MARCH 26, 2003

Chairperson Diane Rochelle called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Ms. Rochelle announced that Ms. Kathleen Morrow and Ms. Deborah Mathies were excused from the meeting.

I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The following changes were made to the Minutes of February 26, 2003:

Page 1 - Approval of Minutes, Last Paragraph, 1^st Sentence: Change to read "April 2001 minutes."

Page 3 – Rogers Ritch Merritt House, Last Paragraph, 3^rd Sentence: Change spelling of "Merrit" to "Merritt."

** MRS. BOOTH SECONDED.

** MOTION PASSED.

Ms. Rochelle informed the Commissioners of Mrs. Morrow’s surgery and passed around a card to be signed. Ms. Rochelle stated that she had also sent flowers to Mrs. Morrow on behalf of the Commissioners.

II. REPORTS – HISTORICAL COMMISSION

LOCKWOOD MATHEWS MANSION MUSEUM

LMMM report

Ms. St. Aubyn informed the Commissioners of several upcoming events to be held at the LMMM, including a chamber concert to benefit the LMMM and the Norwalk Hospital Foundation, scheduled for April 13, 2003 featuring Helen Armstrong, with a culinary reception and wine tasting afterwards, and the tickets are $20.00. There will be a book signing to be held on April 29 with Judy Rodriguez, author of "Mouse Mansion," the scheduled 27^th Annual Antiques Show to be held on October 24-26. Ms. St. Aubyn stated that after the furniture in the drawing room and the music room has been redone, the collections will never be moved again and that it will be a totally different antiques show than has been in the past, that more of the integrity of the mansion will be visible. She announced that Paramount Pictures will be filming the remake of "The Stepford Wives" with Nicole Kidman and John Cusack. Ms. St. Aubyn stated that the LMMM will be closing on July 14 and will reopen on September 8^th.

Ms. St. Aubyn discussed the work to be done inside the LMMM beginning on June 14, 2003. The work was being done with Port Draper who was working very closely with the LMMM’s Restoration Committee and will include the restoration of the rotunda floor, carpeting of the grand staircase with the original runner, carpeting of the music room and drawing room, and repainting of the rotunda walls, including the lower walls, 2^nd level and staircase walls.

Mr. Iannaccone reminded Ms. St. Aubyn that the carpeting must meet all current fire codes and requested that he be notified about it. Ms. Gunn asked who was on the Restoration Committee. Ms. St. Aubyn replied that Ms. Falasca, Steven Wise, Chris Cook and Robert Slavid were on the committee. Mr. Bloom asked if the City would be insuring the work. Ms. St. Aubyn assured Mr. Bloom that everything would be insured. Ms. Falasca and Ms. Gunn requested that the staircase where the tapestries used to hang be photographed and measured before painting because they will lose the information once the painting is completed.

Ms. Falasca questioned if the LMMM’s bylaws prohibit any filmmaking on the LMMM premises and wanted to know what protection would be given regarding the strong lighting. She stated that tourists are asked not to use flashbulbs when taking photos inside the LMMM. Ms. Falasca also stated that she objected very strongly to allowing any filmmaking inside the LMMM. Ms. Gunn suggested that the entire area to be used be photographed beforehand in case of any damages. Ms. Rochelle stated that it was an excellent idea to have the area photographed. Ms. Bryant suggested that the LMMM board put requirements in place such as requesting plywood over the marble floors and other protective devices. Ms. Gunn suggested that the L MMM should be in charge of having the photographs taken and that Paramount Pictures should be required to pay for them. Ms. Rochelle agreed with Ms. Gunn’s statement, saying that Paramount would be in a much better position to be able to pay for the photographs. Mr. Bloom suggested that the filming be documented with photographs as it is done because it will now be part of the history of the house and the public will be very curious about it. Ms. Rochelle asked that all of the areas to be repainted and carpeted be photographed as well, both before and afterwards.

