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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-12-17 Historical Commission Minutes Town of Reading ( c I v U � z Meeting Minutes a,.,,M..•�' PM 2: 28 Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Historical Commission Date: 2020-12-17 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Location: Address: Session: Purpose: General Business Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Virginia Adams, Associate (VA) Jonathan Barnes, Chair (JEB) Samantha Couture, Member (SC) Pino D'Orazio, Associate (PD) Amelia Devin Freedman, Secretary (ADF) Sharlene Reynolds Santo, Member (SRS) Members - Not Present: Ron Weston, Associate (RW) Others Present: Julie Mercier (JM) Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Amelia Devin Freedman Topics of Discussion: JM helped SC establish herself as the host of the Zoom meeting and then left. JEB called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM. He appointed VA as a voting member for the evening. SC described the rules for the Zoom meeting. She advised attendees that the meeting was being recorded and that it might be live streamed by RCN, either on television or on YouTube. 16 Eaton Street: JEB asked the project team to join the meeting tonight if they had revised architectural plans to show the Commission; they did not attend. Given that three of the six months of the demolition delay have passed, VA said she was concerned that the project team would sit out the delay instead of negotiating with the RHC. JEB agreed but said the Commission has no recourse if that is what happens. VA said that if the house is lost, the RHC can use the fact as ammunition if the Commission decides to try to extend the demolition delay period. JEB agreed. 531 Main Street: JEB said that the project team was aware of the meeting tonight but would not be attending. The project's attorney, Chris Latham, told JEB that they are waiting for feedback from the CPDC before coming to the RHC again. JEB advised the incoming chair, SC, to let the team know the date of the January meeting. Page 1 1 Utility Box Vinyl Wrap Artwork Project Update: )EB checked with the Treasurer's Office about the first payment for the artist and found that the issue had fallen through the cracks. The Treasurer's Office has since sent the first payment. When the artist received it, he submitted his invoice for the second payment; that check will go out in Tuesday's mail. )EB submitted the grant request for $2000 that the Commission discussed last month. He has not received a decision, but he did get an email asking to whom the check should be made out; he thinks that is a good sign that the application will be approved. He will keep the Commission posted. JEB reported having received a message from Matt Kraunelis in Administrative Services at Town Hall, who said he put pictures of the wrapped utility boxes on the Town's Facebook page. SC said she thought that was good publicity, and JEB agreed. ADF reported having attended a workshop through the Massachusetts Historical Commission, in which towns were advised to make publicity a major tool in their historical preservation work; she said that the wrapped utility boxes might make town residents more invested in the work of the RHC. Demolition Delay Review: JEB suggested the RHC survey local towns to find out how long their demolition delays are, in the hopes of discovering that Reading's delay is shorter than most. VA said she thinks Chris Skelly at Mass Historical probably already has that data. PD located the file online during the discussion. JEB said he would also like to know how other towns encourage owners to preserve rather than demolish historic structures. - In RW's absence, JEB summarized the conservation suggestions RW recently made as follows: (1) to provide the owners of historic properties on the RHC Inventory with monetary assistance for repairs or renovations (for example: construction before 1800 = 30%; before 1850 = 25%; before 1900 = 20%); (2) to provide tax relief for any old Reading property (for example, houses 250 years old and older = 30%; 200 to 249 years old = 25%; 150 to 199 years old = 20%). RHC members were doubtful about the practicality and effectiveness of RW's suggestions. SC said she thought that they would be too costly to the Town to enact, and that more modest numbers might be feasible. JEB agreed. SRS said she did not think the middle of a pandemic is the time to ask the Town for financial concessions. JEB said that these measures wouldn't ensure a given house wouldn't be demolished in the future, either by home owners or by developers to whom home owners might sell. JEB noted that, in the cases of 6 of the 7 historic structures demolished since 2015, they were in various states of disrepair and had been purchased by developers pursuing demolition. PD said the tax credit sounded complicated to put into play, and that the credit would be so low that it probably wouldn't persuade owners not to demolish. JEB asked how the RHC might let potential buyers and new owners of historic structures know that such structures are subject to the demolition delay by-law. He suggested the Commission could send a letter to all new owners, and that their names might be obtained through the Assessor's office. VA said there is a lag of 4-6 months between a sale and when the Assessor gets updated ownership information. SRS said that she thought sellers and realtors might be legally obligated to disclose to potential owners that a house is on the Historical Inventory (and thus subject to the demolition delay by-law). JEB suggested that the RHC research whether this is a legal requirement in Massachusetts. VA said that, in the past, the RHC tried to enlist local realtors to get this information out, but that effort was not successful. JEB said contacting realtors would be difficult since their numbers shift constantly. Page 1 2 SRS said that, in past years, the RHC mailed a notice to the owners of structures on the Inventory. JEB suggested the RHC do so yearly. ADF asked how many