The Historic District Commission elected new officers for 2023, after the commission’s previous Chair, Steve Holifield, left for a seat on city council. At the Jan. 4 meeting, commissioner Dee Bright was selected as Chair, with Peter Graham as vice-chair, Marty Cogan as secretary, and Magi Hayde as treasurer.
Commissioner Judy Holden said she had forgotten about Holifield’s departure and called to see if he needed transportation to the meeting. “He didn’t want a ride,” she reported.
The commissioners added an addendum to recently adopted guidelines, to cover fencing. That topic had not been sufficiently addressed in the new guidelines that were prepared with the assistance of an outside contractor. The addendum summarized the findings of a workshop., and Graham noted the importance of clarifying the differences between historic and non-contributing properties.
Commissioners asked for more information on a proposed garage rehab at 23 Fairmount St. Owners Kathy Martone and Gary Toub had applied for extensive work on the garage, beginning with foundation repairs. The plan also called for repairs to the wood siding and a new roof to match existing materials. Contractor Jack Burden explained that he expected to replace decaying areas of the foundation in sections, using temporary supports for the structure in those areas. With a sound foundation in place, the owners would then decide on a floor.
Cogan asked why the owners would not prefer to tear down the garage and start from scratch, and Burden said he did not know that would be an option. He said he had told the owners they would be better off with the demolition, but they did not submit an application because Burden did not think the commission would approve that approach.
Commissioners did not go into extensive discussion on the demolition option since that issue was not before them. Their comments noted that the building has no historical significance, and it has significant problems in the foundation and the rest of the structure.
The application was approved as submitted, but then commissioners had second thoughts. Bright said the issue should have been postponed pending further information. A second vote rescinded the approval and called for more details about the scope of the work.
The postponement would allow the owners to pursue the option of demolishing the structure. On the Friday after this meeting, they met with City Historic Preservation Officer Kyle Palmer and asked for an application for demolition. The deadline for submitting applications for the Jan. 18 meeting had already passed, but the application could be considered at the Feb. 1 HDC meeting.
In other business:
- A workshop on walls will precede the Feb. 15 commission meeting. Masons with experience in preservation have been invited to answer questions from the commissioners.
- As the meeting closed, Cogan expressed thanks for the service of former Building Inspector Bobby Ray. Bright endorsed her comments, explaining her appreciation for Ray’s work during her time on the commission.
- Commission will next meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Level III applications were due Jan. 5, and other levels were due Jan. 11.