KANSAS CITY, KANSAS LANDMARKS COMMISSION APRIL 4, 2016 MINUTES

The Kansas City, Kansas Landmarks Commission met in regular session on Monday, April 4, 2016, at 6:00 p.m., in the Commission Chamber of the Municipal Office Building, with the following members present: Mr. David Meditz, Chairman Presiding, Mr. Stephen Craddock, Ms. Christina Grey, Mr. John Jurcyk, Mr. Jim Schraeder, Mr. Loren Taylor (Absent: Bland, Carson and Van Middlesworth). Mr. Robin H. Richardson, Director of Planning, Ms. Janet L. Parker, CSC/APC, Administrative Assistant, and Ms. Katrina Ringler, Grants Administrator, Kansas State Historic Preservation Office, were also present.

Chairman Meditz read the following proclamation into the record:

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS LANDMARKS COMMISSION “PROCLAMATION”

WHEREAS, Mary Sheppard was appointed to the Kansas City, Kansas Landmarks Commission on October 3, 1991 and was a member until October 2, 2015 when she resigned from the Commission in order to relocate to Texas to be closer to family; and

WHEREAS, She demonstrated a calm and respectful demeanor towards the Commission, staff, and citizens of Kansas City/Wyandotte County, Kansas; and

WHEREAS, She will be fondly remembered for her “sparkling personality” and “genuine care and concern” in preserving the history of Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas, and

WHEREAS, She served as a conscientious and dedicated member of the Kansas City, Kansas Landmarks Commission during her time on the Commission, and,

WHEREAS, She consistently demonstrated, through word and action, a deep passion and love for the history and preservation of her community; and,

WHEREAS, She steadfastly promoted the interests, goals and objectives of the Kansas City, Kansas Landmarks Commission and the citizens of Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas.

APRIL 4, 2016 1 NOW, THEREFORE, the Kansas City, Kansas Landmarks Commission wishes to recognize and commend Mary Sheppard for her faithful service to this Commission and community.

David Meditz, Chairman April 4, 2016

Minutes of the September 8, 2015 meeting were approved as distributed.

National Historic Landmark (NHL) nomination for the Wyandotte National Burying Ground (aka Huron Cemetery) (Eliza Burton Conley Burial Site) - Review and Comment g Director Richardson stated that the Commission has been requested to review and comment on this proposed nomination. He stated that in the email transmission to the Commission the staff included the staff report, application and the article that he found on “Trespassers, Beware!” about Ms. Connolly. He stated that it is a very interesting article to read. He stated the request is for the cemetery to become a Historic Landmark at the National level. g Commission Member Schraeder asked if the cemetery and landmark are local landmarks. Recording Secretary Parker stated that they are part of the Huron Historic District. Director Richardson stated that it will become its own designated site. Ms. Ringel stated that it is her understanding that it is the entire cemetery but calls out this particular grave site. She stated that National Register listing is fairly common. She further stated that lots of things are listed on the National Register and National Historic Landmark listing is higher such as Mount Vernon.

Mr. Schraeder stated that he has two (2) guests from Downtown Shareholders present this evening because they had been in contact with the Wyandot Nation about the condition of the cemetery currently and improvements that they are talking about doing. He was not sure if anyone was going to be present from the Wyandot Nation this evening. He stated that it is their hope that National designation might allow some additional dollars to be spent on the cemetery. Several of the pictures in the application are not true anymore. The stairs are in total disrepair; you cannot go up the stairs and it is very much a hazard.

Planning Director Richardson stated that one (1) set of stairs is completely gone except for the exterior risers and the other set, although blocked off, the barricade has been removed and it is not safe.

Chairman Meditz stated that it is the Commission’s obligation to the legacy of the children, grandchildren, etc. to help preserve these things least we forget. It is the Commission’s responsibility to help keep the memories.

On motion by Mr. Schraeder, seconded by Mr. Jurcyk, the Landmarks Commission voted as follows to support this nomination and urged everyone involved to make the necessary improvements and repairs to the cemetery and the site so that the cemetery can once again be fully appreciated by the public: Bland: Not Present Carson: Not Present Craddock: Aye Grey: Aye APRIL 4, 2016 2 Jurcyk : Aye Meditz: Chairman Schraeder: Aye Taylor: Aye Van Middlesworth: Not Present Motion to support this nomination Passed: 5 to 0

Comments/Questions – Katrina Ringler, Preservation Office Supervisor, Kansas State Historical Society

