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 Minutes of CPR MeetingsMinutes are posted for the current year, with newest at the top of this page. Please send corrections to Dick Gibson, Secretary (rigibson@earthlink.com). The following links to archived materials are html pages, document files, or PDFs.
March 9, 2010 • Jacobs House
The first item of business was Assistant Planning Director Steve Hess's report on neighborhood development programs. BSB's Planning Dept. has received a grant from the DNRC to study needs in two neighborhoods (Greely School and Central Butte). They have hired a team of consultants led by Ann Cossett. The team will develop a comprehensive neighborhood improvement plan for each neighborhood, with a goal of completion by about next September. Each neighborhood will have a steering committee composed of stakeholders including local residents, organizations, and government agencies. Steve encouraged any individuals or organizations who want to have a role on the steering committees to contact him at 497-6253. The committees will have public meetings to gather input. Separate from this neighborhood planning, Steve indicated that a group of realtors is planning a 1-day workshop to study and promote affordable work-force housing, some of which would probably be within the neighborhoods in the other project. Minutes: Minutes were not read. Treasurer's Report: Jean Abrams reported expenses of about $1850 and income of about $10,400 (mostly the VAF donation, $4613, and our Cultural Trust Grant reimbursement). Jean reported that the 990 form is done, the annual report to the Montana Secretary of State is done, she has established on-line banking and has CPR's debit card validated, and the PayPal account is now viable again. Education: no report Dust to Dazzle Tour: The committee has four places set and is seeking two more. The date is set for June 26. HIP Grants: Nicole is to send a press release about the impending April 2 deadline for applications, and for the grant assistance workshop that was set at this meeting. The assistance workshop will be Saturday March 27, 1-3 p.m. at Jacobs House. Mitzi said she would participate in that workshop. Salvage: No report. Dick mentioned that the Mai Wah is seeking a display case for the Archaeological Dig exhibit, and while a donated case would be great, they have some grant money to pay for one large or a couple small ones. Grants: no report. (See also under Old Business: Greek Cafe.)
OLD BUSINESSFall Film Festival: Carrie has contacted Pat Munday about helping with this, but has no response. She will continue to pursue.P.R. Plan: no report. Greek Cafe: Mitzi indicated that the stimulus grant program has been suspended indefinitely because of the state of Montana's finances. There was some discussion about the thought that this money was specified by the law, how can they cancel it. Mark said he would discuss with Jon Sesso to get an explanation. The URA has not yet formally in writing indicated their committment to this project; at the Feb. meeting there was no quorum so it is on the agenda for the March 24 meeting which Nicole will attend. We cannot proceed until this formality is complete. Revolving Fund: Irene contacted the National Trust. They indicated that grants are available to organizations for hiring consultants to help with creating revolving funds. The deadline for the current cycle is June 1. We will pursue that option. Mike has researched how property values are determined for IRS purposes. Mitzi has drafted an article that the subcommittee will review explaining the concept of this fund. The subcommittee is to meet next on Monday March 29 at Irene's house. Annual Report: question was asked as to how many new members we got as a result of the mailing out of the Annual Report, but no one knew the answer. Dick said he has posted 34 names to the membership directory for 2010 based on information from Jean and Nicole. Big Hole Pump Station: Robert indicated by email that there are no plans to demolish the old pump house. Mitzi said Jim Jarvis plans to apply to the Montana Preservation Alliance for a Kaplan grant for preservation of industrial places for the pump house. Discussion of the needs for which such a grant could be used. Suggestions were made that the most critical needs are for brick repair, cessation of sprinking a wall, dewatering the wall, and waterproofing. Mitzi will send a letter to Jim Jarvis outlining CPR's thoughts and offering assistance. Other: none
NEW BUSINESSTransit enhancement signage, CTEP funds: Discussion was sparked by Ed Banderob's email to CPR requesting support for his proposal to spend CTEP funds on signs along his planned Scenic Route. After discussion, it was decided that this is not really in CPR's scope. Nicole is to reply. This is the same pot of money that is being considered for a pedestrian bridge across Montana Street to connect two trail systems. In connection with this, Mike brought up the suggestion for sidewalk-mounted medallions focusing on history and architecture. Dick mentioned similar post-mounted plaques in Durango, CO. Such enhancements to trails, walkways, etc. should come under the CTEP program.M&M: It was reported this morning that the planned auction had been stopped by a court injunction. The owner has defaulted on his loan, and the property (building and contents) is now in foreclosure. The loan holder plans to use his lien as collateral at the foreclosure sale to buy the M&M and then to sell it to someone who will keep it intact and will operate it. It was suggested that it would be nice if he would put a preservation easement on it prior to selling it. Granite pavers: Ellen Crain told Mitzi that the Archives has "thousands" of pavers, tiles, etc., and she is seeking some way of using them. Mitzi suggested repatriating them to the most intact granite-paved alley (between Quartz and Granite Streets) but wondered if we could do it, if we could get a professional's advice, etc. Another suggestion was to pave the unpaved areas in the Original Mine Yard with them. Mike and Mark mentioned Mike Vincent, Vincent Masonry, as the expert of choice for stone walls and such. Mike is to contact Mike Vincent to see if he would come to an informational and brainstorming session at the next CPR meeting. Office Hours: Nicole is to be asked to establish regular office hours.
