Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-07-02 Info Packet Ci ty Council I nformati on P acket J uly 2, 2020 IP1.Council Tentative Meeting S chedule July 7 Work Session IP2.Work S ession A genda IP3.P ending City Council Work S ession Topics Miscellaneous IP4.Memo from C ity C lerk: J oint E ntities A genda I tems for J uly 20 IP5.Memo from Neighborhood & Development Services Director: South District Home I nvestment P artnership P rogram IP6.A rticle from C ity Manager: 'We C ould Be F eeling This for the Next Decade': Virus Hits College Towns Draft Minutes IP7.Climate Action Commission: J une 1 IP8.Historic Preservation Commission: J une 11 July 2, 2020 City of Iowa City Page 1 Item Number: 1. J uly 2, 2020 Council Ten tative Meetin g S ch ed u l e AT TAC HM E NT S: D escription C ouncil Tentative Meeting Schedule Item Number: 2. J uly 2, 2020 Work S ession Ag enda AT TAC HM E NT S: D escription Work Session A genda Item Number: 3. J uly 2, 2020 Pen d ing City Council Work Session Topics AT TAC HM E NT S: D escription Pending City Council Work Session Topics Item Number: 4. J uly 2, 2020 Memo from City Cl erk: J oin t En tities Agen d a Items for Ju l y 20 AT TAC HM E NT S: D escription Memo from C ity C lerk: J oint E ntities Agenda I tems f or J uly 20 Item Number: 5. J uly 2, 2020 Memo from Neighborh ood & Devel op men t Services Director: Sou th District Home In vestment P artn ership Prog ram AT TAC HM E NT S: D escription Memo from Neighborhood & D evelopment Services D irector: South D istrict Home I nvestment Partnership P rogram Item Number: 6. J uly 2, 2020 Articl e from City Man ager: 'We Cou l d B e F eel ing Th is for th e Next Decad e': Viru s Hits Col l ege Towns AT TAC HM E NT S: D escription Article from C ity Manager: 'We Could B e F eeling T his f or the Next Decade': Virus Hits College Towns Opening bars and bringing back football teams have led to new outbreaks. Communities that evolved around campuses face potentially existential losses in population, jobs and revenue. By Shawn Hubler June 28, 2020 DAVIS, Calif. — The community around the University of California, Davis, used to have a population of 70,000 and a thriving economy. Rentals were tight. Downtown was jammed. Hotels were booked months in advance for commencement. Students swarmed to the town’s bar crawl, sampling the trio of signature cocktails known on campus as “the Davis Trinity.” Then came the coronavirus. When the campus closed in March, an estimated 20,000 students and faculty left town. With them went about a third of the demand for goods and services, from books to bikes to brunches. City officials are expecting most of that demand to stay gone even as the economy reopens. Fall classes will be mostly remote, the university announced last week, with “reduced density” in dorms. Davis’s incoming vice mayor, Lucas Frerichs, said the city was anticipating “a huge impact” with a majority of the university’s 39,000-plus students still dispersed in September. For “townies,” rules require congregation to remain limited, too, as confirmed coronavirus cases continue to climb in California. One of the Davis Trinity bars has closed, with no plan to reopen. On a recent Sunday, downtown was filled with ʻWe Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decadeʼ: Virus Hits College Towns Page 1 of 8‘We Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns - The New ... 6/29/2020https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/coronavirus-college-towns.html?action=click&m... Article from City Manager Fruin “takeout only” signs and half-empty, far-flung cafe tables. Outside the closed theater, a lone busker stood on a corner playing “Swan Lake” on a violin to virtually no one. Efforts to stem the pandemic have squeezed local economies across the nation, but the threat is starting to look existential in college towns. Reliant on institutions that once seemed impervious to recession, “town and gown” communities that have evolved around rural campuses — Cornell, Amherst College, Penn State — are confronting not only Covid-19 but also major losses in population, revenue and jobs. Where business as usual has been tried, punishment has followed: This week, Iowa health authorities reported case spikes among young adults in its two largest college towns, Ames and Iowa City, after the governor allowed bars to reopen. And on campuses across the country, attempts to bring back football teams for preseason practice have resulted in outbreaks. More than 130 coronavirus cases have been linked to athletic departments at 28 Division I universities. At Clemson, at least 23 football players and two coaches have been infected. At Arkansas State University, seven athletes across three teams tested positive. And at the University of Houston, the athletic department stopped off-season workouts after an outbreak was discovered. Sports are not the only source of outbreaks in college towns. Mississippi officials tied several cases to fraternity rush parties that apparently flouted social distancing rules. In Baton Rouge, La., at least 100 cases were linked to bars in the Tigerland nightlife district near Louisiana State’s campus. And in Manhattan, Kan., home to Kansas State, officials said Wednesday that there had been two recent outbreaks: one on the football team, and another in the Aggieville entertainment district just off campus. For the cities involved, the prognosis is also daunting. In most college towns, university students, faculty and staff are a primary market. Local economies depend on their numbers and dollars, from sales taxes to football weekends to federal funds determined by the U.S. census. Page 2 of 8‘We Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns - The New ... 