Planning Director Richardson stated that staff met with Katrina for about an hour today. Ms. Ringler stated that the has directed them to formally evaluate their Certified Local Governments (CLGs) at least once every four years. She stated that she had her evaluation with Rob and Janet today. Everything is going well; the Commission may think that it does not meet often and is not very active, but they are doing everything well. A couple of things that she discussed with staff, it may seem that design review or review of projects is the primary goal of the Commission but what the Chairman said this evening is a reminder of the other goals of the Commission. She encouraged the Commission to read their preservation ordinance regularly because there is a list of things that the Commission is authorized to do besides design review. She would encourage the Commission to seek out other preservation opportunities; the Commission as volunteers can go into the community and find other things such as educational programs; (May is preservation month) receptions, survey project, etc. She stated that she is encouraging the CLGs in Kansas over the next couple of years to begin reinvigorating the survey program. It was very active in the 1980s. It tapered off in the 1990s and 2000s probably due to staffing shortages. There is an on-line data base called the Historic Kansas Resources Inventory for the State of Kansas. Everyone can use that data base by signing up to be a user. Anyone can upload information. If there is interest in getting together a group of people her office would come in and train a group of volunteers. One of the reasons she is promoting surveying and resurveying is because generally when discussing historic properties, it is properties that are 50 years old which would have been properties built in the 1930s and before. Now in 2016 they are discussing properties from 1966 and before and these properties are woefully underreported and under- recorded. She stated that help is needed from the community to get that information.

This is the 100 year anniversary of the National Parks Service and the 50 year anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 which created the historic state preservation offices, historic register, and the CLG program. There will be several things going on this year. She stated that she will start funneling more information through staff to share with the Commission. Another idea that was discussed with staff is promoting local historic properties. A couple of years ago the environs review went away and the local government has been doing a good job reviewing the environs requests. She stated that if SHPO goes away, then historic sites are only protected by the local designation. Westheight is one example as it is on the State and National Registers and not locally.

She stated that the local ordinance is not out of date but it is a good idea to review it each year to make sure there is not something that needs to be updated.

Annual training is a requirement of the CLG program and every member is required to attend one training each year. She stated that her office sponsors one (1) training a year usually in September or October. There are also regional conferences, NAPC has a national conference every other year and this year is it is Mobile, Alabama and her office has funds to assist members to attend. There APRIL 4, 2016 3 are resources on-line such as YouTube videos and the National Park Service has on-line videos. Other CLGs are using their own money to have trainings. In May Douglas County is sponsoring some training and she will share that information with the staff.

Historic Preservation Grants – She stated that she is the Grant Managers and they are required to pass through 10% of the money that they receive from the National Parks Service to the CLGs. She stated that they normally distribute $100,000 to $150,000. The State has 17 CLGs and they have $150,000 to distribute. The Topeka CLG applies every year and she would encourage the KCK CLG to apply for a grant. This past year the Downtown Shareholders applied for a grant, which was approved to resurvey the downtown. In order to satisfy the State’s requirements in passing though the money, it was set up as a third-party designation. The application went through the city and the grant went through the Downtown Shareholders to administer. There are a variety of things that can be done and as long as it has a preservation focus it can be funded. An example would be a better plan for the Huron Indian Cemetery and funds could be used to hire an architect.

The Kansas Preservation Alliance is heading up the conference this year. It will be September 28th and 29th in Abilene, Kansas. She does not have the training planned yet.

Chairman Meditz stated that there are a number of organizations in the city and county looking for things to do. He knows a company that is looking to do a community service project. Planning Director Richardson stated that the department has a staffing issue at this time. He does have a new Planner position being advertised but it will take several weeks to get someone hired. He has one person on military leave until the end of August, one staff member will be gone the month of September and then vacations/holidays will begin. He does not have staff at this time to take on other initiatives although it is something that interests staff. He will ask for additional staff this year, hopefully a long-range planner that could take on some of the activities (in addition to their other duties) that Ms. Ringler was talking about. The staff is currently working on three major initiatives: Rosedale Master Plan, K-32 Corridor Plan and the Rewrite of the Sign Code. He stated that he is happy to help in any way that he can but there are limitations on staffing and budget. Chairman Meditz stated that he appreciates the comments and honesty of the staff. He is well aware that this Commission has not met often and his comments would have been:

 Downtown Historic Survey – Commission did not know much about this  Memorial Hall Renovations – Commission would have liked to review the renovations – Director Richardson stated that he does now know what is going on there but will find out.

Chairman Meditz stated that he commends the staff on the job that they have done. He further encouraged the Commission that if they feel this is the case, make the case for the budget so the staff can do their job, the Commission can do their job and they can protect the legacy of this county.

Director Richardson stated that the staff can find YouTube videos related to preservation to be viewed at the end of the meetings since the meetings are relatively short.

There will be a meeting next month of the Commission (May 2, 2016.)

Chairman Meditz stated that the discussion on the Huron Indian Cemetery was very interesting and there have been inquiries (from some groups in the community) about the Oak Grove Cemetery.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. APRIL 4, 2016 4