20 October 2015 | Approved: 17 November 2015
Members Present: Bob Booher, Wendy Harris, Gail Littlefield and David Stopak. Georgette Cole, Town Council Liaison, and Cynthia Werts, Town resident, were also present, along with Jay Wang & Ying Chen (non-residents) and Pat Patula, Town Archivist. The meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM. Approval of Agenda:. The agenda was reviewed and approved with no changes.
Adoption of Minutes
The draft minutes of September 15, 2015, were reviewed with one change noted. David moved to adopt the minutes, as amended, seconded by Wendy. The motion carried unanimously.
Projects
Jay Wang and his wife, Ying Chen, introduced themselves to the Commission. They have a contract pending on the property located at 401 Brown Street and they hope to settle in mid-November. Their plans include a two-story addition, as well as an open porch on the front and sides of the house. They attended the October meeting of the Planning Commission and they have done research on the Town website to get a better understanding of how the building code process works. Jay & Ying discussed their potential ideas and appreciated the Commission’s time and suggestions. They are working with an architect on drawings and they hope to incorporate some of the ideas encouraged by the HPC. Once settlement has been finalized, they will move forward with their plans and come back to the HPC with more details.
Archives
Gail and Pat gave an overview of their recent trip to the State Archives on August 20th where they met with Christian Skipper, the Town’s liaison with the State Archives. They were given a tour of the facility and received an in-depth review on information regarding electronic and other standards for developing an efficient records retention program. The Computer Consulting Team (Ken McCathran, Marilyn Frey, Gail Littlefield, Kathy Lehman, and Pat Patula) for the HPC has prepared their Records Management Plan recommendations for 2016. The Town will need to appoint a records management officer to oversee this project. Gail made a motion, seconded by David, to adopt the report as an official recommendation from the HPC to be sent to the Mayor and Town Council for their review. All members voted in favor of the motion. It was also suggested that the Town invite Mr. Skipper, Appraisal and Outreach Archivist with Maryland State Archives, to attend a joint work session to provide the Town with a better understanding of the ground rules for a preparing a Records Management Plan. He could also provide a job description for the records management officer’s position and, if needed, to assist in recruiting this officer. Wendy will work with Pat on providing the HPC with a more in-depth list of details on the Records Management Plan for the HPC. They will provide a draft so the Commission can review and decide what HPC records need to be made permanent.
Permit Reviews
Bob reported that he is still working on preparing documentation of Procedure Revisions and a checklist for Article IV Section 5 Projects. He hopes to have this completed to review at the next meeting in November.
Houses on Town property
Bud & Carolyn O’Conner have decided to postpone their easement application with the Town until a later date.
Council Report
Georgette presented an overview of issues discussed at the recent Town Council meeting. She reported that a letter from the Mayor has now been sent to residents of Block 11 explaining the results of the survey including an access path on residual Town land behind the residences. In the letter, all adjoining property owners have been asked to remove any structures (such as ponds and fences) from Town land.
PC Report
Georgette reported that Jay Wang and Ying Chen attended the PC meeting to introduce themselves and discuss Town building code requirements. They currently have a contract on the property located at 401 Brown Street and plan to enlarge the house. The PC encouraged them to attend the next HPC meeting to discuss their plans and ideas for an addition. Georgette also updated the status of the Block 11 Survey – the PC is working on an Ordinance to allow 6 ft. privacy fences where private residences border Town land in Block 11.
A HPC representative is scheduled to attend future PC meetings:
- November – Gail Littlefield
- December – David Stopak
- January 2016 – Bob Booher
- February 2016 – Wendy Harris
- March 2016 – Mimi Styles
Bulletin Material
Bob will check with Mimi to get an update on material to be published in the November bulletin. Over the last several months, the HPC has provided residents with valuable information on retaining old windows.
Vacant Properties
David reported that the first committee meeting was held on October 19th. The vacant properties will be categorized and the task force will work on establishing goals and standards. They will also research other local jurisdictions to find out what they are doing to find solutions.
New Business
The HPC received a thank-you card from JoAnn & Nick Suzich in appreciation of being presented with the 2015 WG Preservation Award. They were not at the annual Town meeting in May to thank the Commission and they were honored to be the recipient of such a prestigious award.
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00pm.
Minutes prepared and submitted by:
Cynthia Werts