OTHER REPORTSHistoric Preservation Commission: Mitzi said the HPC is still working on guidelines, that maybe in 2 months or so CPR and the general public might have a draft to review.Community Enrichment: no report. Butte Restoration Alliance: no report. URA: Mitzi indicated that the HPC is going to begin procedures for listing properties on the Local Register if the properties' owners accept local funding, such as from the URA. Council of Commissioners issues: no report Main Street Uptown Butte: no report. Other: none.
OTHER DISCUSSIONAnnouncements: Mark said the Quarry will not be moving; there were problems with the financing. Mark also reported that he is involved in consulting regarding the restoration of the BSB Law Library on the third floor of the Court House. The work there will enhance the historic fabric.Next Meeting: Tuesday April 13 February 9, 2010 • Jacobs House
The first item of business was Fire Marshal John Lasky's presentation on the Uptown arson problem. Because of a recent arrest in at least one case, and ongoing investigations, Mr. Lasky could not talk about specifics of any recent fires. He outlined Butte's unfortunate history of fires; he's been on the force since 1976 and was involved in fighting and investigating the many fires of the late 1970s and early 1980s, as well as the approximately 12 arsons in 1992-93 attributed to Monte Boston. Another 9-month period of fires in the 1990s focused on South Main Street, with one conviction. Mr. Lasky said, "You rarely see a fire in a clean house," meaning that one important means of prevention includes clean up (both inside and outside, the latter to remove combustible items of opportunity) of trash, weeds, junk, and general disrepair. He encouraged neighbors to watch neighborhoods. Other deterrents, for both fire and vandalism, include motion detectors, lights, security cameras (est. cost, $125). Motives for arson include revenge (common), vanity (someone wants new stuff, or a new house), insurance fraud (these days, often car fires), curiosity (kids), and kicks. Mr. Lasky indicated that one of the biggest problems, fires in properties owned by BSB, has declined significantly in the past 4-5 years with the aggressive use of developers packets to get county-owned properties into private ownership. The BSB free smoke detector program is no longer available, but the Fire Department placed about 14,000 free smoke detectors thanks to a grant from the Centers for Disease Control. Minutes: Minutes were not read. Treasurer's Report: Jean Abrams was introduced as our new Treasurer. Few transactions have meant little change since January. Jean will work with past treasurer Mitzi to get the IRS 990 form completed. Education: no report Dust to Dazzle Tour: The committee meets Feb. 11, 6:00 pm, at Kelly Rose's house, 1135 W. Mercury. HIP Grants: Dick said that the word was that the VAF overage check, earmarked for HIP, was expected to be mailed to us tomorrow. Salvage: Mike Hogan reported three contacts seeking materials. Question of how many doors may be in the secondary storage place. Grants: Mitzi said that Nicole is applying for another US Bank Foundation grant.
