JUNE 23, 2004

ATTENDANCE: Marilyn Robinson, Chairperson; Glenn Iannaccone; Deborah Mathies; Marija Bryant; Carol Ann Falasca; Betty Booth; Linda Fallon; William Krummel; Ralph Bloom; Gail Wall

Excused
Absence: Kathleen Morrow

Staff: Susan Gunn, Staff

Others: Alan Lo, Redevelopment; Michael Bromley; George Bolton

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Robinson called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m.

Ms. Robinson said that Mr. Lo stopped by for the meeting to update the Commission on a few things. Mr. Lo said that the gatehouse at the LMMM has a mold problem and the mechanical system was not adequate. He said that there was money in the capital budget for the gatehouse for improvements. Mr. Lo said that he was requesting a purchasing order next week. He added that the soffett work would start next week.

Mr. Lo said that the summer kitchen laundry area still needed to be painted. He said that the woman from Pennsylvania has not been able to reach him concerning the test for the paint. He said that the suggested painting the trim dark brown for now. Ms. Falasca said that there then would be several different colors of brown in the mansion.

Mr. Lo said that he was getting a quote from Building Management for repair of the steps and foundation at Mill Hill. He said that then there would be two quotes including WB Services. Mr. Lo said that he would check with Public Works to see if the mason was available to help.

Mr. Lo said that the quote for yearly services from ABC exterminating was $650 and then $85 each month. He said that he suggested looking into the contract and possible pricing other exterminators.

Mr. Lo said that Homeline quoted a price of $3600 to replace 6 windows at the Fitch House. He said that it would be $1200 to repair the windows but that the wood would be difficult to replace. Mr. Lo said that he recommends Homeline to replace the windows. He said that he would write a letter to Purchasing explaining the recommendation of Homeline.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Corrections are as follows:

Change Mr. Iannaccone as excused absence.
Page 3, change Ms. Fallon to Ms. Falasca.
Page 3, change ‘1840’ to ‘1960’ and add ‘Circa 1840’ after the ‘well house’.
Page 3, under 28 Camp St., change Conservation Trust to Norwalk Preservation Trust and change names Todd and Bill to Mr. Bryant and Mr. Kraus.
Page 4, under Cemeteries, change the number of stones from 10 to 6 and add Mr. Lupinacci’s last name in the minutes.
Page 4 under Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum, change Hester sofas to Herter Brothers and Lockwood House to Lockwood Heirs.
Page 5, that the number 6 away from the word about.
Page 5, second paragraph, change Mr. Bloom’s sentence to read, ‘Mr. Bloom said that Common Council approval has been on the books for 30 years.
Page 6, remove ‘$8,000’ from the sentence.

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED.
** MS. FALLON SECONDED
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Mr. Krummel said that he would recommend making corrections to the minutes page by page to save time and effort.

REPORTS

LOCKWOOD MATHEWS MANSION MUSEUM

Ms. Robinson said that the report is attached for the Commission’s review.

NORWALK HISTORICAL SOCIETY – GAIL WALL

Ms. Wall said that she would recommend a motion to approve Homeline to replace windows.

** MS. WALL MOVE TO APPROVE HOMELINE TO REPLACE THE WINDOWS AT THE FITCH HOUSE.
** MR. IANNACCONE SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ms. Bryant said that she would meet Mr. Bloom at the Museum on June 26 to match the color in the music room. Ms. Wall said that she and Mr. Bloom would meet to discuss the color of the paint chips.

Ms. Robinson said that the Commission needed to decide where the extra money would come from for the replacement of the windows.

** MS. WALL MOVED TO TAKE THE COST OVERAGE OF WINDOW REPLACEMENT FROM THE CAPITAL BUDGET LINE ITEM CO209 FOR THE MILL HILL COMPLEX FOR THE QUOTE OF $3600.
** MR. IANNACCONE SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

CURATOR’S REPORT ON NORWALK MUSEUM – SUSAN GUNN

Ms. Gunn said that the report is attached for review by the Commission.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Ms. Robinson said that Mr. Erlinger was present tonight to discuss the fasod being changed on certain restaurants on Washington Street.

Mr. Erlinger said that he has been a merchant in South Norwalk for 8 years. He said that the present change in windows on certain buildings did not remain historical to the area. He said to have opened windows while dining was not historic. Mr. Erlinger asked who approved the construction changes for Liquid. He said that it was a complete change in fasod. Mr. Erlinger said that he would like direction as to where to take his concern.

