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| NORWALK HISTORICAL COMMISSION MINUTES |
CITY OF NORWALK
NORWALK HISTORICAL COMMISSION
OCTOBER 24, 2007
ATTENDANCE: Peter Bondi, Chair; Eric Chandler; David Park; Kathryn Martino;
Deborah Mathies; Marilyn Robinson; Charles Yost; Gail Wall (7:35 p.m.)
GUESTS: Ralph Bloom, Friends of the Norwalk Museum; Lisa Iantorno, student, UConn School of Law; Jackie Lightfield, Yourct.com
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Bondi called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES
August 22, 2007
The following correction was made to the minutes:
Under attendance - correct the spelling of Erik to Eric
** MR. CHANDLER MOVED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
September 26, 2007
The following correction was made to the minutes:
Page 1- correct date to read September 26th.
Page 5 – Under cemetery report - correct Alan to Island and under Norwalk Museum,
correct vision to version
** MR. CHANDLER MOVED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED
** MOTION PASSED WITH TWO (2) ABSTENTIONS (MS. MARTINO AND MR. YOST)
October 2, 2007
** MR. PARK MOVED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS SUBMITTED
** MOTION PASSED WITH TWO (2) ABSTENTIONS (MS. MARTINO AND MR. CHANDLER)
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Mr. Bondi read his written report. He said that the work on the Fitch Law Office has started. He gave an overview of the Land Use and Building Management Committee meeting that took place on October 18th. Mr. Bondi said that the Golden Hill area is now on the State Register of Historic Places.
REPORTS – BOARDS:
FRIENDS OF THE NORWALK MUSEUM
Mr. Bloom reported that they had a grand reception on October 12th which was very well attended. The exhibit will continue until Sunday November 18th. After that they will get ready for the tag sale in December. He said that there would be a lot of Norwalk materials being sold for the first time.
Ms. Mathies commended the Friends for their hard work.
** MR. YOST MOVED TO ACCEPT THE REPORT
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
LOCKWOOD MATHEWS MANSION
There was no report presented this evening.
REPORTS: SUB COMMITTEES:
FINANCE
Mr. Bondi announced that the operating budget was due at the end of November. Mr. Bondi, Ms. Martino and Ms. Gunn-Bromley will meet this weekend to review the budget. Mr. Bondi said that he would have a full report ready for the Commissioners at their next meeting.
BUILDING COMMITTEE
Mr. Bondi said that repairs have been started at the Fitch Law Office building. He said that Mr. Kurtzman has gone to the Gate Lodge and said that the chimney repairs look good.
Mr. Bondi said that they received two quotes for step repairs at Mill Hill. The Commissioners discussed the quotes.
** MR. PARK MOVED TO ACCEPT THE BID FROM PAT DECOCO FOR $1,400 TO REPAIR THE
MILL HILL STEPS
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
Mr. Bondi reported that he received four bids for the gutter and they are all different. He said that they will have to go back and determine what look will be esthetically correct for those buildings. Mr. Bondi also said that they will have to put forth a maintenance program with the City to keep the gutters clean.
Ms. Mathies asked when they would be ready to rent the Jail space. She pointed out that it was the responsibility of this Commission to rent out that space. Mr. Bondi said that it was up to this Commission. Ms. Martino suggested increasing the rent if the space was renovated.
** MS. MARTINO MOVED TO PREPARE UNIT 1 AT THE JAIL BUILDING FOR RENTAL
** MR. CHANDLER SECONDED
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
CEMETERY REPORT
Mr. Park reported that Evan Robbins received approval from the Boy Scout Council for his Eagle Scout project.
Mr. Park said that he has not received a price for Comstock Cemetery.
Ms. Wall joined the meeting at 7:35 p.m.
NORWALK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Ms. Wall read her written report. Ms. Wall expressed concern over the debris at Smith Street.
** MR. CHANDLER MOVED TO ACCEPT THE REPORT
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
NORWALK MUSEUM
Mr. Chandler read his written report.
ROGERS-RITCH-MERRITT HOUSE
There was no report presented this evening.
MUSEUM CURATOR’S REPORT AND ASSISTANT TO THE HISTORICAL COMMISSION REPORT
Mr. Bondi distributed the Curator’s written report.
Ms. Mathies asked if the Curator has been absent. Mr. Bondi said that she attends physical therapy and is working that out with the Personnel Director and is being monitored.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business discussed this evening.