6/29/2020https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/coronavirus-college-towns.html?action=click&m... Students at Ohio University represent three-quarters of the usual population of Athens, Ohio. In Ithaca, N.Y., every other person in town is — or used to be — connected to Cornell or Ithaca College. The Athena Theater in Athens, Ohio, the home of Ohio University.Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times The deserted Ohio University campus in Athens.Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times Page 3 of 8‘We Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns - The New ... 6/29/2020https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/coronavirus-college-towns.html?action=click&m... The local economy in Ann Arbor, Mich., takes in nearly $95 million a year in discretionary spending from the University of Michigan’s 45,000-plus students. Ari Weinzweig, cofounding partner of Zingerman’s, a landmark bakery and deli, said sales have been down 50 percent, and the company has had to furlough nearly 300 of its 700 employees since the pandemic. The town’s Literati Bookstore launched a GoFundMe campaign to keep from going out of business, and created a virtual site for its famed “public typewriter” so customers could keep leaving anonymous typed messages, a company tradition. (“Oh how I wish for a coffee not made by my own hands,” someone typed online in May.) In State College, Pa., an estimated 65 percent of the community is made up of students at Penn State’s main campus, a local juggernaut that enrolls 46,000 students, employs more than 17,000 nonstudents and injects about $128 million a year into rural Centre County. The university has announced plans to reopen with double-occupancy dorm rooms and at least half of its classes in person, but it is still not known how many students will return. Also in question is the future of Penn State football, a local economic linchpin that generated $100 million in 2018-19 for the university alone. Students at Ohio University represent three-quarters of the population of the town.Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times Page 4 of 8‘We Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns - The New ... 6/29/2020https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/coronavirus-college-towns.html?action=click&m... Local governments are bracing, too. Amherst, Mass., is scheduled to vote this week on a proposal to increase annual water and sewer fees by an average of $100 per household, a result of a precipitous drop in water use as students have abandoned Hampshire College, Amherst College and the University of Massachusetts in that New England college town. Ithaca’s mayor, Svante Myrick, said his city was preparing to cut its $70 million budget by about $14 million, and has furloughed a quarter of its employees, including his assistant. He personally has taken a 10 percent pay cut. A resolution passed earlier this month asked the state to let him authorize blanket rent forgiveness for three months. Unemployment in the Ithaca metropolitan area has soared to 10 percent from 3 percent before the pandemic. Sales tax receipts have tanked as about $4 million per week in student spending has disappeared along with Cornell’s students, Mr. Myrick said. About two-thirds of the land in his jurisdiction is university-owned, he said, and therefore exempt from property tax. “We’re going to be looking at Hoovervilles — or maybe Trump Towns — all over the country,” said the mayor, a Democrat who clashes frequently with his upstate area’s Republican congressional delegation. “It’s bad. It’s really bad.” Compounding the concern is the 2020 census. Conducted every 10 years, the national head count determines the distribution of federal funding for a vast number of local and state programs, including transit, public safety and Medicaid. Because the window for responses has coincided with campus shutdowns, college towns are reporting significant undercounts of students living off-campus, with dire financial implications. The Coronavirus Outbreak Frequently Asked Questions and Advice Updated June 24, 2020 Whatʼs the best material for a mask? Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and Page 5 of 8‘We Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns - The New ... 