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Document - Historical Society Minutes - Historical Society Meeting Minutes - 4/7/2015MEETING NOTES/MINUTES EAGAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY TUESDAY April 7, 2015 3:40 p.m. – 2nd Floor Conference Room A/B Members present: Chair Mary Ellen Voracek, Vice-Chair Kim Hazel, Martin DesLauriers, Millie Gagnac, Bernie Jansen, Joe Reid and Dawn Simpson. Also present was Communication Coordinator Joanna Foote. MEETING MINUTES & SECRETARY The minutes from March 3, 2015 were approved and accepted with noted corrections. Introduction Guest, Kenneth Morrison introduced himself and told the committee that he has looked forward to participating with this group for some time. He also inquired about a photo he had donated in the past of the Cedar Grove water tower and was pleased to hear that it had survived Town Hall fire. He donated an undated Eagan Township map and a program from Sunday, July 20, 1969 New Eagan Town Hall Open House. Agenda Items Added Agenda item C was changed to Streets Alive Information and item D was changed to Dakota County Historical Society Annual Meeting update. Original C & D items followed. 1914 Town Hall Building Reconstruction Town Hall Project and Timelines Foote noted that at tonight’s City Council meeting, the Council will take action on consent agenda item H. Approve Plans & Specifications, Contract 15-10 (Old Town Hall Repairs and Renovation) and Authorize Advertisement of Bids. An April 23, a Pre-Bid Conference will be held for any intended bidders at the Old Town Hall. Foote will be in attendance along with internal City staff including Diane Miller, Assistant City Administrator who is overseeing the project. The architects will take the lead and walk everyone through the process and answer questions related to the building and project. Foote reminded members that the City Council has allocated $290,000.00 for the project. A $100,000 CDBG grant has been received which will likely be a part of that funding amount, rather than increasing the project total. Foote indicated that the architects will be identifying a list of potential upgrades/add-ons which could be considered/provided through additional fundraising. This list will be available soon and prior to bidding. Some items will be included as bid alternatives, while others will be considered later in the project and could be done as funds are acquired. She summarized the rest of the restoration schedule with construction to be completed by September 30, 2015. Grant/Fundraising Opportunities Foote stated that she will be meeting with City Administrator Osberg, Assistant City Administrator Miller and Communications Director Garrison to discuss potential options for fundraising and how that might best proceed. Responding to a question, she noted a portion of the sale of the painting, along with books and card sales do generate some funding for the Historical Society but not likely enough to have a strong impact within this project. Displays Discussion With the reopening of the Town Hall now slated for Early October, Foote noted that members will need to assist with sorting, reframing and preparing items for display at the Town Hall. As members may recall, all items that were on display there have been dried and cleaned as best they can be, but they will need to be evaluated, and in some case replicated, and reframed/mounted for display. Discussion surrounded the possibilities of doing more professional style framing/mounting of items than had been done previously. Foote suggested that she could coordinate an opportunity for members to view the displays at the Police Department that were done for its 40th Anniversary. She also suggested that we speak with member Ted Ringberg and the group he worked with on the displays at the new Fire Safety building. It was also noted that all displays may not be, or need to be ready immediately as the Town Hall reopens. Rather, the Historical Society may need or wish to take more time in coordinating displays to create more professional exhibits. A starting point is making a list of items available that are pertinent for displays and which need to be framed, or otherwise formatted/prepared for display. Then to begin calculating costs and determining the best means of proceeding. Members present agreed to set a date for a special meeting in May at the former Fire Administration building to see what materials are there and begin the coordination process. She also mention that each committee member has an expertise or skill in one thing or another to contribute to getting everything ready for the opening, whether it be organizing, reassembly, creating a narrative and photo identification, cleaning, etc. Police 50th Anniversary The Eagan Police Department will hold its 50th Anniversary celebration on Thursday, May 14th, 2015, at the Municipal Center Campus from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. As part of the commemoration, Foote wrote an article in the March/April Experience Eagan which featured Martin DesLauriers andcovered the first ten years of the department 1965-1975. It included photos of Police Chief Martin DesLauriers and others from the decade. The next issue due out in May/June will cover the years 1975-1985. In preparation for the next issue, Foote asked retired Eagan Police staff for stories and recollections. She received several e-mails, one from Police Officer Linda Myrhe and shared it with the committee. She had some wonderful stories about her experiences in the department. For example, Linda was hired in 1980 making “wholloping” $4.50 per hour and the fact that “she still has the pay check stub to prove it!” She retired from the force in 2012. Former Police Chief Pat Geagan also sent in stories and information. DesLauriers told a couple of funny incidents, one regarding a call with Marlene Adam (the department’s first dispatcher) who recently passed away. Streets Alive Event The committee discussed Streets Alive: The Cedar Grove Experience Event which will be held Saturday, September 12, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Eagan Outlets Parkway near the new Outlets Mall. There will be community organizations and City department that will showcase their services along with interactive and fun activities. Foote asked members to begin thinking of ideas as well as space needs and what activities they would like to host. She also asked for a couple of members to volunteer to attend the informational meeting to take notes to share at the next meeting. DCHS Update Jansen gave an update about the Dakota County Historical Society (DCHS). He provided a copy of the program for the 76th Annual Board Meeting from March 28, 2015 which includes 2014 chapter highlights of the Eagan Historical Society (included in May packet). Other items noted, were the resignation of long time DCHS Board member Millie Gignac who chose to resign following the decisions surrounding the departure of DCHS Director Lynn Grueber. Jansen noted there will be a meeting on April 18th with existing members and the eight new board members. He also talked about the large displays that will be traveling throughout Dakota County this summer. Other Foote mentioned an article that appeared in the Star Tribune on March 23, 2015 titled Big tax assessment hits Old Cedar Avenue in Bloomington, that sparked a conversation about the old Cedar Ave. bridge. Foote mentioned she was contacted by staff at a bank in Rosemount regarding the marker on Dodd Road. The bank President would like a framed print of this marker to hang on their wall. Foote needs to research the logistics of having the marker created for this purpose, as well as the cost of printing, framing, etc. Jansen indicated a former Lockheed employee is filming the demolition progression at the CSM site. He provided information about Tim Johnson’s pictures and demolition videos that can be viewed at vipclub.mn.org. Foote will attempt to download this video and photos for the Historical Society collection/use. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 3:30 p.m. Site to be determined ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 5:02 p.m. Included in the May packet are the copies of the following items from the April meeting: Old Town Hall Bid and Restoration Schedule, April 17th of Consent Agenda Item, March 12th letter regarding Streets Alive, Linda Myhre’s email, DCHS meeting information and 2014 Chapter Highlights from EHS, 1969 Eagan Town Hall open house program and Star Tribune article dated 03-23-2015.