Ms. St. Aubyn stated that Suzanne LaTulipe, a Norwalk filmmaker, had been hired to be trained to work with the company to protect the house, along with a professional photographer. Ms. LaTulipe had worked with the LMMM on previous occasions. Ms. St. Aubyn told the Commissioners that both she and Ms. Montgomery will be on site at all times to oversee the filmmaking while it is going on, and that she would not be taking her vacation until after the filmmaking is completed so that she could be there while it was going on. She stated that Ms. Montgomery would take her vacation in the two weeks prior to the filming. Ms. Bryant expressed concern that the filmmakers will have their own agenda and won’t necessarily care for either the building or its collections. Ms. Rochelle stated that this was something the Mansion board had already accepted, and that it was not under the Commission’s jurisdiction to make decisions about. Ms. St. Aubyn wanted the Commission to be assured that the Mansion plans to take the utmost care of the building and the collections while the filmmaking is being done. She stated that the main "shoot" will only be done for eight days in August. Ms. Falasca asked if they would be filming at night. Ms. St. Aubyn said that filming would not be done after 10 p.m. due to their regulations.

Ms. Rochelle asked Ms. Gunn if she had removed the encumbrance in the capital account for the LMMM, #CO186. Ms. Gunn stated that she had done that over a month ago. Ms. Rochelle asked what the correct figures were. Ms. Gunn stated that she had had the information at the time she had worked on it but would have to go back and look it up as she did not have it at hand and would inform Ms. Rochelle at a later date.

Hoffmann Contract

There was no discussion of the Hoffmann contract at this time.

Repairs: Veranda, Conservatory and Drainage

Ms. St. Aubyn reported that the south porch contract was going to be signed, "as we speak." She spoke with Alan Lo and the drainage project will begin within two weeks. Ms. St. Aubyn had Port Draper speak with Mr. Lo as well, and Mr. Lo was outlined on the whole project and has approved it.

HISTORICAL CEMETERIES REPORT

Repairs: Grave Markers and Notification Process

Ms. Rochelle informed the Commission that the cemetery notification signs are being made by the DPW at no charge and that the DPW would be installing them as well. The signs will be vinyl on aluminum on channel posts and will be put up by the end of the week or on Monday.

Mr. Bondi stated that he had passed by the Brookside Cemetery and someone had dumped a pile of wood chips there and the fence was broken. Ms. Gunn stated that there was a real problem with people dumping at the Brookside Cemetery over the years. She said that originally the wood chips had been brought there for the trails used during the cemetery tour, but when people saw the wood chips there, they began bringing more wood chips. Ms. Rochelle questioned whether the broken fence was on the cemetery property. Mr. Bondi stated that he did not know, and that the fence could belong to the property owner adjacent to the cemetery. Ms. Falasca asked if the City could remove the chips and also suggested that a "No Dumping" sign be installed there. Mr. Iannaccone questioned if two posts with a chain between could be placed to prohibit dumping. Mr. Bondi said that he could call Parks & Rec to ask if they could remove the wood chips from the property. Ms. Rochelle asked Ms. Gunn to call Parks & Rec. about putting up a "No Dumping" sign.

Ms. Gunn said that she had also been in touch with Ernie Slavitt’s wife and she thanked the Commission for getting in touch with them. She stated that she was supposed to receive a fax from them but had not received it yet.

ROGERS RITCH MERRIT HOUSE

Bid/Rebuilding Status

Ms. Rochelle announced the receipt of the $2,500 grant for the feasibility study. She stated that the RFQ’s came back with five applications for qualification and of the five, the first one was New England Restoration who were absolutely excellent, and another was from Stephen Bialitz in three or four segments. Mr. Bialitz stated that he would rather work with one of the other participants and did not want to take on the job himself, so he more or less has disqualified himself from the application process. Viking Construction of Stamford submitted a Victorian house that they had moved, but were entirely unqualified. Ms. Rochelle asked them to resubmit timber frame experience, which they declined to do, and after another week they had submitted nothing. Ms. Rochelle said that the bid packages should be going out in the next week.

MILL HILL BUILDINGS

Norwalk Historical Society report

The report was distributed to the Commissioners for their reading.

Mr. Booth’s report concerned the invasion of a squirrel in the Fitch Law Office that had tried to chew its way out of the windowsills and mullions. Ms. Gunn remarked that she had seen several small holes on the property where some animal was living, but it was determined that this animal was not the culprit. Mr. Booth asked the Commission to recommend a carpenter to repair the damages. Ms. Falasca stated that they should use a restoration carpenter rather than just any carpenter. Ms. Rochelle asked Mr. Booth to get an estimate from a restoration carpenter. Mr. Booth again asked the Commission to recommend someone. Ms. Falasca told Mr. Booth that he could find someone in the Historical Society Magazine. Ms. Rochelle said that in the RFQ’s that she had received, she could look and find the name of a couple of restoration carpenters. Ms. Bryant said she could ask a member of the Preservation Trust, and Ms. Rochelle mentioned Kevin Callahan. Ms. Gunn said that she knew of an excellent window restoration carpenter. Mr. Booth said that he thought it was more of a decision for the Commission to make than for himself. Ms. Rochelle asked Ms. Gunn if she could forward three or four names and phone numbers of restoration carpenters to Mr. Booth.

