Lincoln Historical Commission
Historic District Commission
Meeting Minutes
February 3, 2009, 7:30 p.m.
Board Members: Ruth Wales, HDC Chair, LHC/HDC; Lucretia Giese, LHC Chair, LHC/HDC; Kerry Glass, LHC/HDC; James Craig, HDC; Ken Hurd, HDC; Andrew Ory, LHC/HDC
Secretary: Elaine Carroll
NEXT ANTICIPATED MEETING: March 3, 2009, 7:30 p.m., Town Offices
The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. A motion was made by Kerry Glass and seconded by Ruth Wales to accept the minutes of the Jan. 6, 2009 meeting as written. The motion passed unanimously.
Certificate of Appropriateness Hearing:
7 Lincoln Road – Tom Darling, owner, and Chris Hosford, designer and brother-in-law of Mr. Darling, came before the members to request the approval for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the removal of a mudroom and wrap around porch and an addition on the west side of the dwelling to accommodate a kitchen and small family room. Mr. Darling is also seeking approval for the addition and rearranging of windows in the north side of the dwelling. The addition looks like an enclosed porch and is 630 sq. ft. Mr. Hosford said that he would recommend aluminum clad windows and showed the Commission pictures of other houses with a similar design. Mr. Hosford said that they would be using cedar shingles, which is the same as the existing house. He said that there have been two different
additions. One in 1920, which was an odd fit, and another addition in 2000. The new windows in the back will match the existing windows but will be rearranged. The members questioned the amount of light onto the field that would come from the addition, which was mostly windows. Mr. Darling said that they wanted to see the view and enjoy it from their kitchen and he has the support of the neighbors for the project including the neighbor at 15 Lincoln Road, where there is a lot of screening from a line of trees. The outside lighting will be downward facing with no flood lights. Mr. Hosford said that they were considering using a matte metal roof for the addition because of the slant of the roof. The Commission requested a sample of the roofing material and Mr. Hosford said that he would bring a sample to the March 3 meeting. Mr. Darling said that he has received approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals because the structure is
non-conforming. Ken Hurd suggested they might want to use Mullion windows, which would be okay. Ken Hurd made a motion to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition of the wrap around deck and mudroom, the addition and rearrangement of windows in the north side of the dwelling and the addition on the west side of the house on the condition that the Commission first see and approve materials for the roof of the addition and that there be no addition of flood lighting. The motion was seconded by Andrew Ory and Lucretia Giese and approved unanimously.
Informal Discussion:
Pierce House – Bill Stason, Max Mason and Sara Mattes came before the members to discuss the possibility of external changes to the Pierce House. Mr. Stason said that the Pierce House Planning Committee was appointed by the Selectmen a year ago to set up a business plan for the Pierce House, which is clearly a treasure to Lincoln. Mr. Stason said that the Committee found both positive and negative areas. The positives have been Richard Silver who is a very good event manager. There have been extensive repairs done in the past several years in the amount of approximately $231,000 from CPC funds. There are about 50 major paying events a year and 30 so far for this year and annual revenues increased by $13,000 in 2008. On the challenging side is the age of the structure and the
need for extensive repairs, and the budget. Operating fund deficits since 2005 are $25,000 to $41,000, which comes out of the Town budget. The Pierce House has a small trust fund, which stipulates that the principal has to be maintained and the interest can be used for maintenance. This is run by town elected trustees, and their work is governed by Mass. Municipal finance law, which mandates very conservative investments. The revenues have declined in the past 2 years. Discussion has included increasing fees for private events and instituting a charge for Lincoln organizations’ use. The Pierce House hosts a lot of the events and meetings for Lincoln organizations. The cost for Lincoln events comes out of the town supported budget and private donations. There are a number of issues that need to be discussed by the Town and may be discussed at the State of the Town meeting in the fall, including whether or not the Pierce
House should be expected to cover all costs though the private bookings. A market study will be conducted to identify additional rental opportunities and any associated needs for structural changes. A large, year round meeting place in a permanent tent or change made to the house to accommodate larger events is in discussion. A Pierce House Endowment Fund is also under discussion to assist in achieving long-term financial stability. The septic system may need to be enlarged, to accommodate larger events. The members reviewed a sketch by Max Mason showing the proposed location of a permanent tent on the same level as the first floor with a wood platform. There was also a discussion of a greenhouse like structure, which could be used for weddings. The use of a permanent tent would solve the problem of space without an addition onto the Pierce House. Ken Hurd said that it should be moved back so that it is not so visible. The
addition of a conservatory type of addition was discussed, which Ruth Wales said should not extend beyond the house. Ruth said that the integrity of the original building needs to be maintained. Mr. Stason said that the Committee knows that it has to be set back from the road and has to go along with the integrity of the existing house. Ruth said that she likes the use of temporary tents because they go away after the event. The interior rooms cannot be combined because of chimneys between the rooms. Ken Hurd suggested an addition onto the back of the Pierce House and eliminating the back driveway at a cost of approximately $800,000 - $1,000,000. Andy Ory felt that it would be best if any addition could be hidden from the street and said that the Pierce House is his favorite part of the Historic District. Sara Mattes said that they would take theses concepts to the ConCom due to proximity to wetlands... Mr. Stason said that the
Committee will present an updated report for Town Meeting with the HDC recommendations and will go before the Town in the fall at the State of the Town meeting.
Other Business:
Feb. 10 All Board Meeting – Lucretia Giese reminded the members of the All Board meeting on Feb. 10 at Bemis Hall. She is unable to attend because she needs to meet with the CPC that night to answer some questions regarding the HDC request for CPA funds and wanted to be sure that someone from the Commission would be there. Ken Hurd and James Craig will both be there. Ken said that the issues on the table for discussion probably affect this Commission the least.
LHC Alternates – The members discussed the need to appoint alternates to the HDC/LHC. Lucretia said that she has talked to Jack MacLean who said that he was not a candidate. Kerry Glass spoke to Larry Zuelke who is a landscape architect, has lived in Town for almost 50 years and is a member of the Lincoln Minutemen. He said that he was interested and will fill out the necessary form for the Selectmen. Kerry will also check with Harry Hoover to see if he is interested as was mentioned at the January 6 meeting. Andy Ory suggested that Stacy Osur might also be a possibility.
Historic District Signs – Kerry Glass has a meeting with Chris Bibbo tomorrow between 9:30 – 10:00 to discuss what the background color of the Historic District signs should be. The lettering is black and the consensus of the members is that it should be a light warm gray. Ruth Wales will try to be at the meeting also.
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There being no further business, Kerry Glass made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by Lucretia Giese and unanimously approved. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine Carroll
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