Minutes - 2011 - Historic Preservation Commission - 03/09/2011 - Regular EAGLE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Minutes of March 9, 2011
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:35 pm.
Roll Call and Introductions: Commissioners Frank Thomason, Karianne Fallow, Pam Kelch and Diane Scott
were present. Museum Curator Laurie Baker was also present. Commissioner Nancy Suiter has submitted her
letter of resignation from the Commission and we now have one opening.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Approval of Minutes: Three changes were made to the February 9th minutes. Commissioner Fallow then
moved to approve the minutes as modified and the motion was seconded. Motion carried.
Orville Jackson Building: The"lounge/entertainment center"was approved by the City Council at their
February 22 meeting. There was a tie vote between the councilmen at that time, with Council members Grasser
and Semanko voting for the entertainment center and Council members Huffaker and Shoushtarian voting
against it. Mayor Reynolds cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of allowing it.
Important to the vote was the amended motion made by Councilman Semanko that requires the applicant,Bill
McCarrel,to consult with the EHPC to protect the historicity of the building and its extant artifacts to the extent
possible. Bill Vaughan, Zoning Administrator,requested that Mr. McCarrel produce a letter stating very
generally that he will abide by the condition of the approval. That letter was sent to EHPC Chair Frank
Thomason who, in turn, sent it via email to the museum for the curator to forward to the rest of the
commissioners.
It was determined by the commissioners at this meeting that they wish to retain and/or maintain, either on site or
displayed at the museum via donation and/or loan, any historically relevant items that might be present in the
building to date. To this end, Commissioner Fallow will collect from the other commissioners' their
expectations to be included in a letter request to Mr. McCarrel.
Eagle Register of Historic Sites: Progress continues in formatting the currently collected information into a
consistent form. We believe strongly that we should make a presentation to the City Council about this
progress,beginning with three to five properties at a time,thereby raising awareness of the historical
importance of these sites both for the attendant public and our elected officials. This can either be done at pre-
Council (though the general public does not attend this meeting)or during a regular bi-weekly Council meeting.
We believe the first of these presentations should take place sometime during the month of May, which has
been deemed Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month by the Idaho State Historical Society.
Commissioner Fallow offered to make a Power Point slide show to be used during the presentation and it was
agreed that Commissioner Kelch should make the presentation.
Historic Commission Bylaws: Commissioner Thomason is going to have the City of Meridian send an
electronic version of their commission's bylaws so that we might draw on those to write our own. The curator is
also going to check with her supervisor on a possible re-branding/re-naming of the commission to "Preservation
Eagle." She will also check on the minimum and maximum number of commissioners allowed by ordinance so
that we might consider increasing the commission to seven,rather than five,members.
Fundraising and Outreach: The commission concluded that we need to have a line-item mechanism where
we can deposit money raised to cover outreach, education, and awareness activities. It was noted that we can
sell Arthur Hart's book,Life in Eagle, Idaho, at upcoming events, including Preservation Month programs in
May. We also discussed a walking tour and a Halloween night activity at Dry Creek Cemetery. The curator will
check on the budget line item process with City Clerk Sharon Bergmann. We will also have a donation jar at the
events to be held during Preservation Month.
Conflict of Interest Issues: The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)recently emailed a conflict of
interest document for review by each commissioner. It was noted this should be read by each of the
commissioners and any questions that might arise could be directed to SHPO. In the meantime, each
commissioner read, sign, and return their copy to the museum so that it might be filed in the appropriate
commission file.
Idaho Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month: The community room at the Eagle Public Library has
been tentatively reserved for May 4 and May 18 for presentations associated with Archaeology and Historic
Preservation month. Commissioner Fallow will secure speakers for each of the events and she and the curator
will work, respectively,with SHPO on announcing the events state wide and the library with local publicity,
refreshments, and other logistical concerns.
NEW BUSINESS
AASLH Leadership in History Award: Though the deadline has passed for nominations for 2011,the
commission supports a nomination for this award in 2012. The plan is to nominate Commissioner Kelch's work
on the Eagle Historic Sites Register.
Commission Ordinance Changes: The curator will speak with her supervisor, City Clerk Sharon Bergmann,
about the process/approvals required to change our name to"Preservation Eagle."We believe that this will help
to alleviate ongoing confusion regarding our nearly constant mislabeling as the Eagle Historical Society while,
at the same time, giving us a more modern brand.
Commissioner Vacancy: With Nancy Suiter's resignation we now have an open position on the commission.
The curator will look into the process that must be followed to fill that seat. She believes a letter of interest,
resume, and Request for Appointment form are the basics needed and has already talked with a couple of people
who might be interested or have already expressed an interest.
Volunteer Recognition: The commission believes it should host a Volunteer Recognition for the volunteers
who contribute time to performing various functions at the museum. We hope to do this at a City Council venue
and hand out recognition certificates at that time.
Adjournment: There being no further business,the meeting adjourned at 6:40 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Karianne Fallow, Secretary pro tem
Appproved
Frank Thomason, Chair
Sharon Bergman, City Clerk