HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-07-19-HC-min.pdf THE LEXINGTON HISTORICAL COMMISSION
LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02173
MEETING
July 10 , 1978 , 7: 30 p.m. , Town Office Building, Room G-19
Present: Anne Grady, Chair; Norma Bogen, Sara Chase , Elizabeth
Reinhardt , John Orcutt
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting of June 7 , 1978 were read and accepted.
APPOINTMENT TO LHC
The name of John Orcutt has been submitted to the Town Manager
for appointment to the Historical Commission. Action on the
appointment has not been completed as of this date .
TRAVEL FUNDS .
There was a general discussion related to the use of funds for
travel to meetings . • It was agreed that priority should be given
to National Trust and SPNEA meetings , since the information gained
was likely to be immediately relevant. SAH and APT were also
mentioned as possibilities . Anne Grady will write a letter to the
Town Manager outlining LHC ' s policy.
LHC will join SPNEA . Grady will attend the annual meeting of the
National Trust in Chicago October 11-15.
HISTORIC DISTRICTS CERTIFICATE
Anne Grady noted that the Historic Districts certificate had
been received by the town some time ago but there had been no
official commemorative activity on July 4th. The possibility
of incorporating it with the marker on the Green will be dis-
cussed with the Historic Districts Commission.
JOSEPH BRIDGE HOUSE
At the request of the owner, Grady and Reinhardt looked at the
Joseph Bridge House and submitted an evaluation to the Mass .
Historical Commission. Members of LHC will meet with MHC on
July 20 on this and other matters .
CHAIRMANSHIP OF LHC AND DIVISION OF WORK
Further discussion of the Chairmanship (i .e . , whether it would
rotate on a monthly basis) followed. Norma Bogen, not present at
the June meeting, felt that a monthly rotating chairmanship would
weaken the Commission. Anne Grady outlined the range of activities
that would be undertaken in the coming year. Ways of dividing and
facilitating the work were discussed in order to relieve the
Chair of some of the administrative burdens . Sara Chase agreed
to assume the Chair for the coming year. Meetings will take place
on the second Thursday of each month, starting in September.
Some of the work will be divided as follows: Grady - annual report ,
budget ; Chase - grants cycle notification to National Register
owners ; Bogen - representative to the Planning Board Housing
Committee ; Orcutt - Design review representative to the Historic
Districts Commission; Reinhardt - Inventory, building review for
National Register, education, photography. Minutes will continue
to rotate (except for Chairman) .
HANCOCK SCHOOL
Hancock School is now officially a part of the Historic District
and subject to the district 's regulations. (Chapter 268 of the Mass .
General Laws of 1978. )
According to the Hancock School deed, HDC is the holder of the
preservation restrictions . The deed does not include controls on
landscaping. LHC was not informed of the contents of the deed by
the Selectmen nor was there any discussion of what would finally
be incorporated in the deed.
Sara uhase reported on the exterior cleaning of Hancock. The
developer has indicated that cleaning the brnstone trim results in
staining thebrick wall and has requested that he be permitted to
clean the entire building. (The contract calls for cleaning trim
only.) However, the developer has not given a firm price for this
additional work but has indicated it would result in a higher price
for the units than agreed upon. The Selectmen have said "no" on
this basis . The use of scrubbing for the trim and draping the
rest of the building or the possible scrubbing of the whole
building were discussed. Orcutt suggested that in fact it might
be cheaper for the developer to do the whole building, by scrubbing,
than just the trim using the stream technique and draping.
Whether the developer was actually trying to back out of any cleaning e
all was also discussed. LHC members agreed that it would be
preferable to c7 an the entire building in order to protect ityas
well as from an aesthetic viewpoint.
Grady will discuss the cleaning matter with Selectman Marge Battin.
She will also talk to her about the role of LHC in town preservation
matters and point out that the Commission is not routinely contacted
about matters of importance to it as a legally mandated preserva-
tion body in the town.
HISTORIC HOUSE MARKERS
An owner of an historic house has asked whether standard house
markers are available . LHG decided not to get inolved in this matter.
INVENTORY
Available LHC members will meet with Betty Reinhardt on the 12th
to discuss inventory matters.
OTHER
Bogen will take appropriate steps to have a member of LHC appointed
to_ the Planning Board ' s Housing Committee .
The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m. NORMA BOGEN