Mr. Bloom said that the State Historic Society could take the historic district away from the city without the correct changes. Mr. Bloom suggested getting information from Paul Loecker.

Ms. Falasca said that the NHC was not notified of any changes to be made on Washington Street. Ms. Robinson asked what the Commission could do about this. Mr. Krummel asked if there was a code to refer to about Washington Street. Ms. Robinson suggested writing a letter to the Corporation Counsel requesting answer.

** MR. KRUMMEL MOVED TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE CORPORATION COUNSEL REQUESTING AN ANSWER TO CERTAIN QUESTIONS THAT THE NHC WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE DISTRICT LOSING HISTORICAL FASOD.
** MS. BRYANT SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ms. Robinson said that she received a letter from Tall Paul requesting to park his vehicles on Smith Street. Mr. Bloom said that it’s park property and the NHC could not grant a lease on park property. Mr. Krummel said that he would recommend forwarding the letter to Alan Lo and Mr. Lo then forward the letter to the Land Use Committee.

** MS. BRYANT MOVED TO FORWARD TALL PAUL’S LETTER TO ALAN LO TO FORWARD TO LAND USE COMMITTEE.
** MR. MATHIES SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

STAFF TO THE COMMISSION REPORT

Ms. Robinson said that there was no report this evening.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

DEMOLITIONS

36 Chapel Street

Ms. Falasca said that she suggested letting this property go. The Commission reviewed the plans submitted by ADA Architects.

16 MCKINLEY STREET

Ms. Falasca said that this was a 1953 Cape Cod house and she said that she suggested letting it go.

192 WESTPORT AVENUE

Ms. Falasca said that she suggested letting this property go.

7 VAN ZANT STREET

Ms. Falasca said that she suggested letting this property go. She said that this area was a mixed-use zone.

43 Harbor View Avenue

Ms. Falasca said that this house was built around 1920 and has a beautiful view. Mr. Krummel said that he suggests notifying the Association about the strong efforts of the NHC to preserve the area.

39 PINE HILL AVENUE

Ms. Falasca said that there was no information about this property. Discussion took place on the property and the location and owners. Ms. Falasca said that she would get more information for the Commission.

Ms. Falasca said that she received a letter from Richard Montisanto of Stonybrook Road requesting a demolition delay at 403 Newtown Avenue. Ms. Falasca said that the demolition has already been done.

Ms. Falasca said that she received a letter from Bill Kraus written by Georgette DiScala Diamatis stating that she was concerned about the house next to hers at 31 Ensign Road. She said that the letter stated that Ms. Diamatis was concerned that the house would be demolished.

AND ANY DEMOLITION APPLICATIONS PUBLISHED IN THE HOUR OR, RECEIVED BY THE COMMISSION AS OF JUNE 17, 2004.

There were none.

LMMM – MILL HILL – MARIJA BRYANT, CHAIRMAN

Ms. Bryant said that there was no report tonight.

NHRI – DEBBIE MATHIES, CHAIRMAN

Ms. Mathies said that she would like to apply for grants to help update the inventory.

** MS. MATHIES MOVED TO APPLY FOR GRANTS TO BEGIN THE
PROCESS OF UPDATING THE NHRI INVENTORY.
** MS. WALL SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ms. Mathies said that her report was attached to the agenda for the Commission’s information. She said that she would like to update the inventory list and place on the Web-site also for public information.

Ms. Mathies said that she would work with Mr. Bill Wrenn about the open space. Ms. Mathies asked if the Commission was connected to open space as well as historical. She said that she would report back to the Commission after meeting with Mr. Wrenn.

Ms. Falasca said that she was shocked to know that a 90-day demolition permitted someone to demolish the inside of a building and leave the shell. Mr. Krummel said that he suggests forwarding this to Mike Coffey of the Ordinance Committee to review and revise.

NORWALK MUSEUM – CAROL ANN FALASCA, CHAIRMAN

Ms. Falasca distributed the report from last month’s meeting. She said that she would like the Commission to approve the 8 items on the list. She also said that volunteers would come into the museum tomorrow to help with the inventory.

Mr. Krummel asked if the items were donated to the museum or were property of the Friends of the Museum. Mr. Bloom responded yes and said that the items were acquired through purchases and gifts. Mr. Krummel asked if there was a master list of inventory of items. Mr. Bloom said that he kept information in a tickler file when he was Curator.