Mr. Bloom remarked that the windows had been done in 1976 and that the wood was not old wood. Mr. Booth asked for something from the Commission stating that these firms would be acceptable. Ms. Rochelle stated that all of the lower sashes on the ground floor have been gnawed by the squirrel, also one sash on the second floor, and that the wood was not flush to the glass in the window. Ms. Rochelle told Ms. Gunn that she would provide her with two names, as would Ms. Bryant, and that Ms. Gunn could get some estimates for the repairs from this list.

Town House Stove, Ventilation System and Hot Water Heater

Ms. Rochelle asked Mr. Booth if he had any estimates for the Commission. Mr. Booth stated that Yankee Gas had not changed their estimate. Ms. Rochelle stated that the Yankee Gas estimate was $2,280. Ms. Rochelle went over the quotes provided by Ms. Gunn from Paul the Plumber for both a gas hot water heater and an electric hot water heater. She stated that Paul the Plumber recommended a gas hot water heater over the electric one. Ms. Gunn said that in the email she received from Ms. Rochelle regarding the Yankee Gas quote, the quote was for the stove, kitchen sink and bathrooms and that she was assuming this quote included the stove hookup. Mr. Booth agreed that the stove hookup was included. Ms. Rochelle asked the Commission to approve someone to install the gas hot water heater for the Town House from these two quotes. After discussion, it was determined that Yankee Gas had the better quote. Ms. Rochelle requested a motion to approve the gas water heater.

** MS. BRYANT SECONDED.

** MOTION APPROVED.

Ms. Gunn asked Ms. Rochelle which account the money should be taken from. Ms. Rochelle stated that the money should come from the capital account for the Town House and that she would like to have this done as soon as possible.

Repairs: Bell Tower and Smith Street

Ms. Gunn informed the Commission that she had taken digital pictures of the bell tower so she could nail down exactly what needs to be repaired with Walter’s Construction. Ms. Gunn wanted to go over some questions with the Commission that came up while she was taking the pictures. She suggested the two chimneys on the east side be added to the list of repairs needed as the previous flashing used to go up one more course of brick and when the new flashing was installed it left a gouge in the mortar of the chimneys that could pose problems in the future. She also noticed some rot on the rafters, some peeling paint and one rafter that looked spongy.

Mr. Booth asked to be recognized. He stated that when he had spoken with Mr. Sgobbo, Mr. Sgobbo said that Walter’s Construction does a very fine job of reconstruction work and that Walter’s Construction had been up on the roof. Mr. Booth said that his feeling was that he doesn’t want to tie down the specs too close. He said that Mr. Sgobbo had offered to go up on the roof as the repair is being done to check that it is being done right. Mr. Booth stated that they had hired a good contractor, he had the lowest price of any bid and that the Commission ought to approve it.

Ms. Rochelle reminded Mr. Booth that the Commission had already approved the bid, they just hadn’t gotten the purchase order yet, and that it was approved with a contingency of $5,000. Mrs. Booth said that Ms. Gunn wanted to go ahead and approve other things. Ms. Gunn said that these things just came up today as she was taking the digital pictures, and that it was coming together. Ms. Rochelle asked if it were possible to determine the scope of repairs by the next Commission meeting and Ms. Gunn said she thought it could be done by then. Ms. Booth stated that she was talking about the Bell Tower at the front of the building and that Ms. Gunn was also talking about two corners in the back. Ms. Gunn said that when she had originally begun talking to Walter’s Construction, one of the two corners were part of the discussion at that time. Mr. Booth asked if they were included in the bid. Ms. Rochelle said that one corner was, but not both corners. Ms. Rochelle said that there was contingency money available. Ms. Falasca stated that if Walter’s Construction goes up on the roof and finds that more needs to be done, that the Commission has the money and they might as well have the work done.

