HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC Minutes 121218 Attachment 1
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Orange County
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Meeting Summary
December 12th, 2018
Old Orange County Courthouse
106 W. King Street, Hillsborough
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MEMBERS PRESENT: Todd Dickinson, Art Menius, Paul Noe, Steve Peck,
MEMBERS ABSENT: Becky Paxton, Bob Ireland, Tom Loter (all excused)
STAFF PRESENT: Peter Sandbeck GUESTS: None
ITEM #1: CALL TO ORDER
Chair Dickinson called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm.
ITEM #2: CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO AGENDA: None
ITEM #3: APPROVAL OF MINUTES for October 24th, 2018 (Attachment 1): Menius moved to
approve the minutes; seconded by Peck; motion approved.
ITEM #4: ITEMS FOR DECISION:
a. Approval of proposed 2019 HPC Meeting Calendar
Staff handed out the proposed 2019 calendar for review and approval. Peck moved to
adopt the calendar, with the adjustment that there be no July meeting for a summer break;
seconded by Noe; motion passed.
ITEM #5: DISCUSSION ITEMS
a. Final Draft of Annual Report and Work Plan:
Staff handed out copies of the final draft of the Annual Report and Work Plan. Members
suggested moving our book project up to the top of the list so it gets better recognition;
this is the project the BOCC members always ask about, so we want them to see our
progress. Staff asked members to look it over and email any final comments. Peck moved
to approve the report with the suggested changes, seconded by Menius. Motion passed.
b. Landmark designations in other planning jurisdictions (Attachment 2):
Staff discussed a 2012 memo outlining the concept, by Tina Moon Rich Shaw. Staff has
requested a meeting with the county attorney’s staff to review the past discussions and
map out a strategy for moving forward. The initial concept is to negotiate an interlocal
agreement with Hillsborough and Carrboro, either separately or together. Wake County
did a group agreement with all the towns and cities, as shown in the copy sent to
members. That will be something that the county attorney’s staff will address. Staff moved
forward to also discuss agenda item 5-c while we are on the topic, regarding ideas about
preservation in Carrboro. There are now teardowns of small mill houses and houses in the
African American neighborhoods. One solution might be a conservation overlay district,
along the lines of what has been done by Chapel Hill for the Northside neighborhood.
Staff followed up and spoke with Tina Moon (Carrboro Planning Dept.) about preservation
issues in her town. Peck provided an overview of the recent Chapel Hill Historic District
conference about historic districts and discussions about protection of historic resources.
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There was some misunderstanding at that meeting about the various jurisdictional
responsibilities for the County versus the towns.
c. Carrboro preservation commission ideas: See discussion under item 5-b.
d. Norwood-Jones Law Office: possible lease:
Staff provided a brief overview of the concept of having the county lease the historic office
to the Preservation Fund of Hillsborough. Dean Ruedrich, president of the Fund,
approached staff about using the office for their meetings and interpretive events. Their
conceptual proposal is to operate the office as an historic attraction in cooperation with the
Alliance. They are willing to complete the restoration by installing an appropriate heating
and air conditioning system, doing interior painting, and adding some interpretive exhibits.
The electrical service may need upgrading. The Fund was the group that paid for the
restoration work done there in the late 1990s. This lease could be handled much like the
Dickson House lease; the Alliance pays for interior maintenance while the county handles
all major repairs inside and out. Members supported the concept.
ITEM #6: UPDATES AND INFORMATION ITEMS
a. Piper-Cox House Update:
Dickinson gave an update on the status following the submittal of the HPC’s inspection
report and recommendations. After a period of no activity, Dickinson sought assistance
from State Senator Mike Woodard, who inquired about the status. Within 24 hours, park
management shared the news that a contractor had been selected to perform the work.
So that is welcome news. Dickinson will monitor and provide an update in January.
b. Report on the Chapel Hill Historic District conference: see item 5-b.
c. Ideas/discoveries from the sign/marker/digital map subcommittee:
Noe provided a visual demonstration of a British web site called Megalith, which shows
one way to provide photo and narrative content, coordinated with GIS-style maps with a
Google map option. This site that relies mostly on users for its content. It is really just a
big database with images and links. Members discussed the issue of posting information
and photos about private properties. Many owners will not want any attention or unwanted
visitors. Maybe there could be explicit statements cautioning users to respect the property
owner’s wishes. Staff gave a demonstration of the Orange County section of the historic
site GIS map system developed by the State Historic Preservation Office. This has the
capability of including photos and a brief written entry about each property. That is the
goal for our data, to have it all loaded into the state web site when we finish the book
project; then move on to have it hosted on our county web site.
d. Schley Grange National Register Presentation: Deferred to January meeting.
e. Book project status/update:
Staff noted that our editor/author Laura Phillips will resume work in January on our entries
once we can provide her with additional historical information. Our new researcher has
done a good job. The Historic Preservation Fund of Hillsborough declined our request for
a $25,000 grant to help fund the book. That group has been re-energized with new
members and will be undertaking new projects. They plan to be a sponsor.
f. Open Air Time for members to share information:
Peck provided an overview of activities at the Burwell School. The director has resigned.
They are going to produce a small book depicting the enslaved people associated with the
Burwell School, 1837-57. He noted that Henry Evans, a skilled free black craftsman,
created some furnishings for the altar of St. Matthews Church. These items later got
moved to St. Jude’s, a mission church on Dimmock’s Mill Rd. It is pos sible that some of
those pieces ended up in Harvey’s Chapel, so we should investigate while we are working
on the landmark report. They will have Wm. Andrews there on Feb. 10 to talk about his
book “Race and the American South.” There will be a second event on Feb. 23 to release
the new booklet about enslaved people. He hopes to provide copies to the HPC members.
ITEM #7: ADJOURNMENT: Menius moved to adjourn, seconded by Noe; meeting adjourned at 8:30
Meeting summary by Peter Sandbeck, DEAPR staff