HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-05-05 Historical Commission Minuteso rc
_ Town of Reading
I ,I Meeting Minutes
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Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
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Historical Commission May 05, 2015
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Date: 2015 -05 -05 Time: 7:30 PM
Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Town Hall Conference Room
Address: 16 Lowell Street
Purpose: Regularly scheduled meeting
Attendees: Members - Present:
Chair: Sharlene Reynolds Santo (SRS)
Treasurer:
Secretary: Carl Mittnight (CM)
Nancy Kohl (NK), Virginia Adams (VA)
Jonathan Barnes (JEB), Ron Weston (RW)
Members - Not Present:
Robyn Parker (RP), Sally Hilgendorff (SH)
Others Present:
David P. Johnson (DPI), Contractor
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Carl Mittnight
Topics of Discussion:
Sub"ect
Discussion
Action Items
Rasp,
May 5, 2015 Meeting
96 John St
The RHC conducted a site visit at 6:30 prior to the RHC
meeting at 7:30 pm.
Call to Order
May 5, 2014 at 7:30 pm.
Minutes
Reviewed meeting minutes; approved as amended for
File with clerk
CM
meetings held on 4/14/15, 04/16/15 and 04/22/15.
Budget
JEB reported that Town Meeting had approved the RHC
FY2016 budget, which included an increase to $1,500.
Archives
No updates.
116 Lowell St
DPJ presented his findings on the historical aspects of the
house in addition to a cost estimate for moving the existing
home to a different place on the same lot. A site visit is
scheduled for May 12, 2015, to be confirmed by DPJ.
96 John St
The Hearing is scheduled for May 19, 2015. The RHC
Barn only)
discussed the procedures for conducting the Hearing..
32 Lincoln St
The owners asked the RHC if there were any restrictions on
(Reading
painting the Depot building. SRS responded by giving a copy
Depot)
of the deed restrictions to the owner.
119 Salem St
SRS sent an email to the owners to ask if the RHC could
Follow up email
SRS
conduct a site visit on the parts of the building that were not
available at the previous RHC site visit. There has been no
response as of yet.
186 Summer
The Reading Local Historic District Commission voted
Ave
unanimously to deny a Certificate of Appropriateness to
Criterion because of inappropriate mass, scale, and setting.
A Hearing for a Certificate of Hardship will be held on June
17, 2015.
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May 5, 2015 Meeting
Town
Town Meeting approved a bylaw allowing for Associate
Meeting:
Members and allowing Associate Members to vote should not
Associate
enough full Members be available. The full text of the bylaw
Members/
can be found on the Reading town website.
Voting
MF Charles
The building was not awarded the Massachusetts Historical
Building
Commission's 2015 Preservation Award.
RHC 2015
• SRS moved to grant the owners of the MF Charles
Preservation
Building, the Reading Historical Commission's 2015
Award
Preservation Award, RW seconded, Vote was 3 -0 in favor.
• SRS moved to spend up to $500 on a plaque for the
Preservation Award, CM seconded, Vote was 3 -0 in favor.
New
SRS reviewed the new form.
Expenditure
Form
Plaque
SRS moved to pay $156.40 in mailing costs, for the Plaque
Program
Program flyers, from the RHC budget, RW seconded, Vote
was 3 -0 in favor.
Reimburse
SRS moved to pay VA $5.15 for photo printing, RW
seconded, Vote was 3 -0 in favor.
"At Wood
The Hitching Post sold 6 copies of the book and gave $125
End"
proceeds to VA to replenish the Celebration Trust funds. VA
also provided 6 additional copies to sell at the Hitching Post.
Demolition
JEB is reviewing bylaws in neighboring towns addressing
by Neglect
"demolition by neglect" of historically significant structures,
and will provide draft language for RHC consideration for a
possible future Town Meeting.
Demolition
• The workshop will be held on May 27, 2015 at Reading's
Delay
Pleasant Street Center from 4 to 6 pm. VA sent out email
Workshop
invitations to the Historical Commissions in neighboring
communities and has heard back from two so far.
• SRS moved to spend up to $50 on refreshments of the
workshop, CM seconded, Vote was 3 -0 in favor.
RHC email
The distribution list for the RHC's email address still does not
Have the list
CM
include all RHC members.
u dated.
Reading Post
A potential buyer for the Post Office has indicated that they
Office
plan to keep and restore the building. No more definitive
information was available at the time of this RHC meeting.
Adjourned
The meeting adjourned at 10:05 pm.
Next Meeting
May 12, 2015 at 6:30 pm — 116 Lowell St site visit
May 19, 2015 at 7:30 pm — Demolition Delay Hearing for barn at 96 John St
May 27, 2014 at 4:00 to 6:00 pm — Demolition Delay Workshop
June 16, 2015 at 7:30 pm — Regularly scheduled RHC meeting
Copies of referenced correspondence and documents are kept in Meeting Minutes binder and relevant project
folders located in the Reading Historical Commission Archives, lower level of the Reading Town Hall
Preservation only works when we remember it is all about: People — Planning — Partnerships — Politics.
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