APRIL 6, 2005

ATTENDANCE: Marilyn Robinson, Chair; Ralph Bloom; Betty Booth; Carol Ann Falasca; Deborah Mathies; Gail Wall; Marija Bryant; Marjorie St. Aubyn

STAFF: Susan Gunn, Curator

OTHERS: Michael Bromley, Esq.; Brooke Megrew; Ned Brooks; Barbara Amodio; Tod Bryant

Chair Robinson called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m. She said she received a letter from Ned Brooks regarding the property at 30 Highland Avenue. His original intention was to demolish the property after acquiring it, and this was disconcerting because it was the most important house on the historic list.

Mr. Brooks introduced himself as president of BG Development Corp, and said this was his first opportunity to acquire a historical home. He said he has no personal ties to the house but does know the family next door. He said the house is too old to consider restoration but wanted to see if there would be a way to preserve some or all of it. It was his intention to ask if the house could be relocated to the lot across the street. If not, he wondered if the Commission would consider allowing the house to be placed in the lot temporarily until another suitable location for it could be found. He said he would welcome a walk through by anyone interested.

Ms. Falasca said the house is special to the City and to the Museum. Mrs. Smith, the original owner, was the architect for the Lockwood Mathews Museum. She said the property Mr. Brooks referred to is owned by the 6th Taxing District of the City. She said the house was renovated and is now a hybrid house with Victorian and colonial-style architecture. There are 11 rooms on the third floor, and the house is livable and moveable. She said she wished Mr. Brooks could incorporate it into his development plans. Mr. Brooks said his project is a conservation development; the 5.1-acre site would be subdivided into 12 lots. Application would be made to bring the houses together in a cluster fashion; 50% of the remaining portion of the site would be given to Conservation to be used as open space. He said discussion continue with Planning and Zoning. The site does not have wetlands on it. Mr. Brooks said that if a regular subdivision was applied for, there might be an adverse impact on the site and none of the land could be given to Conservation.

Mr. Bloom said the house was altered by Mrs. Smith; the property enjoys fabulous views of the Norwalk Harbor making it extremely attractive. Mr. Brooks said the Rowayton neighbors felt his proposal would improve the value of their properties, and felt some type of development was inevitable. There would be no Conservation easement but a special permit would be required. Ms. Megrew said there did not seem to be any other suitable sites for the house to be moved to. Chair Robinson asked why the house couldn’t be sold. Mr. Brooks responded that he would be willing to sell the house for $1.00. He said he had not spoken to the Sixth Taxing District but did speak to Land Use and Building Development. A 90-day delay was filed. Mr. Bloom suggested advertising that a large colonial was available for sale and recommended that Mr. Brooks canvas the neighborhood to find out if there was any interest; Mr. Brooks said he would do that. Ms. Gunn said that she would email the Norwalk Preservation Trust about this.

Ms. Mathies asked if Mr. Brooks had pursued other alternatives, and if he would be willing to accept any if they were presented. Mr. Brooks said that developing the property as a standard 12-unit subdivision would be opening a can of worms. His proposed units would be 4,000 sq.ft. and be about 20’ apart; each would have yard space to create a buffer between the units.

Ms. Bryant suggested holding a public hearing. Mr. Bloom suggested using the tail end of the property because it would blend into the neighborhood. Ms. Falasca said moving the house would be OK but she doubted that Rowayton would be willing to give up open space. The commissioners agreed that Mr. Brooks should contact Mr. Wrenn; Mr. Brooks said he would be willing to do that. He said the development was not yet approved by the City; preliminary meetings were scheduled for April 14th and April 28th and there would be a public hearing on May 1, 2005.

Mr. Bloom said he intended to visit the house and take photographs of the interior, exterior and grounds, and he would contact each of the commissioners for their input.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

February 18, 2005 Public Hearing

On page 1, fifth paragraph, last line – delete the words “that he believed.” In the seventh paragraph, last sentence – insert the words “might have” after the word “homestead.”

On page 3, fourth paragraph, first word – change to “Ms.”

** MS. BOOTH MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 18, 2005 PUBLIC HEARING AS CORRECTED.
** MS. WALL SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED WITH ONE ABSTENTION (ROBINSON).

February 23, 2005

The following corrections were made:

On page 1, in Staff - change “Director” to “Curator”

On page 2, first line - change the word “batter” to “better.” In the second line - change the word “preservation” to “district designation.” In the second paragraph - change “Mr. Kimmel” to “Mr. Krummel.”