A lengthy discussion took place on when an inventory should be done and by whom and how it should be inventoried. Mr. Bloom said that this list was a starting point for a discussion on the items. The Commission discussed items 7 and 4 at length. Mr. Krummel said that the list would be the first document of items in the museum. He said that there was always a possibility of a challenge to an item. He also said that the list should have been done earlier.

** MR. KRUMMEL MOVED THAT THE FRIENDS OF THE NORWALK MUSEUM BEGIN THE INVENTORY IMMEDIATELY.
** MS. FALASCA SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ms. Falasca said that the Committee did not vote on the list last month. She explained the items. She also said that the Committee deals with the items in priority.

** MS. FALASCA MOVED TO APPROVE THE ITEMS ON THE LIST WITH APPROPRIATE TIMING AND PUT IN PRIORITY ORDER.
** MS. MATHIES SECONDED.

Mr. Krummel asked Ms. Gunn if she had a complete catalog and inventory. Ms. Gunn said that she performs the excession and inventory first and then catalogs the item. Ms. Fallon said that she suggests seeking grant money to fund the project and hire an expert to perform the inventory. Ms. Gunn said that the collections are not insured. Ms. Wall said that most collections are not insured.
Mr. Krummel said that the inventory was a top priority. He added that the museum should know what it has. Ms. Wall said that she suggests closing the museum to do the inventory. Ms. Gunn said that the inventory would take about a week to do.

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO CLOSE THE MUSEUM IN JULY OR AUGUST FOR ONE WEEK FOR THE CREATION OF AN INVENTORY LIST.
** MS. MATHIES SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ms. Fallon asked who would pre-approve the museum policy. Ms. Falasca said that the Committee would.

** MS. FALASCA MOVED TO APPROVE THE 8 ITEMS IN THE REPORT FROM THE COMMITTEE.
** MS. MATHIES SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

NORWALK MUSEUM GIFT SHOP

Ms. Booth said that the Committee has not made any recommendations as of yet. Mr. Krummel said that there is no report tonight and that the Committee should meet and decide what to do and not waste the Commissions time tonight.
Ms. Robinson said that the Committee has the right to set policy from this point forward. Ms. Booth said that she needed information from Ms. Gunn concerning the sales tax and record keeping.

Ms. Robinson said that the information would be emailed to Ms. Booth.

SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS

LMMM RESTORATION COMMITTEE

MATHEWS PARK COMMITTEE

There was no report tonight.

FINANCE REPORT – SUSAN GUNN

Ms. Gunn distributed the finance report for the Commission’s review.

OLD BUSINESS

Fodor Farm Property

Ms. Robinson said that Mr. Kraus has agreed to furnish monthly reports on the Fodor Farm Property. She said that Mr. Kraus said that if the houses are sold the buyer agrees to keep the houses in historic condition.

NEW BUSINESS

Cemeteries

Ms. Fallon said that she had a meeting with Mr. Lupinacci about what can be done to stretch the dollars but he has not responded yet. She said that she would report to the Commission next month. Ms. Gunn said that Mr. Lupinacci should have received his payment today. Ms. Robinson said that she would call Mr. Lupinacci tomorrow.

Ms. Robinson said that each Committee’s chairman should email each report to Ms. Gunn and the reports would be attached to the agenda and would go to city hall also. Mr. Krummel said that the Committee’s should be looking to what should be done for the Commission. He said that the Committee should act and only come back to the Commission for a motion.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE COMMISSION

Ms. Gunn said that she received a phone call today from the architect’s office regarding 79 Edgewater Place. She said that this was referring to two Commission meetings ago when she had to leave the meeting but left the plans for the Commissions review.

Ms. Gunn said that she believed that the new building was in keeping with the building that was demolished.

** MS. BRYANT MOVE TO APPROVE MS. GUNN TO DRAFT A LETTER TO SUPPORT THE PLANS FOR THE EXPANSION AT 79 EDGEWATER PLACE FOR MS. ROBINSON’S SIGNATURE.
** MS. BOOTH SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

NEXT MEETING OF THE COMMISSION: JULY 28, 204 AT 7:30 PM, NORWALK MUSEUM CONFERENCE ROOM.

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.
** MR. KRUMMEL SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean Lane
Telesco Secretarial Services

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