MAY 9, 2006

The meeting was opened and called to order at 7:00 p.m. Mark Greenwood was asked to sit in for David Bernier.

MINUTES of 11APR06: There were no changes to the minutes. Ms. Heaney made a MOTION, seconded by Mr. Douglas, to ACCEPT THE MINUTES. The motion CARRIED.

Drafting of Historic District Commission by-laws: Mr. Douglas presented a proposed first draft of HDC by-laws which was a copy of the current Bristol Planning Board by-laws, but altered where needed. Mr. Douglas raised some questions for discussion:

1. Article I, Section 2, Are Objects pertinent to the HDC? – Mr. Dingman offered to research this.

2. Article III, Officers, Section 1. Will the HDC have an official "Annual Meeting" as per this section? Yes, this will be our first meeting after the town meeting.

3. Article III, Officers, Section 5, Clerk of Records. Is this applicable? Does our secretary interface with the Clerk of Records? – Mr. Dingman offered to research this.

4. Article IV, Meeting of the Commission, Section 3. Should we omit Workshop Meetings? It was decided that at this time we would not require extra meetings in order to provide workshops but we could revisit this in the future if the need should arise.

5. Article V, Miscellaneous, Section 1, Applications. Does the Secretary or the Clerk of Records keep the HDC informed about any change in status of approved applications? It was decided that we needed to have a detailed list of duties for our secretary.

Mr. Van Derven suggested that under Article II that we should add that the Chairman of Commission can provide input to the Selectmen for consideration regarding the hiring and interviewing of HDC board members. He felt it important that the procedure for interviewing candidates should be explicit.

Mr. Van Derven also raised the point that the terms for removal of a commission member should be specific and after consideration the board decided that this was adequately covered in Article IV.

Ms. Heaney asked whether we are required to have an alternate roster and the board felt that this was not necessary.

Mr. Dingman asked whether we should add our meeting procedures to our by-laws. Ms. Heaney thought that this might already be included in the existing regulations. Mr. Van Derven suggested a hand-out for the public at commission meetings so that they could better understand our procedures. A discussion ensued regarding current Bristol Zoning Board procedures and it was decided that our hearings were substantially different and therefore our procedures would be different from that of the Zoning Board. Mr. Dingman suggested that we should keep our procedures as streamlined and efficient as possible.

It was decided that all board members should review the proposed by-laws before the next scheduled meeting and that Mr. Dingman would ask the Planning Board Chairman for his input also.

Certificate of Approval and COA Application Forms: Mr. Dingman noted the forms which had been circulated previously and approved by the board were now those in use. The proposed application fee structure, based on that of the Planning Board, was approved by the Selectmen in April. Mr. Paradis, Planning Board Chair, had suggested that we could consider holding concurrent HDC and Planning Board meetings in situations where an applicant for Certificate of Approval also required approval for Site Plan from the Planning Board. The HDC board agreed that this was a good idea.

Hire of HDC Secretary: Mr. Dingman reported that the Town Administrator, Mr. Veloski, had placed an employment advertisement in the next issue of The Record-Enterprise, The Laconia Citizen and on the town website. A discussion arose regarding the actual duties of secretary and while we have a job description the board felt that they needed more information from Mr. Veloski to better understand the day-to-day tasks of the HDC Secretary. Ms. Heaney volunteered to follow up with Mr. Veloski to obtain more information. It was decided that the HDC should be part of the interviewing process.

Other old business: Ms. Heaney and Ms. Gordon reported that they are continuing with the process of completing the inventory forms with the information that is currently contained within the National Register Application forms. Mr. Dingman suggested that the HDC should apply for a grant from the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance for the costs associated with hiring a professional to complete the inventory forms. Mr. Dingman will provide this information to Ms. Heaney and Ms. Gordon.