OLD BUSINESSFall Film Festival: Carrie has contacted Pat Munday about helping with this.P.R. Plan: no report. Greek Cafe: Nicole made a presentation at the URA board meeting. Mitzi indicated that there were still some formalities to get straightened out, but that once the URA's pledge is in our hands in writing, we will contract with Tom Beaudette (BCE, Inc.) to do the architectural planning. Revolving Fund: The subcommittee (Mitzi, Mike, Mark, Dick, and Irene) met and brainstormed ideas. An outline of the revolving fund concept was given for newer members unfamiliar with the plan. Annual Report: Expected to be distributed in a week or so. Big Hole Pump Station: Nothing new. Other: none
NEW BUSINESSEmma Park: Mitzi indicated that rumors suggest the possibility of new construction within Emma Park, and suggested our vigilance. There is a meeting with the Human Resource Council folks and their contractors, at the Blue Luna Feb. 11, to have public discussions. The HRC is building a new building at the corner of Colorado and Silver. Janet Cornish has something to do with them - Mitzi will contact her about a possible presentation/discussion at the next CPR meeting.Travona neighborhood: Carrie mentioned new houses near the Travona, and wondered if there had been demolition there. Mike said he thought they were Habitat or NAHN houses and that there had been no demolition there. 500 Block W. Park Street: A house there is falling apart, according to Mitzi, who suggested it could be a good candidate for Demolition by Neglect proceedings with the Historic Preservation Commission. PayPal: Jean gave Dick the papers needed for us to rejuvenate our PayPal account (we hope).
OTHER REPORTSHistoric Preservation Commission: Mitzi said the HPC is still working on guidelines, that maybe in 2 months or so CPR and the general public might have a draft to review.Community Enrichment: no report. Butte Restoration Alliance: The alliance is seeking members. URA: no report Council of Commissioners issues: no report Main Street Uptown Butte: no report. Other: none.
OTHER DISCUSSIONNoneNext Meeting: Tuesday March 9 January 12, 2010 • Jacobs House
There were no minutes from the November meeting; apparently only three people attended. Treasurer's Report: no report Education: no report Dust to Dazzle Tour: Kelly reported that a date was set because Travel Montana needed it for publications. She'll get the date to Dick for the newsletter and web site. HIP Grants: Nicole reported that the Butte Board of Realtors had asked for a request letter regarding a HIP grant donation, and we received a $500 HIP contribution from the Butte Community Foundation. Dick said it sounds like the VAF overage donation, which will be earmarked for the HIP program, is in the pipeline. Request made to form a HIP grant committee to review and approve grants when they come it, since we've lost two committee members. Larry, Kelly, and Mark volunteered to serve on this committee. Others are welcome - contact Larry. Salvage: Mike Hogan and Jim Jarvis volunteered to work as the salvage coordinators. In addition to a possible salvage sale next summer, this entails dealing with folks who want to donate or buy things from our salvage stash. Grants: Nicole reported that the first payment for the second (FY 2010-11) C & A operations support grant should be coming in this month. The CCSP grant for $30,000 for the Greek Cafe is in.