6/29/2020https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/coronavirus-college-towns.html?action=click&m... READ MORE A census without Ohio University students could knock the official population of Athens from 24,000 down to as few as 6,000 people. With an Oct. 31 deadline approaching, responses in student neighborhoods are currently running some 20 percentage points lower than in 2010, with response rates in some tracts of less than 31 percent. Mayor Steve Patterson of Athens estimates an undercount could cost his small city up to $40 million over the next 10 years “for things like community development block grants, jobs and family services and senior services that rely on a strong census count to get a full funding.” “We could be feeling this for the next decade,” Mr. Patterson said. In California, where Democrats have prioritized the census, the city of Davis and its surrounding county partnered long before the pandemic with the university to maximize its response rate, which is now higher than the state average. But the exodus of students has cut sales tax revenues by 50 percent, Mr. Frerichs said. those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. Is it harder to exercise while wearing a mask? A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Page 6 of 8‘We Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns - The New ... 6/29/2020https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/coronavirus-college-towns.html?action=click&m... Virtual graduation in May slashed hotel occupancy from 90 percent to 10 percent during the local hospitality industry’s usual peak season. Bookings have since rebounded slightly, Mr. Frerichs said, but only to about 25 percent, substantially denting hotel occupancy tax revenues. When the University of California, Davis, campus closed in March, some 20,000 students and faculty left town.Tommy Ly for The New York Times Empty outdoor seating in downtown Davis last weekend.Tommy Ly for The New York Times The shuttered box office at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts on the campus in Davis.Tommy Ly for The New York Times Page 7 of 8‘We Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns - The New ... 6/29/2020https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/coronavirus-college-towns.html?action=click&m... Transit ridership has dropped so precipitously, he said, that local authorities have been using the buses to transport supplies to and from food banks. The city has begun reaching out to unions and identifying budget cuts in case the economy does not quickly bounce back. Already, Mr. Frerichs said, the council has opted to leave three open positions for police officers vacant. “That’s three sets of eyes and ears on the street,” he said, “but this is a legitimate concern. Long term, this could be on par with the great recession for us.” Or maybe worse than the recession, he added, because in 2008 at least the town could still gather. Now the bike traffic is scant, the farmers market socially distanced, and the baristas working reduced hours at coffee shops ask customers to alert them when they leave so maintenance can disinfect their tables. The virus even canceled Davis’s annual town-and-gown party, Picnic Day. “Part of me is enjoying reclaiming the community,” said Mr. Frerichs, who attended the university and has lived for 24 years in Davis. “But one of the things that makes a college town so wonderful is the vibrant young population.” “They’re the lifeblood, and without them — well, the squirrels are having a field day,” he said. “But for the rest of us, it’s just so quiet.” Mitch Smith contributed reporting from Chicago, and Lauryn Higgins from Lincoln, Neb. Page 8 of 8‘We Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns - The New ... 6/29/2020https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/coronavirus-college-towns.html?action=click&m... Item Number: 7. J uly 2, 2020 Cl imate Action Commission: Ju n e 1 AT TAC HM E NT S: D escription C limate A ction Commission: J une 1 Item Number: 8. J uly 2, 2020 Historic Preservation Commission : June 11 AT TAC HM E NT S: D escription Historic P reservation C ommission: J une 11 MINUTES PRELIMINARY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION EMMA J. HARVAT HALL June 11, 2020 MEMBERS PRESENT: Thomas Agran, Kevin Boyd, Helen Burford, Gosia Clore, Sharon DeGraw, Lyndi Kiple, Cecile Kuenzli, Quentin Pitzen, Jordan Sellergren, Austin Wu MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Jessica Bristow, Anne Russett OTHERS PRESENT: G.T. Karr, Brenda Nations, Ginalie Swaim, RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action) CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Boyd called the electronic meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. utilizing Zoom. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA: Gosia Clore spoke as a member of the public. She said she was grateful to have had the opportunity to serve on the Historic Preservation Commission for the last six years. This is her last meeting. She said she had learned a great deal from current and previous commission members. Clore believes the mission of historic preservation should be to promote preservation of the character and the livelihood of the neighborhoods and to help homeowners take care of their properties in an equitable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly fashion. She believes preserving the character of the entire neighborhood and sustainable development should go hand in hand. She recommended the Commission focus on making communities more inclusive and allowing them to maintain their character, but also to allow for flexibility in the use of materials and technologies that have proven more safe, energy efficient, and easier to maintain. She wants Historic Preservation Staff to act as a bridge and not as an obstacle in the quest to make neighborhoods better. Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8) An electronic meeting was held because a meeting in person was impossible or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission members, staff, and the public presented by COVID-19. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION June 11, 2020 Page 2 of 10 Pitzen joined the meeting at this time. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS: 1118 East College Street – East College Historic District (skylights and west-facing window on rear addition, new window added to the front elevation). Bristow explained some of the property images are from 2005. They are being used to better see a corner of the property where there is a tree currently. Bristow said the project has three parts. The first part is adding two skylights to the roof of the one-story addition behind the house. The proposal is adding one to each slope of that roof. The product information would be submitted after-the-fact. The recommendation includes approving the material by Staff or Staff and Chair once the material is determined. Something with a dark frame is always suggested so it blends in with the roof. The second part involves an addition from 1973. A 2005 project that removed the synthetic siding also altered this addition. It did have a bay-projecting casement window configuration. The project right now is to get more light into the house. The proposal is to add other windows. The Staff Report showed one or two, but nothing had been decided. In speaking with the applicant since that time, Bristow said the applicant is interested in doing three windows instead. Since this house has two sets of a group of three, or three-ganged windows, Staff felt that was appropriate. She said it would not be possible to have the head height align exactly because of the height of the addition. She said it would be appropriate to have that sill align with an adjacent window. The third part of this project concerns the front of the house. Commission guidelines are very clear that it is disallowed to change the front of an historic property in an historic district by adding new windows or doors. Bristow said one reason an exception may be granted is if it had previously changed. She noted the current window configuration of the house is more unusual than what is normally seen in an historic district. She said it appears to have fewer windows. Bristow consulted with another historian to investigate why that could be. It is not known exactly when the house was built, but likely about 1900 in some kind of vernacular form. There are elements of the earlier Queen Anne style. There is a slightly unusual bay window incorporated in the corner. The windows in the upper sash are leaded glass. The window next to the door is also leaded glass. Those are all pretty clear elements of the Queen Anne style. Around 1900-1905 that style morphed into a Free Classic style. It is a bit simpler and more affordable style. Windows like the one in the front and the one in the side where you have a larger window with two sidelights appear very similar to a Palladian window, which would be one element of a Free Classic style, except the Palladian window would have had an arch above the central sash. Another element of the Free Classic style is Doric classical columns, just basically the more simplified nature. Whether the house had been altered to lose the arch above the window was considered, but the ceiling line inside would not have made that possible. It was likely installed originally as a less expensive version of a Palladian window. While discussing this with the other historian, Bristow HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION June 11, 2020 Page 3 of 10 said they thought maybe this was a builder’s home. The owner put the extra money into the leaded glass window on the front and went less expensive with some other things. Another unusual thing is the size of the window in the gable that is out of scale. The dormer over on the east side has been altered. Bristow said there is not a lot of evidence that the front was altered. She noted in the recommendation that there are some unusual things going on here, so maybe it was altered. She showed a mock-up, just adding in one window. One window is recommended because the large, cottage-style window that you would sometimes see would not typically be here, especially with this type of Palladian-like window above. If there were two, it would get cramped with this bay, and a window would not have been placed right behind a column in this kind of configuration. Staff feels one individual window, just a one-over-one, no leaded glass, in the noted location, would be the more appropriate way to go. Bristow shared examples of configurations