MINUTES
ORO VALLEY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
REGULAR SESSION
December 6, 2010
ORO VALLEY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
11000 N. LA CANADA DRIVE
 
CALL TO ORDER: 5:01 p.m.

ROLL CALL

PRESENT:
Daniel Zwiener, Chair
Lois Nagy, Vice-Chair
Bob Baughman, Commissioner
Ed Hannon, Commissioner
Sam McClung, Commissioner
Valerie Pullara, Commissioner
Ellen Guyer, Commissioner

ALSO PRESENT:  Steve Solomon, Town Councilmember  
                       Greg Caton, Assistant Town Manager
                       Ainsley Legner, Parks Recreation Library & Cultural 
                       Resources Director
                       Lynanne Dellerman, Recreation Manager
                       Pat Spoerl, Oro Valley Historical Society

CALL TO AUDIENCE

No speakers.

1.

REVIEW AND/OR APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 1, 2010 REGULAR SESSION MINUTES


MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Baughman and seconded by Commissioner Hannon to approve the November 1, 2010 minutes as written.
 
MOTION carried, 7-0
 
2.

RECOGNITION OF ROBERT BAUGHMAN FOR SERVICE ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION - DISCUSSION


The commission members and staff showed their appreciation to Mr. Baughman for the knowledge he contributed and for his work on the commission. 

Commissioner Baughman expressed his pride and appreciation for the commission and staff.

3.

STUDENT INTERNSHIP - DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION


Chair Zwiener tabled this item.

4.

ENVIRONMENTALY SENSITIVE LANDS - DISCUSSION


Chair Zwiener stated that this item will be in front of the Town Council on January 19, 2010.

Commissioner McClung requested that the commission receive a hard copy of the complete ESL document.

5.

WORK PLAN AND PROGRESS - DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION


Commissioner Hannon stated that per the chair’s guidance, the Work Plan Subcommittee added additional information to the plan. The biggest change was the determination that it should be an appointed or volunteer subcommittee. Many of the subcommittees are already in place so for those, the timelines have been updated. If a certain subcommittee does not exist, it will be placed into existence at the proper time. He asked for any proposed changes.

The commission discussed possible changes to the draft Work Plan.

Vice Chair Nagy suggested that the commission investigate how to clarify what can be done with Honeybee now and in the future because it is uncertain when it will be 100% owned by the Town. 

Chair Zwiener and Parks Recreation Library & Cultural Resources Director Ainsley Legner met with Linda Mayro and she has staff that works with the Site Stewardship program. Honeybee Village is on the list of places to initiate and Ms. Mayro affirmed that she has staff who will work with John Scheuring. She feels that it would be appropriate for Mr. Scheuring and/or other site stewards to update the commission twice a year. Ms. Legner plans to meet with Ms. Mayro next week and discuss more about the status of this project. Chair Zwiener added that hopefully in the next few weeks there will be volunteers monitoring the site. He indicated that the group Mr. Scheuring works with is active and consciences and he is very comfortable with them on the site.

The commission suggested the following amendments to the Work Plan:
~ Under Preservation Plans, Number 4, the words "pending the Town’s acquisition of the property" should be removed.
~ Change the date in the title from "20101" to "2010". 
~ In the Goal/Objective column, under Community Outreach in the Action Plan\Timeline column, replace the words "Upon Completion of the HPC Preservation Plan" with "Ongoing".
~ In the Action Plan/Timeline column, under Preservation Plans, Proposed Activities, Number 4, change status from "Pending" to "Ongoing".
~ In the Proposed Activities column, Item 3 under Budgeting and Funding is blank and therefore should be removed.

A revised document will be sent to the commission. 

The commission discussed assisting with a press release regarding the cultural resources inventory. Commissioner Baughman suggested that Communication Division staff present information about their office at an upcoming meeting.

MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Guyer and seconded by Commissioner Baughman to approve the work plan as amended.
 
MOTION carried, 7-0
 
6.

CULTURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY PHASE II: PRESERVATION PLAN - DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION


Ms. Legner stated that the purchase order was completed and she will speak with Dr. Ravesloot next week. 

7.

STEAM PUMP RANCH - DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION


A.