On page 4, second paragraph, last line – insert the words “the taking of 10-14 parking spaces at the time” before the word “that.” In the last paragraph, first line - change “Commerce Bank” to “the Norwalk Museum”

On page 5, second paragraph, second line – change the words “images of the” to “their new book on the.” In the fifth paragraph, first line – change “emergency” to “energy.” In the sixth paragraph, second line – change the word “accept” to “apply for.” On the last line of the page – change the word “accept” to “apply for”

On page 6, first paragraph, second line – insert the words “drain for the” before the word “HVAC.” In the last sentence – delete the words “are angry with the people that they selected to do the air conditioning installation” and insert the words “felt it was the City’s cost.”

On page 7, halfway down the page - change “February 18, 2004” to “February 18, 2005”

On page 8, second paragraph, second line – add the word “Jewish” after the word “Norwalk.” Also, delete the third paragraph in its entirety “Ms. Falasca said … belonged to the Friends.” In the fifth paragraph, last line – add the words “year by year” at the end of the sentence. The last sentence on the page should read, “There was no report and no meeting of the Gift Shop committee.”

On page 9, last paragraph, second line – insert a semicolon after the word “building” and add these words “other buildings are older and in much greater need of repair and budget funding before the Norwalk Museum.” Delete the last sentence on the page.

** MS. BRYANT MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2005 AS CORRECTED.
** MS. MATHIES SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Chair Robinson said that meetings of the Commission were too long. Ms. Falasca said that since each committee submitted its report for other commissioners to review there was no need for a verbal summary; problematic or special issues would be discussed.

REPORTS

Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum

Ms. St. Aubyn said that plaster fell from the bathroom ceiling and caused damage. A report was prepared and submitted to the City, and they advised they were uncertain how to proceed. She said an assessment of the damage was required and once known, she would obtain a repair estimate and notify the State. Ms. St. Aubyn said she has been following this closely and asked the Commission how the repairs could be funded. Ms. Falasca suggested the repairs be done quickly; some of the damage was extensive and a delay could risk making the damage worse. She said that perhaps funding could be obtained from a special appropriation. Chair Robinson suggested that Joe Pisaro send a letter to Corporation Counsel to ask what the proper procedure is or if there is a process that needed to be followed. Ms. Falasca said that Paul Locker should also be notified. Ms. Wall asked if any of the exposed areas were protected against more plaster falling; Ms. Falasca agreed there should be, and suggested some type of netting, for example. Ms. Wall asked if there was a preservation plan for the Museum. Ms. St. Aubyn said there was no preservation plan for the entire building, just some of the smaller rooms. The roofer would be asked to provide an assessment of the current roof’s durability. She said funds had been allocated for this as part of the sprinkler system repair.

Norwalk Historical Society

Ms. Wall said she wanted to discuss the condition of the properties on Smith Street. She said she during a meeting with Mr. Discala on another matter, he expressed his desire to move forward with the plans for redevelopment of the Wall Street and Smith Street areas. Ms. Wall distributed photos of the debris on Hubbell Lane. Mr. Bloom said the barn was aging and looked very shabby, and the entire street was a mess. Ms. Falasca said that representatives of the Health Department should visit the area. Chair Robinson said she notified them yesterday and spoke to the Mayor and the Chief of Police. Ms. Wall said that a police officer observed the conditions on Smith Street and submitted a report. She asked the Commission what the next step was.

Mr. Bloom said all the clutter belonged to one of the tenants. The City considered it a closed lot, and accordingly, it was backfilled many years ago by the DPW. He said the tenant’s lease allowed him two spaces, one of them being the left side of the barn. It appeared the tenant had taken it upon himself to use the other side as well. Ms. Gunn said the tenant received permission from someone at City Hall for this. Mr. Bloom suggested sending a letter to the tenant; Chair Robinson said she would do this. Ms. Wall said that in light of the fact that a developer is interested in the property, now would be the time to meet with the tenant(s). It would also be wise to meet with the Building Committee to evaluate the lease and to determine what could be done about the barn. She said she wanted the property to be put into the Mill Hill Park and that it would also be a good idea to apply for grant money to be used for the cleanup. Ms. Falasca asked who at City Hall gave permission to the tenant; Ms. Gunn said she did not know who the person was. She agreed to provide copies of the leases for the buildings to Ms. Wall. Ms. Bryant said she might send an email to Ms. Blair at DPW regarding the trash on the property.

Ms. Wall said that yesterday she tried to repair the broken flagpole. She said the invoice for the light repair was received and suggested having an amount placed into the budget so that a service call could be made two or three a year on this.