The board discussed which current Commission positions will expire this year or that need to be replaced due to issues with attendance. For instance, Ms. Jones (alternate) has not appeared at meetings for six months. In addition, she will be leaving Bristol and will no longer be eligible to serve. It was decided that Ms. Robin Fitzgerald, who has expressed interest in serving on the Commission, would be a good candidate to replace Ms. Jones. Mr. Greenwood is interested in serving as a full-time Commission member and could take the place of Mr. Bernier who has not been able to attend meetings for a while six months. Mr. Dingman will contact Mr. Bernier to ask him if he wishes to continue to serve. Mr. Dingman asked the board to consider how we should recruit members with relevant backgrounds for future openings.

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL FOR 2 CENTRAL SQUARE, DAVID MUNRO: The Chair read the application, referral, list of abutters notified and where the hearing was advertised. He stated that there were no telephone calls nor written responses received in regard to the application.

Mr. Munro presented his plans to the board. Mr. Dingman made a MOTION, seconded by Ms. Gordon, to ACCEPT THE APPLICATION AS COMPLETE. The motion CARRIED.

Mr. Munro presented the proposed changes to the exterior of 2 Central Square:

Ms. Heaney asked whether any support would be required underneath the new windows and Mr. Munro said that none would be. Mr. Dingman asked about the "divided-light" aspect of the windows and Mr. Munro stated that true divided-light windows were not available from his supplier in wood — only vinyl — but that they opted instead to have a wood frame single-pane window with a wooden grill on either side of the glass to give the appearance of true muntins holding individual panes of glass. Mr. Munro stated that the current window is not the original and that the proposed windows are more in keeping with the age of the building and would look more like a store front. He stated that it would not be a bay window.

Mr. Munro stated that the porch addition would tie the front of 2 Central Square in with the neighboring building (The Presidential Grille) and would enable placement of outside seating. The current porch is only 6 feet square and cannot accommodate any seating. Ms. Gordon asked what the dimensions of the proposed porch would be and the applicant stated that it would be 24 feet wide by 6 feet deep. Mr. Greenwood asked if the applicant had considered leaving some vegetation in the front of the building as there is very little green area in the Town Square. Mr. Munro felt that the current green area in front of the building was so small that the new porch with some plants would provide more vegetation that what is currently there. Mr. Dingman asked what type of corner posts would be used and Mr. Munro stated that the construction would be very simple as opposed to ornate posts with finials.

Mr. Dingman asked for an update on the position of two propane tanks located on the right-hand corner that belongs to The Presidential Grille. The applicant is in discussion with the abutters and The Fire Chief to find a better solution for the location of these tanks. If the tanks remain the porch extension may be smaller. Mr. Van Derven asked the applicant if he had had any discussion with owner of The Mica Building regarding the tanks and he stated that he had. All parties are amenable to finding the best solution for relocating the tanks.

Mr. Dingman asked the applicant if he had decided whether to have a carved sign or a painted sign and at this time the applicant felt the carved sign would be cost prohibitive. He would like eventually to have a carved sign but felt that for now a painted one was more within their budget.

Mr. Munro stated that he would like to add some lighting to the front of the building but at this time only had some ideas and did not have any specifics. Mr. Dingman stated that, unfortunately, the Commission does not have enough information about the proposed lighting to approve it. However, he continued, because the lighting plan would require Minor Site Plan Review from the Planning Board, when the time came for this it might be a good time to hold a concurrent Planning Board/Historic District Commission meeting so that Mr. Munro could accomplish two reviews in one meeting. Mr. Munro also stated that in the future they would like to enclose the side porch and to have a landscaped seating area at the side of the building.

With no further comments, and no public testimony, Ms. Heaney made a MOTION, seconded by Mr. Van Derven to APPROVE the CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL subject to the following conditions. The motion CARRIED.

NEXT MEETING: will be held on June 13, 2006.

With no further business, Mr. Douglas made a MOTION, seconded by Mr. Greenwood, to adjourn at 8:45 p.m. The motion CARRIED.