7 18 2023 Historical Commission

great um good evening everyone and thank you for joining us tonight for the virtual hearing of the Fall River historical commission uh the hearing is being produced and recorded by a zoom and will be made available on YouTube on Fall River government TV's uh YouTube channel as well um the time is now I'm sorry it is Tuesday July 18 2023 it is six o'clock P.M uh pursuant to the open meeting law any

person may make an audio or a video recording of this public meeting and may transmit the meeting through any medium attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or Transmissions are being made whether perceived or unperceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible may I get a roll call please Connie's Soul present Rick Mancini present Joyce roderick's present

Elizabeth to block present and Jason Bouchard and Iraqi present via Zoom we do have uh two open seats um I have sent a communication over to both the city council and the mayor's office because uh two of the seats uh one will be uh has to be appointed by city council the other by the mayor's office the mayor has forwarded um a recommendation for the commission um I did receive additional uh

information from that um because it's coming from the mayor he does not need recommendation from the historical commission um so that will be presented at the August 15th hearing from the city council and city council is presenting tonight at the same time to um uh basically to read the requests that I have sent over for an additional appointee from from city council for the historical commission so at least then

we'll hopefully soon have a full board sleep um so that's that um so that is that um so we have the minutes to review or to approve from July 6th the special meeting that we had um make it a are there any questions or concerns on that it was a relatively short meeting no I'll make a motion that we accept the meeting minutes of July 2nd uh July 6th I'm sorry I'll second that motion

all right have a motion by Rick and a second by Connie uh to approved the minutes from July 6th um I'm gonna get a roll call vote uh Rick yes Connie Sol yes Chris rodericks yes Elizabeth the block yes and Jason Bouchard and Rocky yes okay thank you um I need citizens input on the agenda anyone okay um there were no notices of intent to demolish um I have received correspondence um from Carrie

for a few items so um the second item on the agenda um there was a issue with exterior shingle repair at 491 High Street that is the it is in the highlands 40c um so a neighbor must have complained to or indicated to the building department that there was work going on without a permit or potentially without review from us um it was deemed that it was merely um repair replacing shingles that had

rotted on one of the facades and it was the material was wood and um basically replacing in kinds so it was not deemed to be reviewed by our commission um they did not have a permit however so they did file for a permit um so that even if it's a repair the homeowner was made aware that they do need a file for a permit um the third item is number 39 Highland Avenue um

the houses in the National register District um it's a conversion of an interior attic space to finished storage space I indicated to carry that it is out of our purview because it is in the National register District it's also um within the house it's not changing anything for that matter um so there wasn't anything for us to review um and the fourth item was number 603 Rock Street

um this is a very complicated issue um this house is in the 40c um it's on the corner of Rock Street and Prospect Street um so a permit was issued it was uh the house is owned by Deaconess home they were replacing the roof on it's a very large gambrel and it seems that they were were replacing the roof on one side of the gambrel and not the other

um they did come or they did send a letter or an email to me back in I think March regarding repair of a small area in the far back part of the property um from a storm damage and um that is outside of our review um because it's repair of from a storm however this was the whole side of the house that was being worked on um and the permit was issued because when

the contractor went to go file the application the permit um the address on file or at least on on our records is 603 Rock Street they could not find that on the city register or at least the tax assessor it's listed as 603 Prospect Street um there's a it was a small little issue with that I will have to update our records or at least the database for that matter to reflect the actual

correct technical address for the house um I spoke with Eugene Borges on the matter um there was the material they were they were replacing asphalt with asphalt um we don't have any we can't review color of the material um I did go by and it looks to be roughly the same as to what was there at least but um I couldn't note I couldn't tell any drastic difference but um I did reach out to um

