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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.hpc.20240110 REGULAR MEETING HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION JANUARY 10TH, 2024 Chairperson Thompson opened the regular meeting of the Aspen Historic Preservation Commission at 4:30pm. Commissioners in attendance: Roger Moyer, Jodi Surfas, Kim Raymond, Barb Pitchford, Jeffery Halferty, Riley Warwick and Kara Thompson. Absent was Peter Fornell. Staff present: Amy Simon, Planning Director Kirsten Armstrong, Principal Planner Historic Preservation Stuart Hayden, Planner - Historic Preservation Kate Johnson, Assistant City Attorney Mike Sear, Deputy City Clerk MINUTES: Ms. Thompson motioned to approve the draft minutes from 12/13/23. Mr. Moyer seconded. Roll call vote: Mr. Moyer, yes; Ms. Surfas, yes; Ms. Pitchford, yes; Ms. Raymond, yes; Mr. Warwick, yes; Mr. Halferty, yes; Ms. Thompson, yes. 7-0, motion passes. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Ms. Kelly Murphy with the Aspen Historical Society introduced herself and her colleague Lisa Hancock. Knowing that this was Amy Simon’s last meeting, they wanted to come and give her an official farewell. She noted that they had worked with Ms. Simon on many things and that Ms. Simon was leaving Aspen a better place than when she first came. Ms. Hancock went over several projects that Ms. Simon had worked with the Historical Society on. She mentioned that the Aspen Historical and Aspen Modern websites that Ms. Simon helped launch were a great resource that the Historical Society uses often. Ms. Laura Smith form the Aspen Music Festival said that she heard that the board may be discussing the Music Tent, and she was in attendance to be a resource and to answer any questions. Ms. Suzannah Reid said that she and Ms. Simon had know each other for a very long time working together through HPC. She said that Ms. Simon had been an incredible mentor and friend and they had been through a lot together and that she would definitely miss her. COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS: Mr. Moyer started by thanking Ms. Murphy for her work with the Aspen Historical Society. He said that after a number of tumultuous years, the organization has been running so well under her as Chairman and President. Mr. Moyer then wanted to bring up the Music Tent naming issue. He would like for the HPC members to send a letter to the Music Associates as he found it appalling. He had known Fritz Benedict for a very long time, and he thought it was amazing that the Music Associates would take his name off the Tent just because somebody gives a lot of money. He wanted to hear the other member’s thoughts. Ms. Thompson said she did not think she had enough information to speak on the issue. Mr. Halferty thought it was a touchy thing. He had known Mr. Benedict as well and thought the Benedict family were staples in the development of the community. He thought it was a challenging subject. He did not think it was within the guidelines of the board to talk about the naming of historic resources. He said he supported the Music Associates. Ms. Thompson asked for some guidance on this from Ms. Johnson. REGULAR MEETING HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION JANUARY 10TH, 2024 Ms. Johnson said that in this area the board did not have decision making authority, but as a citizen board, they could send a letter in support of one position or the other if they wanted to. They could also, as a board or individuals, write a letter to City Council asking them to take a particular position. Ms. Thompson asked if Mr. Moyer could potentially distribute some more information to the members and that they could discuss this at their next meeting, as she felt she did not have enough information. Ms. Pitchford said that it is more of an existential question. She noted that they are a citizen board that follows some really clear guidelines about preserving structures. She believed these types of situations are coming up more frequently as money is power and with that you tend to lose culture and the history of town. She said that she knew Mr. Klein and that he was a great guy, but she felt that the history of town is being chipped away. Ms. Raymond said she would also love to get some more information. She said that when she first heard of the name change, she thought it was a bit of a slap in the face. She thought that being able to pay to change the names of things is disregarding their history. Mr. Warwick said that they should discuss whether or not they were going to write a letter as a board and vote on that first and then come up with individual decisions on whether each member would want to sign that letter. He also felt he needed to be better informed. Ms. Surfas wanted to know what more information the members would want. Ms. Thompson said more historical information. Ms. Johnson went over the options that the board had regarding putting this item on their agenda for the next meeting for more discussion and information gathering. She noted that any letter that they would vote on would have to come before the members as an agenda action item in a public meeting. Ms. Thompson asked staff to add this to the next meeting’s agenda. Mr. Moyer said he would gather more information. Mr. Halferty wanted to thank Ms. Simon. He said that he and Ms. Simon have been a great friends for a long time and that she was a fantastic asset to our community. He thanked her for her hard work. Mr. Moyer and Ms. Raymond both echoed Mr. Halferty’s sentiments and thanked Ms. Simon for her dedication and friendship. They wished her all the best in her new venture. Ms. Thompson said that while she did not have the experience as other members on the board, she has not known the City without Ms. Simon. She echoed a previous comment that Ms. Simon is definitely leaving the City better than when she came and that her presence will be missed. DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: None. CERTIFICATE OF NO NEGATIVE EFFECT: None. CALL UP REPORTS: None. STAFF COMMENTS: None. PROJECT MONITORING: Ms. Armstrong noted that herself and Mr. Hayden would be updating the way they present Project Monitoring and Certificate of No Negative Effect updates. They would be implementing a more thorough Project Monitoring tracking and reporting process for the board. They REGULAR MEETING HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION JANUARY 10TH, 2024 are planning on holding a work session at the next meeting to go over this new process and get feedback. She then listed a number of Project Monitoring requests and approvals that have occurred since the last HPC meeting. These included: • 410/414 E Hyman Ave. • 111 S Garmisch St • 420 W Francis St. • 227 E Bleeker St. • 110 W Main St. She then showed pictures of each project and went over specific details of each of them. ELECTION OF CHAIR & VICE CHAIR: Ms. Johnson went over the board’s option for how to proceed with the election pursuant to the Municipal Code. The members all mentioned they would like to maintain the current Chair and Vice Chair. MOTION: Ms. Pitchford motioned to have Ms. Thompson stay on as Chair and Mr. Halferty to stay on as Vice Chair. Mr. Moyer seconded. Roll call vote: Mr. Moyer, yes; Ms. Surfas, yes; Ms. Pitchford, yes; Ms. Raymond, yes; Mr. Warwick, yes; Mr. Halferty, yes; Ms. Thompson, yes. 7-0, motion passes. 2023 YEAR IN REVIEW: Mr. Hayden noted the addition of himself and Ms. Armstrong to the HP staff for the City as well as the addition of Mr. Warwick and Ms. Raymond as members of the HPC board. He went on to present several slides highlighting details and statistics from the many HPC meetings from the past year as well as highlighting the many projects that had been reviewed by the board during 2023. He then went over a brief history of Ms. Simon’s career with the City of Aspen’s historic preservation program. Mr. Moyer asked if there were any updates on staff’s work on the painted brick buildings in town and the maintenance guide they were working on. Ms. Armstrong mentioned that both items have not been forgotten and staff would continue to work on them going into 2024. She mentioned that some other pressing things had come up recently, such as wildfire considerations that also need addressing. ADJOURN: Ms. Thompson motioned to adjourn the regular meeting. Ms. Pitchford seconded. All in favor; motion passes. ____________________ Mike Sear, Deputy City Clerk