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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-16 Historical Commission Minutes r RECEIVED Town of Reading TOWN CLERK Meeting Minutes READING, A. 6�_.,,,,�op,o• 2821 JUL -8 PM 1: 38 Board - committee - commission - council: Historical Commission Date: 2021-06-16 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Conference Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: General Business Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Virginia Adams, Associate (VA) Jonathan Bames, Member (JEB) Samantha Couture, Chair (SC) Pino D'Orazio, Member (PD) Amelia Devin Freedman, Secretary (ADF) Sharlene Reynolds Santo, Treasurer (SRS) Members - Not Present: N/A Others Present: Everett Blodgett (EB) Will Finch (WF) Saverio Fulcinti (SF) Chris Latham (CL) Rob Paccione (RP) Phillmore Phillip II (PP) Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Amelia Devin Freedman Topics of Discussion: SC called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM. 531 Main Street: SC called the public hearing to order. JEB read the legal notice,and clarified that the evening's meeting was in-person at Town Hall rather than via Zoom and that the demolition was proposed as a full demolition rather than partial. CL described the project,which involves demolishing the 1929 Chronicle Budding to make way for a three story,40R Smart Growth,mixed use building. RP displayed architectural drawings of the proposed building. CL said that the project team plans to honor the historic building in the following ways: (1) by naming the new building"The Chronicle";(2)by installing a historic marker outside the budding,on the Main Street sidewalk;(3)by affixing a bronze historical marker to the exterior of the budding,and(4)by installing an interior historic display that will be visible from outside the building. CL said the team would appreciate the assistance of the RHC in developing the historical materials and designing their display;SF agreed. Page 1 1 SC read the architectural description and a historical narrative about 531 Main Street,as they appear on the Massachusetts Historical Commission's "Form B." SC opened the hearing for public input but there was none. SC asked the members of the RHC if they had any questions. JEB asked whether the exterior markers were meant to take the place of the interior display discussed in previous meetings. SF said no,that they plan both internal and external displays. ADF asked how big the panes of glass would be in the window through which the interior display is meant to be viewed. RP said they would be about 8.5 x 11 inches. ADF suggested larger panes might make the display more visible. PD said he thought the external marker and plaque would be more effective than the internal display. VA asked about the size of the canopy over the door and the coating on the glass of the display windows. JEB asked if the signage would be illuminated. VA commended the team for reducing the scale of the building from their original proposal. JEB complimented the team on their design,but he remarked that it was important to recognize that the Town is about to lose one of its historic structures. SC dosed the public hearing. Motion. The presented information is sufficient to make a final determination on the requested demolition of the structure at 531 Main Street,and that the Public Hearing be dosed. SC motion,JEB second;vote 5-0-0. Motion The loss of the structure at 531 Main Street would be detrimental to the Town under the purposes of the bylaw(7.2.1) and that a Demolition Delay of up to six(6) months be imposed beginning on June 15,2021. SC motion,JEB second;vote: 5-0-0. SC will send a letter to the Building Inspector,to inform him that the Commission voted to impose a demolition delay of up to six months. CL circulated a draft of the agreement to lift the demolition delay,which he wrote,and which was based upon an early release draft agreement previously provided by JEB following an earlier RHC meeting. VA said she would like to see more detail about the historical marker,plaque,and display before she agrees to lift the demolition delay;she is anxious to preserve the RHC's influence over the design of the historical elements. RP said he thought that too many details in the agreement would impose restrictions on the final design. JEB suggested an arrangement and agreement like that used with the historical display at the 24 Gould Street project,where the parties agreed to collaborate and work together in developing the details for the historical marker,plaque,and interior display. CL said that the project team has,and has had all along,good intentions about honoring the historic structure;they fully intend to collaborate with the RHC so that the final displays satisfy the Commission. RP suggested that they could make design tweaks even after the building is completed. CL asked if the agreement draft could be finalized that night. ADF said she felt rushed by that suggestion,and that she thought the RHC needed time to consider the language carefully. SF said that a demolition delay that lasts the entire six months would have"economic effects" on the