Ms. Gunn remarked that Ali from SONICC, who was scraping the wood on the doors for repainting, was doing a very good job but that he has a sharp-pointed tool that he was using on a curved surface. She suggested that a tool for curved surfaces be obtained for him to use so the sharp points of the straight edge tool wouldn’t dig into the wood as much and protect the wood more. Apparently these two tools were the only tools SONICC gave him to use. Ms. Gunn requested the Commission’s approval before going ahead with the purchase of the tool through the Woodworker’s Club, which was relatively inexpensive. Mr. Booth said that any tools that those men need, the Historical Society would buy and pay for.

Mr. Booth stated that Phil Taylor was a hardware man for 30 years and had gotten specific recommendations from Brandman’s Paint on exactly what to do to sand and fill in, the types of tools to use, the correct oil-based paint to use. Ms. Rochelle asked Mr. Booth if it were possible for him to just present the suggestion to Mr. Taylor that a rounded-head tool would be better. Mr. Booth said that he did not want to lose Mr. Taylor and that if he went back to him to question the tool, he would lose Mr. Taylor because people are coming back and complaining about the job. Ms. Rochelle stated that no one was complaining about anything, that this was an assistance. Ms. Rochelle asked how much more work was to be done. Mr. Booth said that it was almost done. He stated that the Historical Society was getting it done, they were paying for the work and supervising the men and that the work they are doing is first class.

Ms. Rochelle again stated that this was not a criticism, it was just something that Ms. Gunn noticed. Mrs. Booth asked if Ms. Gunn was saying that it was not being done correctly. Ms. Rochelle said no, there would have to be specific tools that were rounded to be used in a rounded groove better than a square tool would fit in a rounded groove, and that it was a logical comment. Mrs. Booth asked Ms. Gunn if she had asked the man doing the repairs if the rounded tool would be better and did he agree. Ms. Gunn said yes he did agree. Ms. Rochelle said that anyone would agree to that. Ms. Rochelle remarked that if the work was almost done, then they weren’t gong to worry about it and not to create a problem.

Ms. Gunn pointed out to Mr. Booth that she was under the assumption that SONICC had given the man the tools to use and that these were the only two tools he had to use. She questioned that if it was SONICC that was supplying the tools, then let’s see if we can help him, if he uses tools to make it more functional and that obviously the man knew what he was doing, that it would be faster and easier and better for the building and for the wood to have the correct tool, and if they could make that happen, then why not? Ms. Rochelle again stated to Mr. Booth that this was not meant as a criticism, and that if there is a tool that would make a better finished project it might be good to have to loan to the man, and it was not something that Mr. Taylor had missed by any means.

Ms. Rochelle asked if by the April meeting would they be able to have the gas water heater installed. Ms. Gunn said that as long as Karen was in the office, she could get the purchase order to her. Ms. Rochelle told Ms. Gunn to let her know if there were any problems to let her know.

Ms. Gunn said that Aitoro will supply new units to Smith Street and would take away the old units, but will not remove the old unit from the wall and unhook it, and will not install the new unit. Eleck & Salvato will install the units for $140 each, total $280. Paul the Plumber, who Mike Sgobbo strongly recommended, would do the hookup but would not install or remove the unit. Ms. Gunn said that now she has to find someone to remove and install the units, and wanted to go to the City to ask them to assist with the situation. She stated that she did not understand the quote she received from Paul the Plumber and went over it with Ms. Rochelle. Ms. Gunn stated that she would get clarification as neither she nor Ms. Rochelle could make sense of the quote as written. Ms. Rochelle said that she was not happy about the whole situation as it seemed to her that Mike Sgobbo was going to take care of this whole thing and that’s what Finance asked him to do but he backed out of it. She was concerned that the tenants have no place to cook.

Mr. Iannaccone asked if they were looking for a plumber. Ms. Gunn said that they need someone with muscle to take the existing units out so the electrical can be unhooked and that Eleck & Salvato would do that, and that Paul the Plumber would unhook the plumbing. She said that it was the timing that mattered. Aitoro will remove the old unit when they deliver the new unit. Then they need to get Paul the Plumber and Eleck & Salvato back to reconnect the electric and plumbing. Ms. Rochelle asked why Aitoro couldn’t get someone to do that. Ms. Gunn said that would cost an additional $500-600 and that they won’t do certain things. Ms. Gunn said that these companies are in touch with her by phone and then she sends faxes that don’t get responded to, and then they come back with all new quotes and that this is why it has been taking so long.

