REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
Town Hall, 1st Floor Conference Room, 302 Main Street
I. CALL TO ORDER
Vice Chairman Diane Aldi DePaola called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Members Present
Diane Aldi DePaola, Vice Chairman
Mary Kennedy
Richard Peters
Eugene Creighton, seated for Randi Bradbury
Jeffrey Meotti
Members Absent
Randi Bradbury
Donald Brigham
Staff Present
Christine Nelson, Town Planner
Kathleen Noyes, Recording Clerk
Members of the Public Present
Tedd Levy, from the Historical Society
III. OLD BUSINESS
- Awareness Building Initiative
Signs:
E. Creighton met with First Selectman Carl Fortuna, and received a positive response about the signs. C. Fortuna said he will discuss this further at the end of this fiscal year which is June 30, 2014.
E. Creighton presented 3 examples of 18” x 24” cast bronze signs for Commissioners to review. There would be 2 signs; one at each end of the North Cove Historic District. The first sign would be $2,900.00 with some discount for the second sign. The metal posts would cost approximately $15.00 a foot. The total project would cost roughly $7,000.00.
Commissioners discussed sign placement. They will speak with a few of the homeowners to see if they would be willing to have one of the signs placed in their yard.
MOTION: to approve the “Option C” style North Cove Historic District signs with metal posts, one located at each point of entry to North Cove. Commissioners would like to recommend that the town fund this. The total cost would be approximately $7,000.00. MOVED: M. Kennedy; SECONDED: J. Meotti; IN FAVOR:, M. Kennedy, J. Meotti, R. Peters, D. Aldi DePaola, E. Creighton; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 5-0-0.
Brochure:
C. Nelson presented a booklet style color brochure. Commissioners agreed to create theirs in a similar fashion.
- Awareness Building Initiative
Physical Improvements:
J. Meotti reported on the status of the guiderail on North Cove Road. He and R. Peters met with C. Fortuna to discuss it. C. Fortuna said at this point in time, there is no money in the town budget to replace the rail. However, there may be a modest amount of money for plantings.
C. Nelson recommended Commissioners contact Kathy Connolly to ask her for plant recommendations to camouflage the guiderail. She is a master gardener who owns a business called “Speaking of Landscapes”, and she is a North Cove resident. D. Aldi DePaola offered to contact her.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
- Certified Local Government
Tedd Levy presented a memorandum dated 3/20/2014 to the Historic District Commission regarding the Historic Resources Inventory – Grant Proposal. He has drafted a grant proposal for Commissioners to review and approve.
What is required for this grant is a record of the Historic District Commission’s activities. The memo explains the description and scope of the project, all the project will require, the deliverables and a project timetable with tentative and potential dates.
This project will identify and inventory 150-160 historic houses and structures in Old Saybrook. The project will require a Project Coordinator, a Certified Local Government Coordinator, and an Architectural Historian as a consultant to complete the inventory and produce a survey report.
C. Nelson will be the Certified Local Government Coordinator. D. Aldi DePaola will be the liaison.
Commissioners discussed the reasons this historic designation would be beneficial for the town. T. Levy gave examples of houses in town that could possibly be sold to commercial developers. If the homeowners had awareness of the historic value of their home, they could have liens placed on their deeds to preserve the historic values of these homes, so they wouldn’t be torn down.
MOTION: to designate Tedd Levy as the Project Coordinator. MOVED: D. Aldi DePaola; SECONDED: J. Meotti; IN FAVOR:, M. Kennedy, J. Meotti, R. Peters, D. Aldi DePaola, E. Creighton; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 5-0-0.
MOTION: to give D. Aldi DePaola the right and responsibility as the project liaison to review the final document. MOVED: R. Peters; SECONDED: J. Meotti; IN FAVOR:, M. Kennedy, J. Meotti, R. Peters, D. Aldi DePaola, E. Creighton; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 5-0-0.
V. REGULAR BUSINESS
A. Meeting Minutes
MOTION: to approve the minutes of January 16, 2014 as presented with the following corrections: correct the spelling of Ted Levy to Tedd Levy, and correct the spelling of Linda Cansella to Linda Kinsella. MOVED: R. Peters; SECONDED: M. Kennedy; IN FAVOR:, M. Kennedy, J. Meotti, R. Peters, D. Aldi DePaola, E. Creighton; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 5-0-0.
Commissioners received Article #497 by Greg Dale, FAICP, from March 13, 2014 called “Behind the Scenes Advocacy” about ethics and serving on the Planning Commission.
- Committee, Representative & Staff Reports
MOTION: to change the time of the Historic Commission District meetings to 7:00 p.m.; MOVED: M. Kennedy; SECONDED: R. Peters; IN FAVOR:, D. Aldi DePaola, M. Kennedy, J. Meotti, R. Peters, E. Creighton; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 5-0-0.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m. until the next regularly scheduled HDC meeting on Thursday, April 17, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Saybrook Town Hall, 2nd Floor Conference Room; MOVED: M. Kennedy; SECONDED: J. Meotti; IN FAVOR: , D. Aldi DePaola, M. Kennedy, J. Meotti, R. Peters, E. Creighton; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 5-0-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Noyes, Recording Clerk
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