project. SC suggested that the RHC and the project team work out the language by email,with the goal of voting on a finalized agreement at the next meeting of the RHC,on July 7. All agreed. Parker Tavern:EB,representing the Antiquarian Society,proposed building an informational kiosk at Parker Tavern. Because Parker Tavern is on the Inventory,he asked for the RHC's permission to Page 12 install it. He said he had designed the proposed kiosk to complement the historic structure. He discussed the materials he plans to use,and where he would install it on the Parker Tavern property. SC asked what sort of information the kiosk would display. EB said the display would include different kinds of historical information about the site and the Town,and that the display would change frequently. Motiom. To approve the rendition of the informational kiosk as displayed at this meeting,and to write a letter of support for the use of the Antiquarian Society. JEB motion,SRS second;vote 5-0-0. CATO,the Coalition of Us:PP described his project as having come out of his 12 years as a Black METCO (The Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity) student from Boston who attended Reading Public Schools. He said that,in his experience,white Reading residents are hesitant to talk about race and some may be unfamiliar with Reading's history including enslaved and free African American residents in town. His overall goal is to create more awareness and conversation about`Black information"among Reading residents. PP also described the historical walking tour he and his team recently conducted,about the history of enslaved people in Reading at the time of the Revolutionary War;the basis of the tour was two Reackng Cbroniele articles on the same topic written by Reading Memorial High School (RMHS) history teacher Megan Howie and (now) former RMHS history teacher Kara Gleason. ADF asked how the RHC can help CATO. She suggested that the Town Archives may contain historical material to which Ms.Howie and Ms. Gleason may not have had access during their initial research. VA agreed,and said the Archives contain the minutes of a women's abolitionist group that was active in Reading around the time of the Civil War. EB said he thought those minutes were in the hands of the Antiquarian Society. ADF asked PP who his researchers are. PP said Ms. Howie and Ms. Gleason. ADF will contact them to arrange access to the Archives and the holdings of the Antiquarian Society. Lob's Pond Mill Site:WF reported that a granite block from the historic Mill Street Bridge foundation was,apparently,pushed into the water at the Lob's Pound Mill Site in August 2020. He has contacted the Reading and North Reading Departments of Public Works but no repair has taken place yet. He brought this issue to the attention of the RHC because the site is on the Inventory. The granite blocks in the bridge foundation were originally a part of the historic structures on the historic site which included Reading's IT"century sawmill and gust mill and its former 1890's waterworks plant. JEB said he thought that the damage undermines the historical integrity of the site,and that the RHC should get involved. JEB will draft a letter and send it to SC so she can send it to the appropriate entities at Town Hall. VA suggested including pictures with the letter. 186 Summer Avenue: ADF circulated a draft letter to Criterion in advance. The letter asks for a meeting with the Criterion team about the deteriorating conditions of the historic structures at 186 Summer Avenue in the light of the Preservation Restriction Agreement(PRA). ADF said that the Historic District Commission (HDC) and Town Counsel (TC) have already approved the draft and asked the RHC to do the same. All agreed. ADF will send the letter to Amanda Beatrice,Senior Administrative Assistant,for mailing. PD,who is the current HDC chair,reported that Town Counsel is drafting a letter for the RHC and the HDC about the possible legal options available to the two Commissions for compelling Criterion to fulfill the terms of the PRA. After this letter arrives,he suggests the two Commissions meet jointly,possibly with TC as well,to prepare for the meeting with Criterion. Page 1 3 JEB expressed concern about discussing possible legal action in a public meeting. He wondered whether the Commissions would be able to meet and discuss the issue in executive session,or whether this would violate the state's Open Meeting Laws (OML). ADF will send this question to TC via Julie Mercier,Community Development Director,in the hope that it will be covered in the letter under preparation. 25 Haven Street: SC reported that the demolition delay hearing will take place on July 7. 