from other houses. One example had a turret and a door, and the empty space is filled with something. Another example had a similar Palladian window, but it did not have a lot of empty wall space. All examples have more windows and a more regular window pattern. Bristow again said the guidelines are clear that it is disallowed to change the front of the house unless there is an exception, and typically the exception would be granted because the structure had previously changed. At the same time, it does not appear that adding a window, at least an individual window, would greatly impact the historic character of this house or its neighborhood, and that is the recommendation. Boyd asked if anyone had clarifying questions, opened and closed the public hearing. Kuenzli thought it looked as though the house has been significantly altered and that the changes proposed, as presented, would be acceptable. She agreed that it would be desirable to get more light into an old house. Wu concurred with Kuenzli. MOTION: Kiple moved to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 1118 East College Street as presented in the Staff report through an exception to the guidelines allowing the addition of a new window opening because it will not negatively impact the existing window pattern or the historic character of the neighborhood due to the unique conditions presented by the existing architecture with the following conditions: Double-hung windows as a single, pair, or group of three are installed in the west wall; the final window pattern is approved by Staff and Chair; all window product information is approved by Staff and Chair. Agran seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 10-0. CLIMATE ACTION AND PRESERVATION PRESENTATION FROM CLIMATE ACTION COMMITTEE: Boyd noted that Iowa City has declared a climate crisis. He thought there was great overlap in terms of work the Historic Preservation Commission does on sustainability, as well as opportunities for learning. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION June 11, 2020 Page 4 of 10 G.T. Karr spoke. Karr served on the Historic Preservation Commission for a couple years and stepped down to serve on the Climate Action Commission. He is also a contractor and remodeler by trade. On September 18, 2018, the City of Iowa City officially adopted the Climate Action Plan. There were 35 action items to reduce the carbon emissions and some goals set for 25% reduction in 2025 and 80% in 2050. A year later more aggressive goals were set. Karr said he wants the two commissions to collaborate for progress toward these goals. He noted all the Climate Action information is available on the City’s website. Sections that comprise action items include buildings, transportation, waste, adaptation, and sustainable lifestyle. Karr believes there are simple opportunities in buildings and waste. One of the items that was identified in the study and one of the targets was to retrofit 10% of all existing buildings by 2025 and 90% by 2050. He noted that projects coming before Historic Preservation are from existing housing stock. He believes there are co-benefits between goals of climate action and historic preservation. Karr said another one of the goals is renewable energy, transitioning 3% of the buildings from natural gas to high-efficiency electrical heat. He said with retrofitting – trying to put electric heat in an historic home – there are some issues with how efficient the house is, with windows, insulation, etc. He said he is not saying windows need to be replaced. Karr said about 56% of the City’s consumption-based emissions are from the existing building stock. This is a huge segment. He said it will be challenging and expensive to change. Karr said he narrowed down three action items that he would like the Historic Preservation Commission to look at, do some research, and see how those items partner with Historic Preservation goals. Action 1.1 under the Buildings Section is to increase energy efficiency in residences. He said it sounds great and is an awesome thing to do, but there will be challenges. Action 1.4 under the Buildings Section - Increasing onsite renewable energy systems and electrifications. He wondered what that would mean if trying to do geothermal in existing areas with trees or putting solar panels on historic buildings. Action 3.4 under Waste – Establishing partnerships to divert construction waste from the landfill. Karr said the Historic Preservation Commission and Friends of Historic Preservation are already doing a fantastic job. He said the Salvage Barn was the first idea that came to mind to help preserve some items from going to the landfill. Karr said he wanted to reach out and either have a regular meeting or invite interested HPC members into working groups. He thought the Buildings working group was the place to start the conversation. He wanted to find a way to be proactive and create some efficiencies beyond putting LEDs inside and using low-flow aerators. Kiple noted the keynote speaker at the Preserve Iowa Summit, held this past weekend, talked about sustainability in historic preservation and how they can go hand-in-hand and how we HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION June 11, 2020 Page 5 of 10 need to work together on those things. She thought it was a great initiative and great to see in Iowa City. Boyd said he went through the Climate Plan and had also marked those three action items. He said he was interested in building energy efficiency and noted the measurability of it is all in operating energy. None of it in the embodied energy that exists in the buildings. He said embodied energy, particularly in Europe and Australia, is a key component of measuring a building’s energy efficiency. He was curious if the Climate Action Commission had looked at embodied energy. Karr said within the Buildings working group there are two architects. One concentrates primarily on LEED certification. He said they have had conversations about that, but it boils down to a consistent way to gauge that and how it would be reported. He agreed that every aspect of the process should be looked at. Brenda Nations, Sustainability Coordinator for the City and contact for the Climate Action Commission, spoke. She said for a consumption-based inventory, which includes looking at embodied energy, the average age of Iowa City houses would be needed, but they did not have that information. They also needed to know what houses were made of and what percentage of houses were made of the materials. She said there are not really accepted protocols for a consumption-based inventory, and it is harder to see change. Kuenzli said she liked the idea of this project very much. With older houses, she thought it was important to find out where energy needs to be conserved to make a difference. She thought a blower door test would be a good measure of energy loss and wondered if the cost of the test could be subsidized for those who wanted to make improvements. Nations noted the City currently has a group of Green Iowa AmeriCorps. They do free blower door tests. She said every year the City has a group and they do free blower door tests for about 100 houses per year. Karr said there were programs in the works trying to partner with local nonprofits to increase the access to that and to increase the energy audits. He noted that there are challenges and limitations to what can be done on an historic house to improve energy efficiency. He said it is still important to do basic small things on the interior such as using LEDs and low-flow aerators. Regarding electrification of buildings, Nations said some cities, especially in California, are starting to have policies where they do not allow natural gas to go to new buildings. She said the City is trying to move toward that, but it would take a long time - decades. She noted MidAmerican is producing more and more renewable electricity, at 61% renewable electricity. Nations said systems need to be equitable, because sometimes it may cost more for the electricity to heat your home versus natural gas. Karr said heat pump technology has drastically improved, but a 1918 house is going to perform a lot differently than a 2020 house. There are some limitations. He said the City should be realistic and try to inform the public of those goals, but it is not a one size fits all. Some things make more sense for an older home and other things make more sense in a newer home, and that information should be shared. Ginalie Swaim asked where rehabbing windows would fit in the Climate Action Plan. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION June 11, 2020 Page 6 of 10 Karr noted that glass is extremely inefficient, so as a payback for energy savings it is one of the least fruitful things a person could do. He said he had no problem encouraging people to reglaze, but thought things like weather stripping and storm windows, which are allowed in historic preservation, might be easier and more efficient from a cost standpoint. Kuenzli left the meeting at this time. Clore asked about insulating walls on the outside. Karr said that would be a siding issue but gets complicated with what is allowed and not allowed. He said if the goal is to make the house more efficient, it makes a lot of sense to insulate the walls, but he was not sure how that would play into preserving siding. Wu wondered where infill development might fit in the Climate Action Plan, with an example being construction on empty lots inside historic districts, and making sure development fits in with the character of those neighborhoods. Karr said that had not been discussed in the Climate Action Plan but thought the Historic Preservation Commission would have input on materials used and architectural details. Sellergren asked if there could be a public initiative to encourage people not to air condition. She thought it would be good to remind people they could get by with a ceiling fan and closing the house up in the morning. Nations understood the point but was hesitant because the climate is expected to get hotter and hotter and some people need air conditioning for their health conditions. She said they would think about it. Agran said he fell in the middle on the air conditioning subject. He said he lives in an historic house that does have central air, but it