Maureen Philbin she's the director of the Deaconess home regarding how that how that happened at least because we weren't made aware of it um but based on the technicality with the address being 603 Prospect instead of 603 Rock Street um I mean that was on the building department for not bringing it up with us but um I'm not sure what else we can actually do with that when you say we don't

um we don't say anything about the color I thought the in the 40c under the guidelines it was supposed to be dark colored um I part of the ordinance with the with roof color it's the same thing with paint color we can't approve or deny an application based on color with a design guide lens that's a little it is a little different because the for example um when we reviewed uh Reuben's house uh

at 528 High Street um the he wanted to put a Chimney Cap it is allowed it just has to be a dark um it has to be a dark color um but we or it has to be either copper or I think black um but for roof color as part of the ordinance um at that color of roofing material is is excluded from we can't we can't approve or deny an application based on roof color um

yeah I'll have to look again but I remember specifically that we can't we can't um deny something based on color I I think we've made recommendations in the past that's the reason why we have I'm yeah we have and so that's why I guess I'm a bit confused in the 40c anyways okay um it does look similar to what they had on the roof before um I couldn't tell if they did the other side or not

um I was away when this is all happening but um Deaconess is also well aware that they're in the 40c district they've had meetings with us on other issues so they're well versed and to bypass like that really doesn't doesn't appear constructive and in my opinion on their part no I I think they they were probably expecting to be review have to go through a review with us um but their contractor was the one who

filed the permit and it wasn't it wasn't Deaconess home and they filed it I think it was I think the work was going on on a Friday and they have they filed for the work it was just it was just before the Fourth of July weekend I think um they filed the paperwork less than a week earlier um or maybe it was that week of the Fourth of July I'm not 100 sure um I had to

take a look at the paperwork but um it was the building department that slipped and that they saw the address it it is flagged as in the 40c but because on their end they're seeing 603 Prospect Street and that's not an address that's listed on the 40c um so I mean because when they when they came before us for the small roof damage repair they had the right address then

correct then I filed I sent that that letter um they supplied photos I sent the letter over to Carrie um and Hilda uh munis with the um Deaconess home and indicated that that was we were only it was restricted to that one small little area um and not the whole expanse of the rest of the roof um I don't know why we weren't made aware of this beforehand that they were

going to replace the whole roof but um I will wait to hear from Maureen I know she's traveling as well so um yeah and it just doesn't bode well there the owner they hired the contractor they give directions to the contractor a contract that just doesn't get hired and you tell the contract to do whatever you want to do to my property you give them Specific Instructions so the you know this this blaming the building

department is it doesn't hold a lot of water in my opinion there's there's a lot of failings there that that have occurred to getting that point uh again it's it's uh it doesn't bode well for them to be doing that and again avoiding us they've done it in the past and they're continuing to do that right and I had just spoken to I had just spoken to Maureen on a completely separate matter

um uh like the day or that day or the day earlier um regarding the windows um over on High Street um because they're going for uh CPC funding from that um so I once I hear from her then we like I'll I can invite them over to meet with us to say to find out what else they're going to be doing with the house um and just to remind them that things

like that they need to have they need to come before us for that um any other questions on that matter no um uh let's see for new business number five um we have a homeowner from 544 High Street um which is in the highlands 40c this property is adjacent to 528 which caught fire in was it March April 2022 um so the their house was damaged uh from the fire next door so they are

requesting a certificate of non-applicability oh my God the word applicability sorry for repairs cost from the fire next door um I believe we have uh Aaron Leary hi yes good evening I tried to put video on I don't know if it's working um sorry that's okay is the sound working at least yes yes we can hear you if you wouldn't mind just stating your name and um your uh address as well please sure

it's Aaron Leary by 44 High Street Fall River and would you mind explaining what um what you're you're doing with the in terms of the repair for um just to recap uh thanks for the intro um I did file for the certificate of non-applicability to append to my building permit um did sustain damages uh including blown out windows um some clapboard damage um some architectural feature damage

um and window Keys a couple of corbels um the PVC around the um the porch the round porch melted so we're replacing that um so both fire damage and then in my building application I did put in a few things that are or weren't Touched By Fire like the newel posts on my front porch those seem to be rotted um so we'll be replacing everything um in kind per historic

um for historic standards I did have the core bells and the window keys and my brick and header molding I I've had that all milled um we had half of the batch um in hand um having some issues country songs uh getting windows for the second floor um as I put in my building application what I've narrowed it down to we have an Anderson 400 series which would be kind

