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2008 02 28 HPC MinutesMINUTES HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEETING A Regular meeting held in the South Conference Room at the La Quinta City Hall 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA February 28, 2008 This meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission was called to order by Chairman Wilbur at 3:00 p.m. who asked for the roll call. I. CALL TO ORDER A. Roll Call. Present: Commissioners Puente, Redmon, Sharp, Wright, and Chairman Wilbur Absent: None Staff Present: Planning Manager David Sawyer, Principal Planner Stan Sawa, and Executive Secretary Carolyn Walker II. PUBLIC COMMENT: None III. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: Confirmed IV. CONSENT CALENDAR: A. It was moved and seconded by Commissioners Puente/Sharp to approve the minutes of January 17, 2008, as submitted. Unanimously approved. V. BUSINESS ITEMS: A. Discussion of the status of the Museum and curation efforts. 1. Kim Mack Manager of the La Quinta Museum, was introduced by David Sawyer. She spoke about building progress and potential programs involving the Historical Society and the Museum. P:\fleports - HPC\2008\8-20-08\Minutes 2-28-08.doc Historic Preservation Commission February 28, 2008 2. Ms. Mack then gave an overv;ew of her background. 3. She explained how the new Museum would be utilized and included information on exhibits, archival uses, rentals and events. 4. She explained there will always be a gallery featuring "The History of La Quinta." There are also plans to include traveling exhibits in cooperation with National Geographic and the Smithsonian Institute as well as other history museums with traveling exhibits. 5. She discussed the possibility of holding free events the first Friday of every month, as well as a summer camp in conjunction with the La Quinta Playhouse. They are also hoping to hold some weekend family events. 6. She said the collections will be maintained by the Historical Society. They are catalogued and the archives will be very useful to scholars. 7. She will be working with the Planning Department on what artifacts are appropriate for the Museum/Historical Society to collect. Space is limited in the archival area and it will be necessary to be selective about what is collected. 8. The building is estimated to be finished the third week in April and there will probably be a soft opening. 9. Commissioner Sharp asked if there will be admission charged. Ms. Mack replied there will be no admission in the summer and the "season" admission was expected to be very modest. She said that would be the decision of the City Council. 10. Commissioner Wright commented that members of the Historical Society will not have to pay admission. Ms. Mack added, however, they will have to pay for traveling exhibits. 11. Commissioner Sharp mentioned the Indio and Palm Desert Museums do not charge admission. Commissioner Wright pointed out they do not have the facilities or same caliber of curator as La Quinta. P:1Reports- HPC12008\3-20-OS\Mi~utes 2-28-OS.doc 2 Historic Preservation Commission February 28, 2008 12. Commissioner Sharp asked what days the Museum would be open. Ms. Mack said probably four days a week as they will have to work out staffing. Commissioner Sharp suggested they be open more hours. Ms. Mack said they will be working on improving the hours as they hope to attract a large number of visitors. 13. Commissioner Wright compared the opening of the Museum to the opening of the former library. Initially, they were only open a few hours, in a small facility, and now we have a beautiful facility with more convenient hours. The same will happen with the Museum. The hours will be extended as time goes on. 14. Commissioner Wright said one of his big pushes is getting young people involved. He also asked if Ms. Mack was in possession of all the previously archived items. She replied she did have many of them. 15. Ms. Mack said she had been looking at Idylwild and some of the music programs they offer. There will be an effort to try out different music venues. Commissioner Wright commented on the former Village Street Faire and how that event drew people to the downtown area. 16. Commissioner Wright congratulated Ms. Mack on being a real asset to the City of La Quinta and complimented her on her background and ideas on bringing additional resources to the City. 17. Ms. Mack said there were artifacts that came out of the Desert Club such as some of the doors, and stained glass windows which have been incorporated into the new building. 