does not work very well because the house was not built for it. He said all his double-hung windows that ought to be able to drop down from the top and let hot air out, do not. When people install new storm windows, that also prohibits that kind of ventilation. He said he has a whole house fan that allows him to extend the season under which he is not using the air conditioner. He believed people need air conditioning for the conditions described by Nations but pointed out the old fashion things that help mitigate temperature change in a house are also still relevant and will reduce those bills. DeGraw said she was interested in the geothermal part. She thought it would be good if people could apply for historic preservation grants under a category of geothermal or green energy. She wondered about a program working with banks. Burford thought if people make the decision to spend the money to make changes for climate change, it would be terrible if the tax assessor increased people’s property taxes because they are participating in the community’s goals. Karr said everything brought up was being talked about within either the Climate Action Commission or their subcommittees. He said there have been discussions with banks about trying to roll out programs to help incentivize this. He also again encouraged the Historic Preservation Commission to join the meetings or any of the working groups to give insight. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION June 11, 2020 Page 7 of 10 Boyd said there are a couple places for engagement. One is through joining working groups. The other is keeping each other in the loop about the work of each commission and where the other’s expertise may be needed. He thought the Historic Preservation Guidelines should also be reviewed and updated while thinking about climate change. REPORT ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF Certificate of No Material Effect – Chair and Staff Review. 407 Brown Street – Brown Street Historic District (deteriorated siding, trim, and soffit replacement). Bristow said 407 Brown Street is in the middle of a larger siding and trim repair and painting project. They have a Certificate of No Material Effect to replace a few key pieces of siding and trim and the soffit on the house. 608 1/2 Dearborn Street – Dearborn Street Conservation District (overhead door replacement). Bristow explained 608 1/2 Dearborn Street is a little building behind the house. It is noncontributing. On the map, it is two different properties, one on an alley and one on the street. The back property has a garage. It has an overhead door. They are replacing it to match the existing. It was hit by a car. Minor Review – Staff Review. 720 North Van Buren Street – Brown Street Historic District (2nd floor rear deck floor and railing replacement). Bristow said 720 North Van Buren Street on the alley has a rear porch that has a deck. It is not very visible. They are going to put a low-profile deck floor up here, maybe one of those that lays in panels. They will have a new railing that meets code, simple square spindles with posts. 409 Oakland Avenue – Longfellow Historic District (roof shingle replacement). 409 Oakland Avenue is in the Longfellow Historic District. It is a roof shingle replacement from flat shingle to an architectural shingle. 230 East Jefferson Street, St Mary’s Catholic Church - Jefferson Street Historic District (louver replacement, wood trim repair). Bristow explained in the steeple of St. Mary’s Catholic Church there are these large wooden panels with a lot of molding detail. They want to replace the louvers only. The original application was to replace all of this with metal. What they will be doing now is just replacing the louvers, with new metal louvers that will sit behind the original trim that will just be painted and stained. All that will change is the louvers. 1415 Davenport Street – Local Historic Landmark (kitchen and porch roof shingle replacement, kitchen window infill panel reconstruction, west basement window well/window replacement). 1415 Davenport Street is the Rose Hill house between Davenport and Bloomington. Bristow said neither she nor the Assessor have a good photo of this house. It is the one with the very long front yard going down to Bloomington Street. It used to be a part of the old Irish farm. It has HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION June 11, 2020 Page 8 of 10 a few projects. The basement window with vents coming out of the window will be replaced with a newly created wood basement window with a panel in that location so that the venting does not go out through a broken glass panel. Bristow said the window well is very leaky. The house is brick. It has a limestone foundation and original brick window well. It was up to the owner to either make it out of brick or limestone. These two lower roofs on the Davenport Street side, technically the back, are for a porch and kitchen addition. The roof shingles will be replaced to match architectural shingles on the main roof. The kitchen windows were replaced with shorter windows at one point in time with an infill panel below. Those will all be replaced, as well, because there is a significant amount of rot. