A meeting of the Mountain Lakes Historic Preservation Committee was held on Nov 1, 2006 at the Mountain Lakes Borough Hall.  In attendance were Co-chairs Andy & Peggy Bulfer, John Grossmann, Pat Rusak, and Chris Sheasby.  Absent were Laura Fitzgerald, Margarethe Laurenzi, Joan Nix, Maria Iacullo-Bird, Brigid Walsh, and Borough Council Liaison Richard Urankar.

Opening Items

• Minutes Approval -- The minutes from last time were approved electronically prior to the meeting.
  
  
• Treasurer's Report -- Treasurer Chris Sheasby reported the following financial information for the period Nov 01 through Dec 06 2006.
  
  

  Opening balance (11/01/2006)	$2693.93
  Revenue	$0.00
  Expenses	$0.00
  Closing balance (12/06/2006)	$2693.93

  
  

Old Business

• Status of Oral Histories -- Although Margarethe Laurenzi was not in attendance, she sent a written summary of her activities.  She and John Grossmann scheduled an oral history training session on Nov 14, but unfortunately it could not be held because no one showed up.  She has sent tapes of Bill Harrison, Duke Smith and Ralph Wells to Martha McCormick at Tapescribe in Connecticut for transcription.  She has not had time to review and edit the oral histories Andy Bulfer had previously scanned and but probably will be able to do so after the Christmas holidays. She has not yet met with Gordon Tasker to do another 'walking tour' with him.

  John Grossmann said he has finished the transcription of the David Higgins interview.  He has sent the manuscript to Higgins for review. 

• Updating the Master Plan -- The HPC has received a long letter from preservation attorney Michele Donato giving the results of her study of our Master Plan and ordinances.  The Committee decided to defer discussion until next time to give members a chance to study the letter.
  
  
• Walking Tour -- John Grossmann reported that he and Tom Dagger have not finished their review of the Oral Histories.  It was suggested they contact Margarethe Laurenzi to obtain the details of her talk on Oral Histories to the Senior Citizens group.
  
  
• Status of the Picture Scanning -- Andy Bulfer and Pat Rusak met at the Library on Nov 2 and scanned 45 old photos from Crane, Dartmouth, North Glen, Hillcrest, Kenilworth, and Larchdale Roads. They have not yet been put on the Web site.
  
  
• HPC Brochure -- Andy Bulfer has not yet converted to electronic form the previous brochure design which we now have only in paper form..  Peggy Bulfer showed several types of paper stock and the Committee discussed possible layout options.  It was decided to continue to plan for a six panel brochure (3 panels, front and back) but to not leave one panel empty for a mailing label.
  
  
• Updating the HPC Pages on the Web Site -- Although she did not attend the meeting, Maria Iacullo-Bird confirmed by telephone that she will work on the pages during the holiday break.
  
  
• Public Awareness of the Historic District -- Andy Bulfer reported that the Borough Council discussed at their Nov 13 meeting the desirability of a program to brand Mountain Lakes as 'historic' and there appeared to be support for such a program.  The objective would be to build public awareness of the Historic District.  The ultimate goal is to extract value for Mountain Lakes from the Historic District designation.  This is not considered possible as long as the Historic District remains comparatively unknown.

  The Borough Council asked that a more detailed proposal be worked up by the Committee by April.  However, if any portions have budget impact, the Council requested they be submitted by the end of January.

  Andy Bulfer passed out a draft proposal which was discussed and generally accepted by the HPC.  A key component is signs at entrances to town saying:
  

  Mountain Lakes
  A National Historic District
  Established 1911

  The design of the signs was left open but most on the Committee appeared to feel they should be on steel posts and the approximate size of speed limit signs.  Plaques on the buildings would be brass like the current historic house plaques.  The company that produces our house plaques also manufactures street signs and is thought well of by the members of the Committee.  Chris Sheasby and Pat Rusak will discuss the concept of the signs and the company with Borough Manager Gary Webb.  In addition, all members of the Committee were urged to visit nearby towns with historic districts and take photos of their signs. 

New Business

• Ships Chains -- Pat Rusak distributed a newpaper article dated April 7 1953 on the origin of the Mountain Lakes chains.
  
  
• High School Sign -- The Committee discussed the proposed lighted sign at the High School.  It was decided to write a letter to the Board of Education expressing concern.  Chris Sheasby will solicit help from Margarethe Laurenzi and Joan Nix to draft the letter.  All members of the Committee will sign it if they wish.
  
  
• Committee Resignations/New Members -- One member of the Committee, Laura Fitzgerald wishes to resign and several wish to become less active.  Several names were suggested for potential new members.  Andy and Peggy Bulfer will contact them.

Date for Next Meeting

The Committee normally meets the first Wednesday of the month but January 3 was judged inconvenient by most members.  So this one time, the next meeting will be on Thu January 11, 2007 at 7:30 pm in Borough Hall.

Andy Bulfer