Minutes - 2007 - Historic Preservation Commission - 06/14/2007 - RegularAY/2'5 7 i �C . . C_sr'i { a..- `ram a t" Cor�rir >6 s.
THE EAGLE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
MINUTES FROM THE MEETING OF: June 14, 2007
The meeting was called to order at 6:12 p.m. by Chairman Jason Pierce.
Roll Call: Commission members attending were: Jason Pierce, Betty Fisher, Weldon Fisher and
Kay Madary. Also attending were Laurie Baker, Curator, and guest Nancy Suiter, prospective
Commissioner.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Approval of Minutes: Weldon made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 10, 2007
Commission meeting and Kay seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved.
Approval of Expenditures: There were a number of expenditures during the last half of May
and the early part of June. Two, one for the Idaho State Historical Society and the other for
AASLH, were for staff training. The first covered the CAMP (Commission Assistance and
Mentoring Program) Training attended by the Curator on June 1 and 2, and the second was for
the AASLH sponsored online Basics of Archives course currently being taken by the Curator.
With the exception of an overdue payment to the :Eagle Chamber of Commerce for calendar year
2007 membership dues, the remaining expenses re volved around story board exhibit supplies and
regular office supplies. Kay made a motion that the expenditures be approved, Betty seconded
the motion and the expenditures were approved unanimously.
Curator's Report: As their were no questions regarding the Curator's Report, the Curator used
that discussion point to hand out the Eagle Auto Fest sponsorship packets that she had prepared
for three members of the Commission so that they might begin seeking sponsors for the Auto
Fest. The packets include a Sponsor Check Sheet, a "Show 'n Shine" flyer, a Sponsor's Check
List and a Sponsor Commitment Form. The packets were divided by region and by numbers of
businesses. The end result was a packet for businesses on E. State St. (Betty), one for businesses
on W. State St. and those few north of Hwy 44/55 that were not specifically on E. State St. (Kay)
and then those south of Hwy 44/55 (Jason).
Update — Car Show: The Curator noted that on May 24, 2007, Barbara Burton had notified her
that the Eagle Arts Commission had decided to sponsor the music for the Auto Fest despite their
initial decision not to do so. Jason then commented that this did not mean that the Saturday
market and the auto show were "sharing" musicians that would be moved from their regular
market location to the Gazebo, but rather that there would be two separate groups performing,
one at the regular Saturday market location and one in the Gazebo.
2007/2008 Budget: The Curator handed out the Latest version of the proposed 2007/2008 budget
which was amended on June 12, 2007 to reflect the proposed 2% COLA and 11/2% merit increase
proposed by the City Council. She quickly reviewed some of the more outstanding headings,
specifically the increases in salary and benefits based on full-time employment, the need for
climate -controlled storage and the reasons behind inserting a line item regarding facility rental
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costs. This led to a discussion re Jason's having approached Betty about the possibility of her
selling her historic home to the city to be used to house both the museum and the Chamber of
Commerce. This would serve to both protect the :home and provide a "historic' environment in
which to house the museum's collections. Everyone agreed this seemed like a good idea and
encouraged Jason to continue pursuing that facility option.
, Commissioner Vacancy: The Curator took this opportunity to formally talk about Nancy's
nomination to the vacant Commission chair. She talked a bit about Nancy's background and
noted that she was submitting a memo to the City Council re her belief that Nancy should be
formally appointed to the Commission as required by ordinance so that it might appear on the
next Council agenda. Kay also indicated that as soon as the appointment was official, the
Curator should submit a press release about Nancy and her appointment to the Treasure Valley
Journal and she would be happy to include it in the pending edition.
Training Opportunities: The Curator reported that she attended CAMP Training on June 1 and
2, sponsored by the Idaho State Historical Society and presented by the National Alliance of
Preservation Commissions. It both introduced her to some new preservation concepts and served
as a "jump-start" in helping her to recall some of the historic preservation issues she had studied
while pursuing her Master's way back in 1987! She also noted that, if the training were to be
offered again next year, it would be beneficial to send Jason as the discussions and lessons were
really designed for commissioners themselves and not necessarily staff.
NEW BUSINESS:
Eagle Arts Commission Bench Project: The Curator took this opportunity to explain that the
small bench that had originally sat in front of the museum and Chamber had just recently been
replaced by a much larger, more rustic walnut bench that had been designed as a part of the Art
Commission's bench project. Of the benches still available for placement when she first spoke
with Barbara Burton re the museum offering one "a home," this one seemed the most appropriate
as it had a true "history" behind it. A large walnut tree used to stand in front of the First Baptist
Church and, when it became diseased, it had to be chopped down. Its trunk was rescued by a
local wood smith and the new bench is the result. Eventually, the museum hopes to commission
a plaque to place over it on the outside wall telling this brief story. Several Commissioners also
noted that the museum should have literature to distribute about the bench project --most notably
a walking map --and the Curator said she would ask Barbara if such a pamphlet existed or was in
the making.
Vendor Booths: On June 5, Teri Bath of the Eagle Chamber spoke with the Curator about a
possible income -generating possibility involving commercial vendor booths similar to the
"amateur" booths displaying wares at the Saturday Market. These booths--2 to 3 depending on
space --could set up on the museum/Chamber's front porch for a modest rental fee (which would
go to the museum) and thereby have access to the folks attending the Saturday Market. Teri had
briefly mentioned this possibility to the Mayor during a short meeting and the Mayor seemed to
support the idea.
When brought before the Commission, a few concerns were aired. When asked about what
kinds of businesses were interested in doing this, the Curator mentioned Zeppole Village Bistro.
Jason noted Zeppole's location south of the Hwy 44/55 corridor and wondered if the core
downtown businesses might not consider this an intrusion. Kay also noted that this would serve
to bring Zeppole's into direct competition with the Wild West Bakery, which is right next to the
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museum, thereby causing some possible dissension. Without mentioning any other possible
vendors, the Curator told the Commissioners that she would take these concerns to Teri and that
further discussion would be postponed until a later date.
O.F. Short Home/New Construction: A large new office building is being constructed on the
property that borders the site of the O.F. Short home at 550 W. State St. (Hwy 44). This is a
large, landmark house faced entirely with river cobble and it sits at the rear of an extremely deep
lot and at one time played host to a prune orchard and packing shed. Weldon is interested in the
museum's making this a feature in a then -and -now exhibit as well as perhaps having the owner of
the new building display a historic site plaque somewhere on the premises of the new office
structure or even a small display about the former use of the land and the site. The Curator
agreed to look into this and will report back at the next meeting.
Regular feature for Treasure Valley Journal: Kay mentioned that Geneva Trent, the former
Curator, is no longer going to contribute a monthly history article to the Journal and wondered if
the current Curator would be willing to take on that responsibility. The Curator said this would
be no problem so long as the attribution would be '''Laurie Baker, Curator, Eagle Historical
Museum," thereby bringing the compositions withal the parameters of her job. Kay agreed to
this and the first article will be submitted for the issue to be published on July 15. All articles
should be approximately 500 words long and will probably mirror the work done for the given
month's story board displays.
Adjournment:
There being to other business, Kay moved and Beatty seconded that the meeting be adjourned.
Approved unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 7:48 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kay Madary, Secretary
Approved on
Jason Pierce, Chairman Sharon Bergmann, City Clerk
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