of a composite on the outside one on the inside we have a uh let's see the other one which I'm looking at now is Marvin um Elevate windows again it's a fiber fiberglass or composite on the outside and then wood on the inside it will have the muntin the existing Mountain one over zero right for the divided glass extruded right now I have vinyl or I did I do have vinyl existing um the ones

that were blown out were vinyl so this is an upgrade to that we haven't replaced the glass on the first floor that was blown out um so those original windows will will and have um remained on the first floor so I could go into more detail but I understand there are questions around materials or I'm just happy to answer any other questions you might have sure thank you um and um the uh

the composer or at least the Anderson 400 I actually just recently um saw uh a whole house worth of the Anderson 400s and um with the um the true divided lights and um I I even from the exterior I really couldn't tell I couldn't tell the difference um the whole everything was paintable and um I believe you can actually have it primed at the factory versus having it um uh doing it yourself but

um in the whole inside and out is completely paintable do you know if you're going to be using um uh for the glass would it be a true divided light or a simulated divided yeah so we actually uh Home Depot spec and spent the wrong windows so I have some samples I send new construction Windows instead of just the insert um so I'm currently trying to return those unsuccessfully thus far

um so it's either that Anderson 400 which I do have in the house it's so I apologize if I'm not getting respect correctly so the mountain is on the outside of both sides and I believe there's a divider bar in between so while it's not I don't think it's two separate panes of Glass on that upper level um it is separated and it gives the bar in the middle gives a shadow effect sort

of curious as though it's true divided um same with the Marvin um the Marvin I want to say it's elevate.ultimate um it's a second to Tops here of the Marvin window um I have the choice of bar or no bar in the middle for that shadow effect um so I'd like to hear your recommendations on that if you if you have experience with that as well anyone have any questions or comments for Aaron on the windows

no I'm excited for her to get this stuff done she's gonna be the last thing probably those windows sorry um you mentioned something on the porch was PVC yes yep um oh I want to say all of it um on the rounded portion on the top around the roof and then the below the rounded portion and then the uh latticework was all PVC which um I contemplated replacing with wood

but we would have to take apart more of the porch than I really want to um and it's all ring shanked in so it would be kind of a really rip it apart before able to put it back together for the wood but we are replacing like for like um it is PVC but we are going to paint it so at least it won't look um like it is now and it is it is a

composite that we're we're allowing so that that's okay if the uh for the repeated I'm not getting terminology is that azac I think exactly I believe the Neighbors at 528 just put that in as well yeah we're replacing like for like yeah again you know I've been I've been walking by there quite a bit I'm I'm watching your uh work and I've also been watching Reuben so I'm watching the

progress and it's looking good and it's it's staying you you guys are really doing a great job trying to keep the historic value of those properties so thank you for that no thank you for your um your oversight of the district that certainly um I won't be bringing the property value down forever we'll get there I'm in a race with 528.

yeah I've been kind of unofficially supervising too because I live right nearby and I walk by with my dogs all the time and I look forward to seeing what paint color you choose oh it's around the corner in the back it's hidden I I use a lot of paint swatches it's called Queen Anne lilac um it's from the historic collection of uh that one's Sherwin Williams um and we're doing a cloud cover which

we just put on started putting on today for the trail which I was really excited about no not cloud cover White Dove I'm sorry um and that is part of the Ben Moore historic collection so very excited to have that done but I'll wait next time I'm out there yeah yeah if you see me with two crazy pitbulls like um no the your application everything was very detailed thank you very much

with the the list of everything that that you're gonna be doing to the house I mean that it's unfortunate that it took a fire that was not even at your house um to all this too happened but um yeah no I don't have any other questions on it oh I make a motion to approve her request okay I'll second that that's right one moment all right I have a Emotion by Connie and

a second by Rick uh to approve the request um for 544 High Street I'm gonna get a roll call vote please uh Rick yes Connie yes Joyce yes Elizabeth yes Jason Bouchard and Rocky yes um perfect um Aaron I will send over the letter um basically the letter will be the certificate of um here we go again non-applicability there we go um so I will send that right over to you and that will