Ms. Rochelle questioned if there was any action that needed to be taken on this issue. Ms. Gunn said that she needed to nail this down more so they know exactly how much it is going to cost. She said that it would take at least four weeks to get the units. Ms. Rochelle asked Ms. Gunn to keep them informed as to how it is going along.

NORWALK MUSEUM REPORT

Ms. Gunn gave a verbal report to the Commission, as she had not had time to prepare a written report. She said that the Museum had been extremely active with school children coming through and assisting people doing research in the library, that the volunteer hours were up and the general visitors remained generally solid through the winter months. She said that there had been several community meetings held at the museum, one of which was a meeting of the Hispanic Society of South Norwalk and the Board of Ed to discuss the Hispanic concerns with interpreters and how the Hispanic children are being treated in the school system, and to discuss the budget cuts that would be affecting them.

Ms. Gunn mentioned the Lower Hudson Conference series of four full day sessions on collections management that she and Ms. Soltes had been attending in Wilderstein on the Hudson. Ms. Gunn said that some of the systems that had been put in place at the Norwalk Museum were similar to the systems that they had been using with great success and that they were able to compare the computer systems and cataloging with them. She also discussed the full day session on photographs and how to catalog and care for them and that she had learned some very interesting and careful ways to proceed with very little money. Ms. Gunn discussed the symposium she had attended at the Connecticut Historical Society in the past weekend on costumes and clothing from the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th Century. Ms. Gunn said that she had picked up some things that could be put into the Museum’s system to aid them in cataloging the collections.

Ms. Gunn said that she had volunteers who were continuing to catalog the Museum’s collection of art and that it was going along very well. She mentioned the digital camera that she had purchased for the Museum and that she was still getting used to using it to take pictures of the art for entering into the database.

Ms. Rochelle asked if Ms. Gunn was keeping an inventory of the equipment she was purchasing for the Museum, the computers, the camera, and questioned if they were filed with the City as it is all City-owned property. Ms. Gunn replied that she had asked the City for recommendations and has talked to Mr. Foley about it. Ms. Rochelle said that any money that is used to purchase things for the Museum that goes through a City account, any equipment that is purchased is City property so it is owned by the City and should be listed. Mr. Iannaccone remarked that the computers would be on file. Ms. Gunn said that the money did not come from the City, that it came from a donation and that the City had the paperwork for everything because they wrote the checks for it.

Ms. Rochelle said that she had to follow up on the letter that she sent to Ms. Gunn on behalf of the Commission on January 23^rd that Ms. Gunn has not yet replied to, in which the Commission asked about the information so they could proceed with the inventory of the prior inventory. Ms. Gunn said that she hasn’t seen the information that Ms. Falasca was writing down during the silver safe inventory. Ms. Rochelle asked what that has to do with the Commission putting the prior inventory on the database. Ms. Gunn replied that putting the prior inventory on the database when the database doesn’t already have the catalog of that information on the database doesn’t really benefit anybody, to have the written inventory list is certainly helpful, but as she works on fine tuning the database and designing it so it will function, the catalog information including the measurements of the piece, the weight and hallmarks, donor information which goes with the accession number, needs to be in the database first before anything can be entered.

Ms. Gunn said that the card file hasn’t been put into the database because there was no database when she took the job at the Museum. Mr. Bloom said the information was needed for security and Ms. Gunn agreed, and explained that what she was doing was creating the database. Ms. Gunn said that she still has not seen the Commission’s inventory list. Ms. Rochelle said that they were not talking about the silver inventory list, she was talking about the original inventory that Mr. Bloom had which was a combination of the day book, and card catalogs. Ms. Gunn said that this information has not been entered into the computer. Ms. Rochelle said that that is why the Commission would like to enter that information into the computer. Ms. Gunn asked if the Commission was planning to come and do it on the Museum’s computers. Ms. Rochelle said that they don’t know how Ms. Gunn does it. Ms. Gunn said that the Commission needs to come in and be shown how, that she would teach them. Ms. Rochelle asked if this was something that could be done on another computer. Ms. Gunn said that she would prefer not to do that. Ms. Rochelle asked why, and Ms. Gunn said that the database was a priority.

Mr. Bondi said that if the Commission was going to work off the cards, the cards were here in the Museum so the Commission could set up a computer in the conference room. Ms. Gunn told Ms. Rochelle that she has already had a new volunteer who is a librarian who has already begun to enter the cards into the Museum’s computer. Ms. Rochelle said that any Commissioners that wanted to do some work on it, they could come down to the Museum.