houses there are on the Inventory. VA estimated there are 350. PD offered to look up all the houses on the Inventory, perhaps using Zillow, to determine which have new owners. SRS said that PD could use the Assessor's annual list of home owners to accomplish that task; the list is on the Town website. ADF located the file and emailed it to PD during the discussion. SRS and PD discussed how to use the list to find date-of-sale information. PD said he thought he could do the proposed research within a few months; JEB told him to take all the time he needs. JEB asked if the Commission would like to table RW's suggestions; all agreed. SRS said she favors trying to extend the demolition delay period. JEB explained the process of bringing an issue to Town Meeting. Because the spring Town Meeting is focused on the budget, he suggested aiming for November 2021. VA said that the RHC could need to submit all supporting materials to the Select Board at least three months in advance. JEB said the RHC should work on putting together a compelling and well-researched presentation, which all members should attend. He said the members should be aware that trying to persuade Town Meeting to extend the demolition delay period may turn contentious. VA suggested putting the presentation off until November 2022 if the meeting in November 2021 will be held remotely; meeting by Zoom would likely make it hard for the RHC to"read the room" and thus tailor their remarks to the reactions of Town Meeting members. JEB suggested establishing a subcommittee to decide what information needs to be gathered. Finances: Since the RHC no longer has a treasurer, JEB asked who would like to take on the position. SRS asked what the position involves. JEB described the responsibilities and SRS agreed to be nominated. Motion: To nominate SRS as Treasurer of the RHC. JEB motion, VA second; vote: 5-0-0. Administrative Issues: JEB had previously asked JM if there were any filing cabinets at Town Hall available for the RHC's use. JM said she has three in her office in Community Development, and that some cabinet space could be made available for RHC use. She would review further, and Amanda Beatrice will coordinate with the Commission. JEB reported that the Town has now purchased additional Zoom licenses, which means the RHC's meetings can move to Wednesday night starting in January. Archive Policy Review: JEB asked if the group was ready to vote on the draft written by SC. VA said the document should be understood as a living document that will be amended as warranted. SC suggested that a future version could have the referenced forms (such as the gift form) attached to it. Motion: To accept the Archive Policy draft dated December 17, 2020 as amended. JEB motion; SRS second; vote 5-0-0. JEB said he thought the document may need to be submitted to the Town Clerk; he will follow up. New Business: Postmark Square: JEB received an email from David O'Sullivan, asking if he had communicated to JM that the RHC did a walk-through of the property and gave their approval. JEB did so. Page 1 3 "If This House Could Talk" book: Motion: To purchase a hard cover copy of the 3751h Committee's book, "If this House Could Talk." JEB motion, SRS second; vote 5-0-0. SRS will follow up. 27 Hillcrest and 832 Main Street: JEB said he had meant to schedule the public hearing regarding adding these houses to the Historical Inventory. He suggested that the ERHC discuss at the January meeting the scheduling of these public hearings in 2021. Membership Changes: PD asked whether there was any news about the two open positions. JEB said he sent a letter to the Select Board asking them to fill them and was told that the issue would hopefully be on agenda for the SB's January 5 meeting. JEB reached out to the two people who had previously expressed interest in joining the RHC, Tyler D'Ambrosio and Ian O'Leary, to alert them to the vacancies. 320 Haverhill Street: JEB sent a letter to the project team officially approving their application for certain repair and maintenance work per the deed restriction. 186 Summer Avenue: JEB received a letter from the project's Chief Executive Officer, in response to a letter from the RHC, which lists the dates on which the house was visited for evaluation and repair. VA said she had trouble believing the house had been evaluated and repaired as often as the letter claims, but supposed the RHC has to take the applicants at their word. JEB suggested that the RHC should reschedule the site visit, or at least visit the house and look at it from the public way to see if, for example, the roof has been repaired. He also said the Commission should follow up with the applicant when the newest bid cycle has been completed. 25 Haven Street: The RHC has received an application for the demolition of the historic structure at 25 Haven Street. JEB said he thinks the application is incomplete, as the application did not include the required statement of the reasons for the proposed demolition and the data supporting said reasons. SC said the Commission should ask for this information. SC noted that the application lacks a detailed description of what will replace the demolished building. JEB said the RHC can ask for that information when scheduling the demolition delay hearing, and that a detailed description and discussion regarding the proposed reuse is a required component of the public hearing process. JEB will ask Amanda Beatrice at Town Hall to communicate to the project team that their application is incomplete. VA said that the RHC should push the applicant to retain the historic facade in the new construction. Review Minutes: Motion: To accept the minutes for November 11, 2020 as amended. JEB motion, SRS second; vote 5-0-0. Next Meeting Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 7 PM. VA asked who would run the Zoom meeting when SC moves into the Chair position in January. JEB asked PD to do so, and PD agreed. Page 1 4 Adjournment: Motion: To adjourn. ]EB motion, SRS second; vote 5-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:41 PM. Page 1 5