, the tree and the Old High School, which would have much simpler graphic components. Mr. Wilson commented they discussed the tree and asked if a decision was made whether to use the tree or school. Mr. Rumpf recalled that when the City Hall moved a few months of time was lost and then the pandemic arrived. Various examples of plaques were viewed and Mr. Rumpf advised which plaque was the most affordable. Using a better quality graphic would not cost that much more and Mr. Rumpf found someone in his department that could help. It was thought using a more geometric image than a curvy image may be less expensive. The former vendor representative is no longer there. The company has reached out to Mr. Rumpf to work directly with the company. Chair Ready suggested addressing the item on Thursday. 3 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2020 E. Website Resource — Status of website information for public access to property designations and resources. Mr. Rumpf advised there is information that needs to be updated on the website. The website information created under a grant from the State, is separate. It is attached and the link is weak. He met with IT and the network administrator and they came up with areas of improvement and needed updates. They will talk about a stronger link to preserve its character, improving user friendliness, pictures, title and graphs. Chair Ready asked about the status of the virtual tour of MLK Jr. Boulevard, noting there was a grant received for the project. Mr. Rumpf explained some of the monies were not spent and were returned to the State. The previous Historic Preservation Planner, Warren Adams, was underwhelmed by the community's contribution, in spite of his outreach. Mr. Adams put an extensive amount of time into the project. Chair Ready agreed it would have been a good project, but the community did not provide pictures or input. Mr. Wilson and Dr. Lowe talked about using interns from FAU and offered they could be used for the project by contacting residents to provide a history. Mr. Rumpf thought it would also showcase the Historic Preservation program. The Carolyn Sims Center has some pictures and there are pictures on the website, but it could be a public forum to obtain more information. Mr. Wilson noted years ago, the Historical Society invited individuals to provide oral histories. He thought perhaps something like that could be done. The City has a new portable scanner that could make copies of any photographs provided. Chair Ready thought that could be part of the Centennial as some people would attend. She suggested involving the clergy to spread the word and offering light refreshments may also help to obtain a response. Dr. Lowe explained the interns in the Public History program at FAU are pretty well established. The head of the Internship program, Sandra Norman, was willing to come to the meeting to talk about local and oral histories and all of the intern projects are professionally done. Dr. Norman could find someone in the neighborhood and have an intern interview them. They have conducted similar interviews in Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Lake Worth. He thought Boynton Beach was behind the curve and that a City this size should utilize the resources in their own back yard. He commented they need a dedicated Historic Preservationist and some of the City Commissioners should attend these meetings. Dr. Norman could talk to them and explain the importance of the position. The City has lost many historic properties over the last 25 years, but without a program, they did not have a way to have anything preserved. A program would be too much for an intern and he understood there is a pandemic. He noted the mayor went to a Sister Cities town. He questioned why not come to a Historic Preservation meeting, and he expressed his frustration. Once a structure is gone, they cannot get it back. There needs to be a systemic program put in place quickly to save properties that are substantial. He contended the Board should not let the preservation efforts end with the Old High School. They may forget how original plats were designed, but when one forgets their past, history repeats itself. Chair Ready suggested they discuss it on Thursday and they develop a list of what to do next. She supported having 4 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2020 a district designated, comprised of perhaps six homes. It was important for the Board to prove a designated planner is needed. Mr. Ramiccio acknowledged it was too late to budget for a planner for the 20/21 fiscal year, but they should be more vocal to the City Commission. There is an educational aspect to the program, which begins with staff and goes on to the Commission for funding. The Board should identify what they need. Dr. Lowe commented Dr. Norman has a lot of ideas and she has set up programs in schools. He reiterated the survey is 25 years old and it should be updated every year. The downtown will be developed further and it was very important for the Board to say what structures they need to keep. Mr. Ramiccio commented the zoning changes will dictate what will be here in the next few years. Dr. Lowe requested if the members know of an older person in the City that could provide an oral history, they should contact him and he would pass on the name to Dr. Norman. The interview and program is free and it is actually a student project. Janet Naughton, former Library Archivist, did one in the late 90's. 6. New Business: A. None 7. Other A. Centennial Celebration support — can discuss on Thursday 8. Comments by members Dr. Lowe distributed a comprehensive survey. Research Atlantic was the consultant for many cities including Palm Beach and there was an analysis of structures eligible for local and national designation. The information was used to spin off the Historic Preservation Program. Mr. Wilson commented he was always interested in the Lyman family and the Lyman Docks. He gave a history of the family and thought the Board could do something honoring the docks. The docks encompass the area from Two Georges to the Promenade walkway. In the late 70's the Lyman's sold the property to the Hall family and the area became known as the Seamist Marina. The small northern section predated the sea mist. Mr. Rumpf commented there was a book. 9. Public comments None. 10.Announce date of next meeting — TBD 11.Adjournment 5 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2020 Motion There being no further business to discuss, Chair Ready adjourned the meeting at 7:48 P.M. C1J, ji.QAAt Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist. 6