Ms. Rochelle asked Ms. Gunn what type of database was she using. Ms. Gunn said she was using Filemaker Pro. Ms. Rochelle wanted to know when Ms. Gunn purchased it. Ms. Gunn said she purchased it when she got her computer in 2000. Ms. Rochelle asked if it was Microsoft. Ms. Gunn said that it was not and that was one of the reasons she chose the program. She said that the reason she chose it over Microsoft was that Microsoft changes its software constantly and has to be updated frequently. Filemaker also upgrades itself but its policy was that you don’t have to do incremental upgrades and you can also use it on cross platforms. Ms. Rochelle asked if it was working well for her. Ms. Gunn said that the reason it was taking time was that fields have to be created and that also that volunteers and others can easily understand it. Ms. Gunn said that there was a lot of work that had to be done but that her hope was that eventually the information would appear on the Internet, but that that was far down the road.

Ms. Rochelle asked Ms. Gunn if it would be possible for the Museum to fly the flag while the country is at war. Ms. Gunn said that the Museum has had the flag up whenever it is open, unless it is inclement weather. Ms. Gunn stated that she has asked Plaza Management several times to install the outdoor light so the flag can fly at night, but as yet they have not done so.

Ms. Gunn reported that the Museum building has had a gas leak which has been repaired but that was why the room was so uneven in its heating. She also suggested that this was why the gas bill has seemed so high throughout the winter.

NORWALK HISTORIC RESOURCES INVENTORY (NHRI)

5 Elmcrest Terrace

Ms. Rochelle asked if there would ever be a public hearing regarding 5 Elmcrest Terrace. Ms. Gunn said that a problem had developed that prevented the Commission from having it before tonight’s meeting. She also had spoken with Liz Suchy from the Norwalk Hospital and asked why the Hospital had not responded to any of the Commission’s letters. Ms. Suchy said that the Hospital would not respond until the public hearing. Ms. Rochelle suggested the Commission set a date and check what the protocol should be. She felt that the public hearing should be held at the Norwalk Museum before the beginning of the regular Commission meeting. The Commissioners scheduled the public hearing for April 23, 2003 at 7:00 p.m.

III. REPORTS – COMMITTEES

LMMM Restoration Committee

There was no Committee report at this time.

Mathews Park Committee

There was no Committee report at this time.

IV. OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business to be discussed at this time.

V. NEW BUSINESS

New Demolition Ordinance (taken out of order for the convenience of guests.)

Ms. Rochelle announced that she was relaxing the rules so the Commission could take this item out of agenda order. She introduced Mr. William Ireland of the Code Enforcement Dept. and Mr. Ireland was given the floor. He distributed copies of the new Demolition Ordinance wording to the Commissioners who were given five minutes to review it. Ms. Gunn asked if Mr. Ireland could explain the content of 55-3a. Mr. Ireland said that they would go through the entire ordinance point by point and he would explain it all including the footnotes. Ms. Rochelle added that the ordinance would then be sent back to the Legal Dept.

Mr. Ireland explained that this ordinance was a demolition delay ordinance proposed by Ed Schmidt, Assistant to the Mayor. He stated that a building must be at least 50 years old and that the age could be checked at the Tax Assessor’s office and that anything less than 50 years old is not in effect but would go straight through the demolition process. He stated that in 55-3 under a should include the following: address of the building to be demolished, name and address of the owners, the age of the building which can be pulled off the Tax Assessor sheet, the square footage of the building to be demolished, a current photograph of the structure, the names and addresses of the adjoining properties to the building to be demolished. All of this information must be brought in for an initial submission. Within 10 days of the initial submission, the applicant shall 1) publish in a local newspaper having general circulation in the City of Norwalk a notice of intent to demolish which must include the above information less photographs. Copies of the notice would go to the adjoining property owners; copies would go to the Norwalk Historical Commission and to the Director of Planning and Zoning. Anyone who requests in writing to Mr. Ireland’s office would also be issued copies of such notice. Mr. Ireland asked the Commission to inform him of who would receive this information on behalf of the Commission. On the property to be demolished must be posted in a conspicuous location a 24"x26" sign visible to the nearest street or any access adjoining the property, in 2" letters, "Demolition" with a copy of the notice attached to the sign so that anyone passing the property can go up and read the notice and see the intent of the owner. Within 14 days of the initial submission of the application the applicant will file with the Building Dept. a statement verifying under oath that all requirements have been met and complied with, and will attach that to the copy of notice and evidence of publication. Upon filing this, it is now given a "deemed filed" title and the 90-day clock begins ticking. Mr. Ireland continued, at this point any individual or the Historical Commission could now file a written objection and that there is 21 days from the "deemed filed" date in which to do this. If no objection is filed within 21 days from the "deemed filed" date, the demolition can take place according to a state statute. If there is an objection, the 90-day clock is in full effect.

