Historic District Minutes 8-17-17

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION August 17, 2017 The Regular Meeting of the City of Dover Historic District Commission was held on Thursday, August 17, 2017 at 3:00 PM with Chairman McDaniel presiding. Members present were Chairman McDaniel, Mr. Czerwinski, and Ms. Horsey. Mr. Scrafford and Mr. Jackson were absent. Planning Office Staff members present were Mrs. Melson-Williams, Mr. Hugg and Mrs. Purnell. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ms. Horsey moved for approval of the agenda as submitted, seconded by Mr. Czerwinski and the motion was unanimously carried 3-0. Mr. Scrafford and Mr. Jackson were absent. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MEETING OF JUNE 15, 2017 Ms. Horsey moved for approval of the minutes of June 15, 2017, seconded by Mr. Czerwinski and the motion was unanimously carried 3-0. Mr. Scrafford and Mr. Jackson were absent. Chairman McDaniel welcomed the two continued commissioners to serve for another three years which consisted of himself and Ms. Horsey. COMMUNICATIONS & REPORTS Summary of Applications 2016 and 2017 Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that there were no real changes to any items other than the update on the actions taken in June regarding HI-17-02 Building Permit #17-949: Renovations to Apartment Building at 305 South Governors Avenue. Mr. Czerwinski questioned whether there were any updates on 126 West Loockerman Street. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied no. They have been through the Planning Commission review process (that is HI-16-05) and at this point they would be working to finalize their Site Plan documents. We have not seen a resubmission. Summary of Architectural Review Certifications for 2017 Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that there have been a total of twenty-two (22) permits in the Historic District. Most of them have been for interior projects which Staff reviews to make sure that there is no impact to the outside. Eleven (11) of the twenty-two permits did not review Architectural Review Certification. It included the Carriage House Permit which was issued in January 2017. Of the twenty-two (22) permits issued six (6) were building interior renovations, two (2) accessory structures, five (5) signage, four (4) exterior projects, three (3) roofs, and two (2) Administrative Permits. Mr. Czerwinski asked if 2 West Loockerman Street could be discussed. Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that a Sign Permit was issued in mid-July for wall signage. The signs

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION AUGUST 17, 2017 were installed this week. Mr. Czerwinski questioned whether Staff allowed 6-inch letting on the brick wall facing State Street which takes up half of the first floor wall space. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that in the Historic District Guidelines there is no prescribed size of individual letters or of signage. The sign regulations and Historic District Guidelines talk about location and lighting, and about not placing the sign on top of or across architectural features. Mr. Czerwinski stated that there is no other building that features that sort of sign. The size of the signage is inappropriate for that space and location. He asked the other members if they had seen the sign with the 6-inch letters that are black 3-D lettering on the brick wall. The letters are too big for the space. There is no architectural feature and no precedent on or near Loockerman Street. Chairman McDaniel suggested tabling the discussion until the next meeting since only one member has seen the signage. This would allow everyone to have the opportunity to look at the signage. Ms. Horsey questioned the color of the signage and Mr. Czerwinski was surprised that the signage was approved and thought that it should be a hanging sign and not a sign attached to the brick of the building. As previously stated, Chairman McDaniel suggested discussing it at the next meeting. Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that the permit was issued as an Architectural Review Certification. If they have completed the installation in accordance to their permit submission, there will be a final inspection done by the Department of Planning and Inspections and the permit will be closed out. Mr. Czerwinski asked Mrs. Melson-Williams if she had a copy of the permit. Mrs. Melson- Williams replied she did not have a copy of the permit present at the meeting. She can provide a copy of the permit at the next meeting. Ms. Horsey questioned whether Mrs. Melson-Williams’ gets a visual of the signage. Mrs. Melson- Williams replied yes. All of the Sign Permit applications are required to submit information about size and location. How they choose to depict that varies from permit to permit. A lot of them will take an actual photograph and then superimpose the proposed sign in place and then provide additional information on the dimensions. If there is a lighting component to it there will be information along with information on color and the material that the sign would be made out of. This information is required across the board for all Sign Permits. OLD BUSINESS Update on FFY2017 CLG (Certified Local Government) Grant Project: Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that provided in your packet was the project narrative that was submitted as part of the grant application as well as the grant agreement letter and agreement that was received from the State Historic Preservation Office. The amount of federal monies available increased. The federal portion of the grant project is $9026 which requires the City to match with a minimum of $6018. City Council adopted the budget for this fiscal year which included in the Planning Office budget a grant match allocation of $10,000. Staff will be 2

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION AUGUST 17, 2017 working to prepare the request for proposals in order to retain the consulting services necessary for the grant. Staff has to submit a copy of the request for consulting services to the State Historic Preservation Office by September 15, 2017 for review. Chairman McDaniel questioned whether the consulting services was a bid item that will go into some type of publication. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that in this case there will probably be direct alert to the type of consulting firms that typically work in this area of historic preservation. The State Historic Preservation Office has offered their assistance in identifying some of those that may be appropriate to seek to see if they are interested in this type of work activity. With the City, there are different levels of the bidding and RFP process based on the cost. The project narrative entails the reason for the grant which is “Addendum to the Design Standards and Guidelines” focusing on modern materials and technology, construction activity, public outreach and input. Ms. Horsey asked for a point of clarification regarding the budget information on page 13 and if the total cost of the project was $19,026. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied if you look at the total it is available monies because we have more than the minimum required match. We are not sure of the total cost at the current time. Chairman McDaniel questioned whether the potential bidders were aware of the amount of money available. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that because this is a CLG grant program they can give some indication of budget limitations as part of the request for proposal and response for the work. Mr. Czerwinski questioned the number of estimates needed. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied they would have to attempt to get at least three (3) estimates from consultants. Mr. Hugg stated that he did not see the project being more than the budgeted amount. Ms. Horsey commented that she was amazed and happy to see that something was being done because it had been a long time to become the CLG. Chairman McDaniel moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. Czerwinski and unanimously carried 3-0. Meeting adjourned at 3:26 PM Sincerely, Maretta Savage-Purnell Secretary 3