24 Gould Street: SC will contact Dave Traggorth to ask about his team's progress on the historical display planned for the community event space. Utility Box Wrap Artwork Project:JEB explained that the damage recently discovered to one of the wrapped boxes is not a result of vandalism. Rather,that box contains a heating element which has damaged the wrap from the inside. With the help of Ms. Mercier,JEB connected with Alex Rozycki,Senior Civil Engineer in the Engineering Division. Mr.Rozycki will investigate possible solutions. JEB also spoke to the artist,Franklin Marval,who said it is likely that he can repair the wrap but,depending on the extent of repair necessary,it may involve a cost. SC said that she had not heard back from Andrew MacNichol,Staff Planner,about which utility boxes he intends to use for his"Outside the Box"Mural project. JEB suggested she inform Mr. MacNichol which boxes the RHC intends to use for the two new wraps. Now that Town Hall has reopened,he also said that someone will need to go to the Archives soon to choose pictures for the two new box wraps. ADF suggested the RHC might develop a walking tour of all the wrapped boxes once Mr. Marval has completed the two new boxes. Merit Certificates and Bronze Plaques: SC reported that the project teams from both the Postmark and Schoolhouse Condominiums have accepted the RHC's Merit Certificates. JEB will now arrange for Franklin Bronze Plaques to manufacture them. JEB said that he spoke to the Treasurer's Office,and he learned that the RHC does not need to encumber the fonds from this fiscal year's budget to pay for the plaques in the next fiscal year,if the purchase order is obtained before the end of the fiscal year. JEB said Ms.Beatrice is already in the process of obtaining the purchase order before June 3&. Certificate of Appreciation for Past Members: SC said she has been unable to find the posters in the Archives that the RHC meant to give to the past members Ron Weston and Jack Williams. Inventory Additions:JEB spoke to Peter Stott at Mass Historical about the RHC's recent additions to the Inventory and having them also accepted by Mass Histoacal.Mr. Stott has asked the RHC to complete the Form Be fully before Mass Historical will adopt them. VA will follow up. After VA has completed the forms,they will need to go to Eileen Barrett,the local historical librarian at the Reading Public Library(RPL),for inclusion in the RPL's files;ADF will handle that. SC will update the copy of the Inventory that is on the HDC's webpage on the Town's website. Town Archive:VA reported that Ms.Beatrice checked the Archives after the recent water leak at Town Hall but found no damage. Given that it is now]une,she said that someone needs to set the air conditioner and switch on the dehumidifier. SC will follow up. JEB brought a copy of the recent article in The Readings about the utility box wrap artwork project to donate to the Archives. Page 14 SC reported communicating with Ms.Beatrice about how Ms.Beatrice might organize the RHC's files on the Town server;RHC members would also use this system to organize the computer in the Archives. SC said she would also ask Ms.Beatrice for the current code for the door to access the Archives. Finances:SC received a check from EB for the purchase of several copies of Rea&ng's Colonia! Roofbees. She will tum it over to SRS for deposit. Given the involvement of RMHS students in the recent CATO tote,ADF suggested the RHC consider establishing a college scholarship to encourage the study of history among young residents. She reported that the RMHS gives"book awards"to rising seniors,which include scholarship money if the student goes on to enroll at a donor-designated institution. ADF referred to the trend in contemporary American higher education of students choosing STEM(science,technology, engineering,and mathematics)majors with the goal of gaining lucrative,postgraduation employment;this trend sidelines the study of history. She said she thought a scholarship could be a way to help produce future RHC members. JEB said that he thought funding a scholarship would go beyond the RHC's mission. VA pointed out that there are restrictions on how the Commission spends the money from some of its bank accounts. As an alternative,ADF suggested the RHC give a certificate to a RMHS student rather than a scholarship. Even if this does not include money,she thought it might encourage students to study history in college because RMHS gives the awards publicly. She will broach the matter with Ms. Howie when communicating with her about CATO research. SC asked SRS to investigate which bank accounts the RHC might use to fund a scholarship. SRS will follow up. New Business: ArqReading:VA received a letter from Arts Reading that next year's membership dues were due on June 1. Modorz To authorize$50 for payment of next year's Arts Reading membership dues. SRS motion,PD second;vote 5-0-0. House M rkers:SC reported that the Commission has received some applications for historic house markers from Inventory owners. She will send them to Markarian Sign Company for manufacture. Memorial P rk Tree Project:VA reported that she has been in touch with Paul Scharr about the research she has done for his project thus far. Specifically,she said she reviewed Town Annual Reports for the years from 1918 to 1933 but found no reference to the trees having been planted. Past Minutes: Motion:To accept the minutes of May 12,2021 as amended. SC motion,JEB second;vote 5-0-0. Next Meeting.Wednesday,July 7 at 7 P.M. Adjournment: Modorc to adjourn SC motion,SRS second;vote 5-0-0. Page 5 The meeting adjomned at 10:04 P.M. P.Q.1 6