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18 February 2016 | Approved: 15 March 2016

Members Present: Bob Booher, Wendy Harris, Gail Littlefield, David Stopak and Mimi Styles, along with Georgette Cole, Town Council Liaison, and Cynthia Werts, Town resident. The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm.

Approval of Agenda:

The agenda was reviewed and approved by consensus.

Adoption of Minutes:

The draft minutes from the meeting of January 19, 2016, were reviewed. Mimi moved to adopt the minutes, as written, seconded by Wendy. The motion carried unanimously.

Review Session:

No projects were submitted for review.

Archives:

The Commission reviewed issues discussed at the recent TC/PC/HPC joint work session. Arrangements were made for Christian Skipper to be available via a teleconference call to provide assistance and answer questions regarding the Town’s records management plan. It was decided that the Mayor would appoint a working group (to consist of a member from each Commission, along with the Computer Consulting Team) to determine the responsibilities that will be required for this project. The HPC will make a recommendation to the Town Council to dedicate monies in the 2016-2017 proposed budget for this purpose. Gail Littlefield has volunteered to represent the HPC for this work group.
The Commission further reviewed the HPC section of the Records Retention and Disposal Schedule (itemized on page 5) to determine what materials should be included in their inventory. Item No. 8 (Description Historical Preservation Commission) will include a corresponding retention statement with its own number in the number column (for ease of citation in disposal certificates) to be itemized as follows:

  1. Minutes
  2. Annual reports
  3. Rules of procedure
  4. By-Laws
  5. Design guidelines
  6. Opinions and reports
  7. HPC reviews
  8. Outreach educational projects
  9. Testimonies
  10. Selected correspondence

It was also determined that all materials described in Item No. 8 be retained for five years and then transferred to State Archives for storage.
The Commission will continue their discussion on Item No. 9 (Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association Records) at the next HPC meeting in March.

Town Council Report:

Georgette reported on issues discussed at the recent TC meeting. She noted that the Town’s attorney attended a public hearing to discuss the new cable franchise agreement with Comsat. An update was also given on the Woods Group project – bid proposals have been sent out for installing boundary marker poles to better define the West Woods from neighboring properties.

Planning Commission Report:

Wendy attended the meeting as a representative for the HPC. She noted that the Mayor will be sending a letter to Maggie Range to inform her that she will have 60 days to relocate her steps (that encroach on Town land) AFTER the public walkway is reconstructed sometime in early spring. On another note, David Hicks will join the records retention work group as a liaison for the PC.

Vacant Properties Work Group:

David reported that the committee is in the process of categorizing a pre-registry of vacant homes. A report will be sent to the Town Council within the next several months for their review. There are still many questions on what kinds of penalties the Town can impose on homeowners who have vacant properties.

Montgomery County History Conference:

At the recent conference in January, Clare Lise Kelly gave a presentation on Modern Architecture in Montgomery County in the mid-twentieth century. The Commission discussed the idea of having Clare give such a presentation (at the Town Hall) sometime in the spring, focusing on the properties and contributing structures in Washington Grove. Everyone agreed that this would be a great idea and also be of interest to Town residents. Bob will contact Clare to extend the invitation to her.
With no other new business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:50pm.

Minutes prepared and submitted by:
Cynthia Werts

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