PROJECT UPDATE


Chair Zwiener referred to the option flow diagrams which were distributed for the commission to review. He reported that at the December 1, 2010 Steam Pump Ranch Project Team meeting, the team discussed the discovery of the basement and the plan options for the pump house. 

Chair Zwiener stated that the commission approved a restoration plan for the ranch house and pump house. As long as the project team does not step outside those general guidelines, it is proper for them to make decisions about the ranch house. Some of the decisions made by the project team was to move ahead with the plan due to the tight construction deadline. If the project team should make decisions outside of those boundaries, those decisions should come before the commission and/or the Town Council if needed.

Chair Zwiener explained that the progress on the pump house has been slow. At the last Steam Pump Ranch Project Team meeting, the team discussed several options for the ranch house and the discovery of the basement. One option was to have a glass panel over the basement and expose the area by archeological excavation. The second option was to install a railing and expose it by archeological excavation. It is the intent of archeologist to excavate and discover what is below.

The archeologist Homer Theil has stated that it would not take more than a day to excavate.

Plan B has a different entry into the house which was not favored by the project team.

Commissioner Baughman stated that he feels that Plan A is preferable because the entry in room 100 has good space which is not available in room 103. The railing also poses as a liability issue. He stated the he prefers the glass floor.

Chair Zwiener stated that the access door between 103 and 101 would be closed. The sentiment of the project team was a variant of plan A. The details are evolving but there was discussion about a trap door with a glass floor which would only be opened by docents. 

Vice Chair Nagy stated that she likes Option A. She suggested a limit be established for larger group tours to make it more manageable.

Chair Zwiener expressed his appreciation toward the commission for their comments and ideas.

Vice Chair Nagy asked about the cost difference between plans. Chair Zwiener stated that the railing would be less expensive but the costs have not yet been determined. Vice Chair Nagy stated that if the budget could withstand it, the glass floor is preferable.

Ms. Legner added that a red rope option was also mentioned at the project team meeting. Chair Zwiener explained that the glass floor would not be where the access is, instead it would be in the corner with lighting aimed down inside in order to avoid traffic on the glass.

Commissioner Pullara asked if Option A was handicap assessable. Chair Zwiener stated that it is.

Commissioner McClung stated asked about the second entrance to the root cellar basement and if it may be accessed in future. Chair Zwiener explained that it will be hidden by a trap door. 

Chair Zwiener stated that he will be at Steam Pump on December 7, 2010 to meet with Drew Gorski from Poster Frost Mirto and the commissioners are welcome to join. He plans to meet with the archeologist Homer Thiel on December 8, 2010. Excavation will happen quickly. 

Chair Zwiener stated that the project team is getting a better idea as to how to move forward on the pump house.

Commissioner McClung asked about the restoration process for the pump house. Chair Zwiener stated that those ideas are evolving and there will be a meeting with SHPO soon to discuss the plan. Plan B and Plan C are being prepared in case SHPO denies on the restoration plans. There should be plans in place by January 2011.

B.

BUDGET UPDATE


No report.

C.

GRANT APPLICATION UPDATE


No report.

D.

DOCUMENT SCANNING


Vice Chair Nagy reported that the document scanning is continuing at the Oro Valley Public Library. The next work session will be on January 8 - 9, 2010 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Vice Chair Nagy and Commissioner Guyer are scanning and learning the scanning data processing because once Monique is gone, someone from the commission will need to know how to retrieve this data. There is an enormous amount of information available and it will be a huge research tool in the future. Monique has recently graduated and is looking for full time employment.

The process is time consuming and delicate.

Commissioner Baughman recommended that Vice Chair Guyer and the other volunteers keep track of hours spent on the project because it may be useful for a future in kind match for grants. 

E.

EVENT PROTOCOL


Ms. Legner prepared a draft Event Protocol document which is being reviewed by the chair. Once she receives Chair Zwiener's comments, the commission will receive an updated draft for review.

Chair Zwiener asked that this item be on the agenda for January.

8.

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS - DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION


~ Student Intern Plan

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ms. Legner reminded the commission about the upcoming Volunteer Appreciation Reception and encouraged them to attend.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Baughman and seconded by Commissioner Hannon to adjourn the meeting at 6:14 p.m.
 
MOTION carried, 7-0
 
Prepared by:

Danielle Tanner
Senior Office Specialist