Ms. Wall explained a museum exhibit she and others were preparing to depict the flood that devastated much of Norwalk in 1955. She said that once on exhibit, there would be takeaways and brochures and felt confident there would be many significant sponsorships. She said the final layout and plans would be available in May. Ms. Wall said she expected the project to be completed within the budgeted amount of $15,000 to $17,000. The exhibit would open on June 1st, and Ms. Wall suggested there be a preview party for sponsors and VIPs at 5:30 p.m. that day. Ms. Gunn said she needed the names and addresses of everyone working with Ms. Wall on this exhibit because they needed to sign a hold harmless agreement.

STAFF TO THE COMMISSION REPORT

Norwalk Museum

Ms. Gunn said that a thank you was in order to Grubb & Ellis for replacing lighting in the conference room. Energy efficient bulbs could not be used because they would cause damage to the collections. Grubb & Ellis also repaired the light switch in the east gallery. She said that retractable lighting was needed in the Lockwood Gallery, and on April 12th a carpenter investigated the problem. This would be directed to an electrician. Ms. Gunn said she spoke to the assessor regarding the UPS grant. Additionally, there were many computer problems lately.

Ms. Gunn said the CAP grant meeting went well. Regarding the gate lodge, tree cutters noticed holes in the roof but there was no apparent leaking.

Finance Report

Ms. Gunn said that funds were getting low in many accounts. She recommended transferring $800 from the fuel account and $60 from the postage account into the typing services account to cover the current and anticipated future billings.

Ms. Wall said she was pleased that the Mayor recommended full funding for one of the budget items; $25,000 would be reinstated into the NHC’s budget.

Ms. Booth asked about entry of the index cards into the database system. Ms. Gunn explained the list of acquisitions; there were 7,000 entries made into books 1 and 2. She said that a great deal more needed to be entered, and explained why the process was slow moving. The commissioners discussed the database at length, commenting that backup information should be stored off site such as at City Hall, but never at a private residence. Ms. Wall suggested that an I.T. employee be asked for assistance. She wondered if it would be helpful to Ms. Gunn if the commissioners prepared a process that could be followed of what should be entered first, with a completion date, etc.

Ms. Booth asked if the new hire had expertise in working with the database. Ms. Gunn said the person was contractually hired to assist with the inventory when the Museum was closed.

Ms. Gunn spoke briefly about the May 16th deadline for the NEH grant.

The commissioners discussed the assistance that would be provided by the Boy Scouts. Ms. Gunn said that a determination had not been made about their task(s), but most probably one of them would be asked to assist with cemeteries.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Chair Robinson said she met with the Planning Committee regarding Norwalk’s application to receive designation as a “preserve America” city. Ms. Wall said that Mr. Moore of the Redevelopment Agency requested that the Commission write a letter in support of Norwalk’s application for this designation. Chair Robinson said she would write the letter tomorrow.

** MS. MATHIES MOVED THE NORWALK HISTORICAL COMMISSION TO PREPARE A LETTER TO ACCOMPANY NORWALK’S APPLICATION RE “PRESERVE AMERICA.”
** MS. BRYANT SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

LMMM Sprinkler System

Chair Robinson said this item was already discussed. The Commission would review proposals for repair once received.

Head of the Harbor

Chair Robinson said that Mr. Discala presented his “head of the harbor” project to the Planning Committee, and at that meeting he repeated his commitment to keep the Historical Commission involved in the project as much as possible. She said he responded favorably to her letter to him requesting this. In addition, Mill Hill would be tied to the head of the harbor project.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Cemeteries

Ms. Mathies said the subcommittee did not have a meeting last month. Ms. Falasca said there were about 12 volunteers who expressed an interest in the clean-up efforts at Pine Island. The City would be asked to provide a locked dumpster. Ms. Bryant suggested this be tied to the City’s clean up day on April 30.work. Ms. Gunn said she would query Corporation Counsel about a certificate of insurance or hold harmless agreement for those that would assist the clean up. Chair Robinson said she did not clearly understand when a hold harmless was required or for whom, and asked Ms. Gunn to obtain this information from Corporation Counsel and have it available for the next meeting.

Demolitions

Ms. Falasca said she was concerned about the property owned by Ms. Glazer at 189 Rowayton Avenue. The waterfront property built in 1850 was remodeled in 1910 and would be part of the proposed national registry of historic homes district. She felt strongly that the Commission should object to the demolition. Ms. Gunn said that she would write the letter on behalf of the Commission.

LMMM/Mill Hill

Ms. Bryant said the Building Committee met to develop a process that would be followed for managing repairs and maintenance, and to obtain repair estimates; the process would be finalized at the subcommittee’s next meeting. She said the need to increase public awareness about historical preservation was critical, because there was very little understanding and therefore no funding. Grant money would be applied for at a future time, and hopefully funding could be obtained through tourism.