accompany your paperwork for the building permit and so forth perfect thank you I appreciate it and you're all invited to the ribbon cutting forward if there's any questions you have at all by all means um you have the the email for the historical commission so perfect thanks again and thanks for the work you all do appreciate it thank you thank you good night um see um I have nothing for old business um

and then uh anything open discussion wise um just that the uh recommended uh Ashley deconia that is going to be a in my opinion uh a great asset to our team she's she's very knowledgeable she's a wonderful person uh I think this I'm I'm pleased with the recommendation from the Mayo on this yeah but what do you have to interview I guess I'll meet her so um well actually she doesn't need that I guess

yeah yeah because it's from the mayor's office he it just has to I believe it just has to get confirmed from City Council so um and city council at from my understanding they don't have anyone in mind for on for their seat but I did indicate you know what ideally what we're looking for uh who we're looking for um you know we do it would be great if we had somebody who was either an

architect or it was in engineering or had um in some case or in in any case has um experience with historic buildings with um the whole nine yards um and I did indicate that you know we the work that we've done um we had the design guidelines which was a huge a huge project um you know we're we're working on expanding some historic districts in town with uh primarily downtown which hopefully I should be able to

shed or at least add some more information to the next meeting um so we've received some back and forth with the mass historical commission regarding that but um you know so um they're aware that we are we're doing some we're doing some big projects right now um and we have we have some ideas for down the line um anything new on the ilgw tool you know I think it just he

that we were going back and forth with um uh regarding that and it sounds like he had buildings already leased um and it was just a matter of getting us in in a very short period of time before the Last Tenant moved in um so I don't think that unless something opens up in the future I don't think we're we're able to secure that tour and a time for us to get together and see

that unfortunately but um I mean that's it that's good that he was able to lease that relatively quickly um and I believe that there's uh was it across the street at when I say across the street the on Durfee street that building is also fully leased um and I think he's just starting rehab work on the um the building on Troy street I can't remember the name of it um as the American wallpaper or building

right next door yes right next door um the oh the Merrell building building is that it um you know I believe you're right yeah I believe it I believe in it yeah so that was offices and I believe he's there they just started working on converting that into residential as well um so maybe we can at least maybe we could get in there because that we did have to review

paperwork or uh what is it the uh tax credit application for that um and that's the other thing too we will have uh Ryan LLC back I believe at the next meeting um just for continued letters of support um he was he was going to get us into a number of facilities that was his Down and Out promise that was three months ago so um again it seems to be a real reluctance on their part that

organization seems to have a reluctance to show us what we're approving yeah um and we should um I have a few other things I have to follow up on I know um the city should be presenting to us on or the sorry um the cemetery board on the master plan for Oak Grove um I they should have been uh presented to us this month um but it sounds like there's been a delay so potentially on August

um because they need support from us before they go for forward with that um but I'll ask um I'll send an email over to Tony Cordero again and see if we can if there's any possibility that we can get into any of the properties that he has if there's any even if there's maybe like an apartment that might be turning over um in the future we would love to see the work that they've done

I can ask him yeah it'd be nice my main interest is uh when they when they rehab the apartments oh they're going to modernize those that that's fine but it's really nice to see the internal structures and what they do to the to the hallways and and you know the door frames and the window frames and the ceiling and the moldings and you know the things that are in there the

staircase do they you know do they change those or they leave the original open State case in there with the banisters and you know it's it's nice to see that type of historic resemblance remain and and because they receive tax credits um the a lot of that when they go through the mass historical commission they will do a whole walk through to see what historic resources are within the

building so if there's a good staircase or if there's anything that um you know they deem to be significant or uh you know value to the building oftentimes those obviously have to get retained but it's it is interesting to see how they retain them correct yeah yes so um is there anything else regarding maybe next month we'll actually meet in person um so I think that's it um let's see so I think we're able to

adjourn it is 6 28 p.m if you need a motion to adjourn I'll make a motion to adjourn one second the motion to adjourn of emotion by Rick second by Connie to adjourn it is 6 28 p.m we will be meeting next on Tuesday August 15th 2023 um I got a real call vote please Rick oh yes Connie yes Joyce yes Elizabeth yes and Jason Bouchard and Rocky yes all right

thank you very much and enjoy the rest of your days okay