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR MAY 14, 2020 MOTION: Agran moved to approve the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission’s May 14, 2020 meeting. Clore seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 9-0. COMMISSION INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION: Historic Preservation and Sustainability References. A shortened version of the Study: The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse by Preservation Green Lab was included in the packet as background information to begin a sustainability discussion. Bristow said she did not have time to read the larger study. As the memo says, there is a link to more information. It is 100 pages and more about the methodology for the studies. It is a very recent study with information on technology related to green design, climate action, and sustainability. Commissioner Retirements. Boyd noted that both Agran and Clore are retiring from the Historic Preservation Commission. They both served six years. He thanked them for their service and said he appreciated their perspectives, which he will think about when considering future issues. Agran spoke about his time on the Commission. He said he learned about the history of specific properties in the City and the broader history of the City itself. He also learned a lot about the language and strategy, and ups and downs of public process. He said those lessons have benefited him in other ways, on other issues, while advocating for those in the community. He said he has been inspired watching the thoughtful, rational, and measured but passionate leadership of Swaim and Boyd. Agran believes the Historic Preservation Commission is at its best when it restrains itself from aesthetic judgment and nimbyism and instead focuses on being flexible in ways that dovetail with other critical missions of the City and supporting those initiatives of sustainability and social justice and, moreover, embraces the flexibility to support the broadest ideas of what it is we are trying to preserve in these historic neighborhoods. That is the structure, form, and functioning of the neighborhood itself. He urged remaining Commission members to look to the broadest interpretations of the Secretary of Interior Standards to allow the neighborhoods to live and breathe and evolve as a way to maintain their relevancy and preserve their history, while also allowing that history to HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION June 11, 2020 Page 9 of 10 continue to be written. He said it had been a real pleasure to serve with the Commission members. Boyd recalled that a few months ago the Commission used this agenda period to take action and issued a statement to the City Council on an item that had not been individually listed in the agenda. He said the Commission needs to be cautious with how this period is used. He said it was described to him as discussion among the Commission, and information is one of us sharing something, and sharing it with everyone. He thought there were opportunities to talk about potential future agenda items, but not really to discuss those future agenda items unless they were part of the published agenda. Boyd said there would be ongoing conversations about climate change, and Burford emailed about some ways the Commission could be reflective or think about how the Commission’s work also fits in with the Black Lives Matter Movement. He said he has some ideas on that for the next agenda. He believed the Commission should be mindful of being very responsive to things that are happening in the community and it is important to make sure we tell the full history of the community. He asked Commission members to email him and Bristow if they have agenda items they want to bring forward, specifically noting what they would like to discuss. He said a Commissioner may need to write a memo for background on the topic. ADJOURNMENT: Agran moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Clore. The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m. Minutes submitted by Judy Jones HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION June 11, 2020 Page 10 of 10 HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2019-2020 NAME TERM EXP. 6/13 8/08 8/19 9/12 10/10 11/14 12/12 1/09 2/13 3/12 4/09 5//14 6/11 AGRAN, THOMAS 6/30/20 X X X X X X X X O/E X X X X BOYD, KEVIN 6/30/20 X X X X O/E X O/E X X X X X X BUILTA, ZACH 6/30/19 X -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- BURFORD, HELEN 6/30/21 X X X X X X X X X O/E X X X CLORE, GOSIA 6/30/20 O/E O/E X X X X O/E X X X X X X DEGRAW, SHARON 6/30/19 O/E X X O/E O/E X O/E X X O/E X X X KARR, G. T. 6/30/20 X X X X -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- KUENZLI, CECILE 6/30/19 O/E X X O/E O/E X X X X O/E X X X KIPLE, LYNDI 6/30/22 -- X X X X X X O/E O/E X X X X PITZEN, QUENTIN 6/30/21 X X X X X X X X X O/E X X X SELLERGREN, JORDAN 6/30/22 -- X X X X X X O/E O/E X X X X SHOPE, LEE 6/30/21 O/E -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- WU, AUSTIN 6/30/20 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- O/E X X O/E X X