NEW BUSINESS
** MS. ROBINSON MOVED TO INSTRUCT THE CURATOR TO COMPLETE THE GRANT PROPOSAL
(CONNECTIONS TO COLLECTIONS BOOKSHELF) AND FORWARD THE DRAFT TO THE COMMISSION
FOR REVIEW PRIOR TO THE FINAL SUBMISSION
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
2008 CAPITAL BUDGET REQUESTS
Mr. Bondi said that they need to push for a preservation plan so they can move forward with their projects. He said that Mr. Park and Mr. Westmoreland have been documenting what is needed at Mill Hill. Ms. Wall pointed out that they need to present an actual proposal from a contractor to support any requests.
Ms. Robinson asked Mr. Bondi to tell the Commissioners about his ideas for creating an historic district at Mill Hill. Mr. Bondi said that he spoke with Mr. Bryant who suggested to Mr. (Fred) Bondi that they put forth an exploratory committee to determine if it was feasible. He said that no one wanted to move forward with this.
Ms. Wall said that Mill Hill is already a National Historical District. The concept of Mill Hill being a local historical district should come under the purview of the Historical Commission. Mr. Robinson added that this Commission is the City entity, not Parks and Recreation. Mr. Chandler said that if there is another level that would open the Commission up to more grants then it would not be bad for Mill Hill, if it is administered through the Historical Commission.
Ms. Wall said that this concept should have been shared with all of the concerned parties and should have come out of this Commission. She said that this Commission along with the Historical Society should have been included in the process at Mill Hill.
Mr. Bondi said that the Common Council wanted to create an exploratory committee. Ms. Wall said that there were people who wanted to know who was on the committee and were surprised that there was a list. Mr. Bondi said that the Common Council appointed the Committee through the Mayor, but could accept recommendations. Ms. Wall said that Mr. Bondi, Mr. Bryant and Mr. Westmoreland were on the list.
Ms. Wall told Mr. Bondi that he was privy to information that the Commission was not aware of. Mr. Bondi said that they were going to have a public hearing prior to the meeting, but since it was dropped it is a dead issue. Ms. Wall asked Mr. Bondi why he did not share this with the Commission that he was going to serve on this committee. Mr. Bondi replied that he did not say anything because they did not have the votes. It is a dead issue.
Ms. Robinson told Mr. Bondi that their point was that they are all on this Commission, and he should have come to this Commission. Mr. Bondi asked if it was a big deal. Ms. Robinson said that as Chair he should have told them. She said that there are protocols to be followed and as the Chair he should have informed the Commissioners. Mr. Bondi said that it was in the newspaper and on the agenda. Mr. Bondi said that he was asked to be considered, not to serve.
Mr. Chandler said that he would like to get past this and create a proposal for the Common Council to revisit this so that they could create an exploratory committee with representatives from the appropriate parties.
Ms. Wall said that the Historical Society is looking to create a preservation plan for Mill Hill. She suggested creating a sub committee of Commissioners to join the discussions.
Mr. Bondi said that it will be up to the next Common Council to either take this up or not. He said that if he learns anything he will bring it to the Commission.
There was no further business and the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Rosemarie Lombardi
Telesco Secretarial Services
Norwalk Museum Report to the Historical Commission
For October 24, 2007 meeting
• The Fitch Law Office work has begun.
• The Gate Lodge chimney repair work has begun and should be completed by the 24th..
• The Purchase Orders for the Town House Chimney repair and the moving of the granite from the parking lot to the flat area off the road, just south of the current location have been written and the work should start soon. Both projects will be done at the same time.
• Additional quotes have been obtained for repairing the nine steps at Mill Hill.
• A quote to re-point the Town House will be forth coming for consideration
as a Capital Budget request.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
• In the last heavy rain storm the western (flat) part of the NM’s roof started to leak again. Plaza Management & Realty has been notified and the roofers have been back to work on it.
• The mounds of pigeon droppings in front of the Museum were removed for the opening, but the steps have yet to be really cleaned. Plaza Management & Realty is getting cleaners to clean the steps each week and has found someone to put up pigeon wire to deter them.
• The Museum continues to be closed on Saturdays, whether I am working or not.
• Work with the NM Sub-Committee is progressing on the Museum and Collections Policy.
• The accession records and master database are progressing.
• This process has turned up, as expected, questions and small problems to be solved. It has also taken place as time permits. Several objects that had received FIC (Found in Collection) numbers have now been discovered to have accession numbers that were not previously recorded. The database carries both numbers. The accession files reference FIC numbers but are filed by NM #’s when known.
• The Curator has been able to work on the Museum Collections and Archive records this past month and the cataloguing of the new acquisitions.
• I continue to receive, and answer phone and email research inquiries.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Gunn Bromley
Curator
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