** MS. BRYANT MOVED THE BUILDING COMMITTEE TO PREPARE A PRESENTATION TO MAYOR KNOPP TO OBTAIN HIS SUPPORT AND APPROVAL OF A PRESERVATION PLAN.
** MS. FALASCA SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ms. Bryant spoke about the national award for smart growth achievement sponsored by the EPA. She felt that the Norwalk Village District would be a good candidate for this award and offered to write a letter of support.

** MS. BRYANT MOVED THE NORWALK HISTORICAL COMMISSION TO WRITE A LETTER OF SUPPORT TO ACCOMPANY AN APPLICATION FOR THE SMART GROWTH ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.
** MS. WALL SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

NHRI

Ms. Mathies said that she was extremely against demolition of the Winthrop house and felt the Commission should send a letter opposing it.

** MS. MATHIES MOVED THE NORWALK HISTORICAL COMMISSION TO SEND A LETTER TO MR. IRELAND, THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, MR. GREENE AND MAYOR KNOPP OPPOSING DEMOLITION OF THE WINTHROP HOUSE.
** MS. BRYANT SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ms. Mathies said she proposed that Five Mile River Landing be included in the National Registry of Historic Districts. This was approved today.

Regarding 28 Camp Street, Ms. Mathies said she was not able to speak with anyone about this.

** MS. MATHIES MOVED THE NORWALK HISTORICAL COMMISSION TO SEND A LETTER TO MAYOR KNOPP, THE COMMON COUNCIL AND OTHERS TO REQUEST THAT A STUDY COMMITTEE BE APPOINTED TO DESIGNATE FODOR FARM AS A LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT.
** MS. BOOTH SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Norwalk Museum

Ms. Falasca said the subcommittee did not have a meeting and there was no report.

Norwalk Museum Gift Shop

Ms. Booth said the subcommittee did not have a meeting and there was no report.

Rogers-Ritch-Merritt House

Ms. Falasca distributed Mr. Krummel’s report for discussion and said the subcommittee met yesterday. Ms. Wall said the issue of repair was discussed months ago and should have been completed by now. That a resolution to the problem was still being discussed seemed ridiculous to her. She felt strongly that Mr. Gould’s feet should be “held to the fire.” Ms. Falasca said there is money in the budget for the repair.

** CHAIR ROBINSON MOVED THE NORWALK HISTORICAL COMMISSION TO AUTHORIZE AN EXPENDITURE TO GLASTONBURY RESTORATIONS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $6,000 FOR:

(A) THE COST OF PREPARATION OF AN ESTIMATE TO ERECT A WATERTIGHT SHELL AND SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS TO COMPLETE THE REASSEMBLY AND
(B) THE COST TO EVALUATE MATERIALS IN THE TRAILERS, REVIEW VIDEOTAPES AND ADVISE WHAT IS USABLE

WITH THE CAVEAT THAT COMMISSIONER KRUMMEL DISCUSS THIS WITH THE ARCHITECTS, BASED ON INFORMATION AVAILABLE AND FACTS PRESENTED BY MS. WALL.

** MS. BRYANT SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

OLD BUSINESS

Ms. Falasca reported on the Dunne Hardware store project, and said it was moving along smoothly. Mr. Bloom agreed, adding that it would be completed before the Flood Exhibit opened. He said The Friends carry their own insurance. Fortunately, all fixtures were free standing and not attached to the building. Ms. Gunn said that April 12th would be a good day to begin the work; she would check her schedule regarding the subsequent dates. Chair Robinson said the schedule was acceptable. Mr. Bloom said the project began in 1995, and he was pleased that it would finally be completed.

NEW BUSINESS

Chair Robinson asked if the commissioners wanted to schedule a public hearing on the Margaret Smith house. Ms. Falasca said she did; others agreed. Chair Robinson said that a public hearing might create public interest in someone wanting to take the house. Ms. Falasca said that a presentation should also be made at City Hall and the media should be notified.

OTHER BUSINESS

Ms. Wall asked the commissioners for their input about an appropriate thank you to former commissioner, Glen Iannaccone. Ms. Gunn said a plaque would be made; the commissioners agreed to split the cost.

NEXT MEETING

The commissioners discussed their next meeting date and agreed it would be Wednesday, April 27, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. Chair Robinson said that today’s meeting was rescheduled from March 23rd which was cancelled due to weather.

Chair Robinson adjourned the meeting at 11:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Carol A. Graham for
Telesco Secretarial Services

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