Historic Preservation Committee

Meeting Minutes -- October 14, 2010

A meeting of the Mountain Lakes Historic Preservation Committee (“HPC”) was held on October 14, 2010 at the Mountain Lakes Library Meeting Room.  In attendance were Co-Chairs Tom Dagger and John Grossmann.  Also in attendance were Peggy Bulfer and Roberta Matalon. They were later joined by Pat Rusak.  Those absent included Borough Council Liaison Doug McWilliams, Beth Mauro, and Jess Nasta.

Opening Items

·         Treasurer's Report – John Grossmann reported on behalf of Treasurer Chris Sheasby the following financial information.  The opening balance was as of 10-11-10.  There have been no expenses since last time.  The revenue was $335.00 of which $135.00 was generated from the Centennial Book sales and $200.00 from the Hapgood plaque sales. 

Opening balance   

$24,624.05

   Revenue

$335.00

   Expenses

$0.00

Closing balance   

$24,959.05

Peggy Bulfer added that another $670 had also come in: $580 in book sales; $90 in notecard sales.  

 

Archivist's Report

Pat Rusak submitted a written report and upon arrival re-confirmed the information submitted.  Ms. Rusak was in communication with architect, Joan Nix, regarding Lake Drive School which is to be renovated.  Phyllis Deering submitted to Ms. Rusak valuable information regarding Mountain Lakes history that was being stored in the basement of the Community Church.  Of special interest were two documents: “Early Recollections of Mountain Lakes by a Pioneer,” written by Lila Houston, and “The Early Mountain Lakes,” written by Arthur Stringer.

Centennial Report

No update was provided.

Public Comments

None.

Old Business

·         Historic Preservation Ordinance –Tom Dagger briefly summarized discussions he and John Grossmann had, during a Morris County Heritage Workshop held in September with members of Washington Township’s Historic Preservation Commission regarding their Historic Preservation Ordinance.  Their ordinance, which has been in effect since the mid-1980s, did not appear to be contentious and there does not appear to have been any political “push back.”  Mr. Dagger stated that he hopes to receive additional information from the Washington Township HPC members regarding the ordinance, including recent updates that have been proposed to keep it current with developments in state law. 

·         History Book

Rutgers Status – Galleys provided by the publisher were proofread by author Patty Herold and HPC members and returned to the publisher at the beginning of October.  A decision was made on end pages for the book. An original photo of the Midvale Stores on will appear both in the front and back of the book.  In addition, the use of a Blind Stamp on the hardcover was also agreed up.  Though this will slightly increase production costs, this will add a decorative touch to the hardcover should (when) the dust jacket be removed or damaged.

Timeline from now – John Grossman reported the publishing process is on schedule and publication will be going to the printer October 15th.  Mid-December completion and delivery is expected.

Marketing Plans for the fall – As of now, approximately 400 copies have been pre-sold.  Continued efforts to market the history book will be needed, in addition to notices on the Centennial Website and the Home & School Website. December 11th or the 18th were considered for distribution of pre-orders in the downstairs meeting room at the library.  No matter which day, 1 pm was deemed the best time to open the doors.  Crowd control was discussed as many pre-order persons may arrive at once as well as those bearing checks wishing to buy a book and get it signed by the author.

·         Historic Walking Tour – John Grossman reported that production of the audio walking tour has been completed by Mike Gutowitz.  The audio files have been passed on to Andy Bulfer, who is to make them available online and who is also working with Steve Shaw on producing DVDs in time for the Centennial that will be enhanced with photos—old and new—of the dozen stops covered on the walking tour. It’s hoped that the DVDs might be available for sale when the books arrive in December.  

·         Oral Histories – Status unchanged since last HPC meeting.

HPC Open House – Roberta Matalon will be providing an updated roster of venders and participants to be included at the open house now scheduled for April 1st and 2nd, 10 – 4pm.  Craftsman’s Farms has reserved those days and the Community Church has been reserved for the event.

 

New Business

·         2011 Goals and Objectives – A list of 2011 Goals and Objectives for the HPC needs to be provided to the Borough of Mountain Lakes at the end of the month.  Mr. Grossmann agreed to draft the HPC’s 2011 Goals and Objectives and requested input on the Goals and Objectives from the members. 

·         Morris County Heritage Workshop Report – The Fall Workshop held by the Morris County Heritage Commission was briefly discussed by Mr. Grossman.  Those who attended stated the workshop was informative and interesting.

·         New Members – New members are desirable at this time and will be considered a benefit to the HPC.

 

Date for Next Meeting

The next meeting will be on Thurs, November 11, 2010 at 7:30 PM in the meeting room at the Mountain Lakes Borough Hall.

Minutes prepared by Roberta Matalon and other HPC member contributors.