OLD BUSINESSFall Film Festival: (moved by Secretary from New Business to Old Business) Mitzi talked to Pat Munday who will be happy to coordinate this but obviously it will be a Winter-Spring Film Festival. This would be a series of 4 or 5 films with some relation to historic preservation. Thanks to Pat, they would be shown at the Montana Tech auditorium. Pat has requested a small committee to help with promotion. Carrie and Mark volunteered. Others are welcome - contact Pat Munday.Greek Cafe: Nicole plans to rejuvenate the Greek Cafe Subcommittee via the soup kitchen brainstorming get-togethers, planning one probably for the fourth weekend of January. If you are not on the list for this project, contact Nicole. In connection with this, Karen Byrnes has asked for CPR input, and Nicole will contact her and plans to attend the next URA meeting. Other: none
NEW BUSINESSElection of Board Members: Dick nominated Robert Edwards, Larry Smith, Carrie Kiely, Mitzi Rossillon, Mark Reavis, Mike Hogan, and Wendy Ward to be board members. Nicole seconded the nomination, and the members present elected them unanimously. There was some discussion of the logistics of including a remote member (Wendy) in meetings - talk of Skype, of Robert's handy-dandy speaker phone that he has sometimes used for Mai Wah board meetings (the Mai Wah has a board member in Illinois). It will be worked out; Larry is in charge.Election of Officers: The Board elects officers. Elected were: President, Larry Smith. Vice President, Carrie Kiely. Secretary, Dick Gibson. There was discussion of the Treasurer's position being vacated by Mitzi. Dick had offered at the August meeting to serve as an interim Treasurer (1 year maximum) if no one else could be found. Nicole is interested but cannot do it for free and would like to include it in her duties as our quarter-time office person. Nicole is planning to send a letter to the Board with a proposal regarding her position. The Board decided to meet Tuesday January 19, 5:00 p.m., at Jacobs House, to discuss the Treasurer question. Annual Report: Nicole is working on a draft and will have it to the Board for review this week. She needs the 2009 financial report from Mitzi, and that is waiting on one last item to be complete. Membership Drive: Nicole is about to get this going. Revolving fund: Discussion of needs for guidelines, structure, etc., anticipating the possibility of getting it going on a small, initial scale, even before applying for money (from the Arco Redevelopment Trust fund, once it becomes available). Dick is to send the draft outline he wrote in 2007 to the new board. A committee is formed to study and work on this. Mitzi, Mark, Irene, and Dick volunteered. Others are welcome - contact Mitzi. Brainstorming other projects: Mark Reavis brought up the idea of engaging organizations and individuals - especially those that might not be typical members of CPR - in a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Butte National Historic Landmark in 2011. Such people would be encouraged to sponsor events of some sort that would spotlight their properties or businesses, and would become both promotion as well as some income for CPR as there would be membership in CPR involved. Dick mentioned that the Montana Historical Society's County History Initiative provides funding, up to $2,000, that might include something like this. He is to get the information about that grant program to Mark. Richard Nelson is an art collector who was attracted by possibilities involving the Greek Cafe, but his broader vision is for a space to house important private art collections from his colleagues across the country. He has looked at various things and has talked with Glenn Bodish and others. He wanted advice from CPR folks in two areas - should he make his own non-profit organization, and what does that entail? and can we give suggestions regarding specific buildings. Lively discussion, and Richard will continue to follow up with CPR. Big Hole Pump Station - we had a message from Dave Shultz about possible concerns regarding abandoning the historic pump house at Divide. Larry encouraged people to read Dave's blog - http://butteblogs.blogspot.com . Jim Jarvis indicated that he didn't know of any real threat in the near future at the pump station. Steve Foreman has engineered a presentation at the February meeting by Fire Marshal John Laskey on the topic of arson in the Uptown district. Steve will not be able to attend so he requested someone to promote the meeting and remind Mr. Laskey. Nicole said she would get an announcement in the paper and would remind Mr. Laskey. Members are encouraged to come, with questions. Dick indicated that Robert, Denny, and Dick are spearheading a "Light 'em up Butte!" concept to put evening lights in the upper floors of vacant buildings. The request was to ask CPR members to be aware of the needs - curtains & drapes for windows, cash for timers, bulbs, extension cords, etc.
OTHER REPORTSHistoric Preservation Commission: Jim Jarvis indicated that a "final" draft of the ordinance guidelines is going to the HPC at its February meeting, and hopes it can go to Council for approval soon. Work continues on mineyards, including the Original, with hopes to have the inside of the Engine Room available for visitors during the Folk Festival.Community Enrichment: no report. Butte Restoration Alliance: no report URA: no report Council of Commissioners issues: no report Main Street Uptown Butte: Discussion as to whether or not CPR should renew its membership in the organization. No objections, but it was not clear if a decision was actually reached. Other: Nicole has had requests for the protect-a-gate service. Mitzi indicated that in one case she'd get a chain and lock to the place. Nicole also had a request from someone to list a property on our web site. Referred to the policy on the For Sale page - we accept listings from CPR members for property that they own.
OTHER DISCUSSIONNoneNext Meeting: Tuesday February 9 BUTTE CPR • P.O. Box 164 • Butte, Montana 59703 • E-mail | |||||||||
Nicole - proposal to Board about Treasurer; visit with URA; Greek Cafe soup kitchen