Mr. Ireland stated that the purpose of the ordinance is to promote the educational, cultural, economic and general welfare of the City of Norwalk and will establish a procedure whereby owners of buildings with a significant historical value or characteristics will be informed of the economic tax aesthetic and other benefits of historic preservation and to further the preservation, rehabilitation and re-use of architecturally-significant buildings and structures by providing adequate time for all parties to consider and put forth pro-redevelopment alternatives to demolition, including attempts to find a purchaser who will retain or remove such historic or architecturally-significant building or structure, or who will present some other reasonable alternative to the last resort of demolition.

2) The Historical Commission may hold a public hearing on any application to which an objection has been filed if desired by the Commission.

Mr. Ireland pointed out that this was not a requirement, the Commission could also choose not to hold a public hearing but that it was up to the Commission to decide. The Commission could forward their recommendations to Mr. Ireland’s office and to the contractor and see if the contractor will abide by them. Mr. Ireland stated that if the demolition does not proceed within six months the permit is void and the process will have to begin again.

Ms. Rochelle stated that the Commission would have to keep a close watch on any buildings on the national or state register that are under 50 years old because these buildings could fall through the cracks. Mr. Ireland said that Mr. Schmidt had told him that the state does not add any buildings under 50 years to its list, but that he was not sure of this. Ms. Gunn remarked that some property owners do not want their properties to be listed. Mr. Ireland concurred and said that the owners have to be shown the advantages of being listed.

Ms. Gunn questioned whether the Tax Assessor’s sheets would have the correct age of a building and pointed out a mistake that she had found in the age of some buildings on School Street that had come up for demolition before the ordinance was created. Ms. Rochelle stated that the Commission would have to check this very carefully before proceeding. Ms. Gunn said that she would have to go to the Tax Assessor’s office with the list to check against the Assessor’s list and maps to check for lot boundaries and other changes since 1976.

Ms. Rochelle wanted to discuss exactly what happens when someone objects to a demolition notice. She pointed out that when Mr. Ireland’s office received an objection, he forwards that objection to the Historical Commission. Ms. Rochelle requested a motion from the Commission to establish that Ms. Gunn, as staff to the Commission, would be the person to receive the objections forwarded from Mr. Ireland’s office at the address of 41 North Main Street.

** MR. BONDI SECONDED.

** MOTION PASSED.

Ms. Gunn asked what she would be receiving from Mr. Ireland’s office. Mr. Ireland stated she would receive the entire notice including photographs. Ms. Gunn said that she would prefer to receive these notices through regular mail instead of through courier mail from City Hall as she receives them faster and often does not receive courier mail from City Hall for many days at a time.

Ms. Rochelle suggested that Ms. Gunn get in touch with up to three Commissioners to inform them when she receives the notices of objections on any properties going through the demolition process in order to expedite the possible necessity of calling a public hearing within the given time frame. Ms. Rochelle suggested that Ms. Falasca, as a real estate agent, and Ms. Bryant, as a member of the Norwalk Trust for Historic Preservation, and Mr. Iannaccone, would be the most knowledgeable of the Commissioners for this purpose. Ms. Bryant reminded Ms. Rochelle that she would already be aware of the notification as a member of the Preservation Trust. Ms. Rochelle remarked that two Commissioners could work as well as three, and mentioned that she herself would like to be on Ms. Gunn’s list for notification. Ms. Rochelle requested that all the Commissioners brainstorm to decide how to handle the process of calling public hearings as fast as possible in the event of an objection, and that they call or email her with any suggestions they may come up with.

VI. ANY OTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE COMMISSION

There was no other business to be discussed.

The meeting was called closed at 11:00 p.m.

** MR. BONDI MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.

** MS. BRYANT SECONDED.

** MOTION PASSED.

Respectfully submitted,Linda J. Hayes
Assistant to the Curator Norwalk Museum
Historical Commission - March 26, 2003

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