18. Commissioner Sharp asked if there had been any outreach to the Native American population. Ms. Mack said she had contacted them and went over some of the programs they will be doing with the Native American groups. She added they will be working with the Latino population and their involvement in the Agricultural display which will be coming from the Library of Congress. She is trying to make an effort to include the diversity of the people and cultures of the area. 19. Ms. Mack commented on the Dorothea Lang display which will be coming from the Library of Congress. P:\Reports - HPC\200813-20-08\Minutes 2-28-08.doc 3 Historic Preservation Commission February 28, 2008 20. Ms. Mack is also hoping to boost funding mechanisms such as promotion of the Historical Society and sale of items in the Museum's gift shop. 21. Commissioner Redmon said there were some local authors that had done a lot of good things and could be contacted regarding items for the gift shop. 22. Ms. Mack said she has a small budget for programs but she is hopeful in a year or two they can apply for funding for more programs. Commissioner Redmon suggested selling permanent plaques, displayed at the Museum, for funding. Commissioner Sharp commented on an area appropriate for placing plaques. 23. Ms. Mack said there will be naming opportunities for cases or galleries. There will be a place for donor recognition in the foyer and they are considering developing digital monitors for that use. 24. Commissioner Wright commented on the McCallum Theatre and their plaque system. He suggested Ms. Mack get brochures or information to the local hotels so their guests can visit the Museum. It would also be an opportunity to obtain more funding from visitors. 25. Commissioner Redmon suggested contacting outside publications for fillers and free advertising. 26. Ms. Mack said they were currently working on a map and the company they are working with distributes materials to hotels. 27. Commissioner Wright said visitors are interested in seeing the history of an area. Since there is never enough money at the beginning of a museum, he suggested there be materials in the lobby on how to give, endow, etc. He gave an example of the La Quinta Arts Foundation, when it first started, and how they did fund raising. 28. Ms. Mack discussed her part in promoting the Museum. Commissioner Sharp made several suggestions on promoting events at the Museum, such as being on the local radio stations which could include promotion of any concerts the Museum might have. Ms. Mack agreed. P:\Reports - HPC\2008\3-20-OS\Minutes 2-28-08-doc 4 Historic Preservation Commission February 28, 2008 29. Chairman Wilbur asked what the tax status was of the Museum. Ms. Mack referred him to the fact the Historical Society is a tax-free donation. 30. Commissioner Wright commented on previously held black tie events and the need to get the general public, especially youth, involved in the Museum. Ms. Mack agreed and added her ideas on how to encourage participation of youth groups. 31. Commissioner Puente asked if the Commission would be getting a tour of the Museum and Ms. Mack replied they would. 32. Commissioner Redmon wanted to know the opening date. Ms. Mack replied they were not sure at this time. 33. Commissioner Wright asked about the Museum as a curation facility and its climate control. Ms. Mack described curation procedures and the facilities. B. Distribution of Annual Report 1. Principal Planner Stan Sawa went over the CLG Annual Report, how it is prepared and what information was included. C. Review/Status of work program requests and scheduling. 1. Planning Manager Dave Sawyer discussed the work program schedule. 2. He went over what items they have already covered and commented on the addition of items, such as: • curation (Coordinating with Museum Director, Kim Mack) • The HPC Accomplishments Update • Historic Homes Tour to keep in mind as a future project. • A Historical Sites driving tour with site map. • Enhancing the City Website • Looking into Awards for CLG programs as discussed at the California APA Conference. He gave the example of Ontario, California receiving an award for their website and the community's interaction on the site. • Work program resource list, to be kept as an on-going item. • Mitigation Monitoring Program and the coordination of efforts with the Museum. P:\Reports -HPC\2008\3-20-08\Minutes 2-28-08.doc 5 Historic Preservation Commission February 28, 2008 VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: None VII. COMMISSIONER ITEMS: t . Executive Secretary Carolyn Walker presented information on the upcoming California State Preservation Conference and the finalization of plans. Commissioner Redmon had just visited the Embassy Suites and commented on how excellent the accommodations were. VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Puente/Redmon to adjourn this Meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission to the next Regular Meeting to be held on March 20, 2008. This meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission was adjourned at 4:02 p.m. Unanimously approved. Submitted by: C--~/~ GC~~~~t~1/ Caroly alker Executive Secretary P:\Reports - HPC\2008\3-20-08\Minutes 2-28-08.doc 6