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10-27-22 MinutesSHPC Minutes 10-27-22 Page 1 of 6 SCHERTZ HISTORICAL PRESERVATION COMMITTEE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2022 6:30 PM MEETING MINUTES Committee Members in Attendance: Patricia Barnes Becki Babcock Sue Boissonneault Robert Durham Chris Hormel Pete Perez Dr. Miguel Vazquez Roz Wise Committee Members Absent: Jesse Gonzales Patrick Holmes Paul Ringenbach Tricia Whitman Judy Womack City Representatives in Attendance: Brian James Jill Whittaker Mayor Ralph Gutierrez CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 6:00 PM by Chairperson Patricia Barnes. INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS 1. Becki Babcock, Bob Durham, and Chris Hormel introduced themselves. DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION ITEMS 1. (Moved from OLD BUSINESS in consideration of Mayor Gutierrez’s presence). Schertz/Cibolo Historic Cemetery Association Request – Consideration and/or action regarding the request by the Schertz-Cibolo Cemetery Association for a $2,000 grant to assist with purchase of a State Historical Marker. Dr. Miguel Vazquez reports that the request for a historical marker has been approved by the Texas State Historical Commission. Although we pay for the marker, the marker technically belongs to the State of Texas. It has been a 2-year process thus far. Mayor Gutierrez spoke about the long process for applying and the value of the $2,000 in adding another destination stop for visitors to our city. He is in support of the request for the $2,000 marker fee. Miguel Vazquez also announced that they’ve received a $20,000 grant from GVEC that will immediately be spent on a rain catchment system. Roz Wise asked what is the total cost for the marker? Miguel Vazquez responded that the current cost is $2,000 and increasing. Pat Barnes asked what the difference is between the $2,000 he’s asking for and the $5,000 level that’s also included on the document. Miguel Vazquez responded that with the $2,000 they will be giving recognition to the committee and the city through their website and social media. If the committee agrees to contribute at the $5,000 level, they will put a permanent sign at the cemetery that would acknowledge the committee and city. Chris Hormel asked has anyone looked into what publications will need to be updated once this historical marker is approved. Miguel Vazquez answered, yes, it will be entered with revisions of publications. Pat Barnes voiced her concern that other cemeteries will start coming to us and asking for money. Brian James advised that we currently have just under $24,000 in our budget. SHPC Minutes 10-27-22 Page 2 of 6 Pete Perez motioned to approve the $2,000 expenditure and Sue Boissonneault seconded. Motion passed unanimously. a. Form Sub-Committee b. Develop policy for future requests 2. Minutes – Consideration and/or action regarding the approval of the minutes of the regular meetings of April 28, 2022 and July 28, 2022. Pete Perez motioned to approve both the April 28, 2022 and July 28, 2022 minutes. Roz Wise seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 3. By-Laws – Consideration and/or action regarding the approval of the By-Laws with changes. Article III: Membership – Chris Hormel asked if we are going to stipulate whether we will accept any non-Schertz residents from anywhere. Pat Barnes responded that it will only include those within the 3 counties. After discussion, Brian James recommended that we modify the wording to stipulate that they have to be a resident of Bexar, Comal, or Guadalupe County. He also reiterated that someone may apply, but we are not required to appoint. Article IV: Meetings – #7 of the Agenda was discussed at this point. We have been meeting once per quarter and are not accomplishing that much from a business standpoint. Sue Boissonneault motioned to meet monthly except July and December and move to 3rd Thursday in November with the meetings beginning at 6:00 PM. Roz Wise seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Article XIII: Member Expense Vouchering – Pat Barnes advised that most of the word came from the city. Roz Wise commented that 13.1 (a) Items costing more than $250 but not more than $1,000 must be pre-approved by the SHPC before being purchased. Roz Wise would like to see that increased to $1,500 due to the high dollar items that need to be purchased for the car show such as trophies and t-shirts. Brian James commented that the committee can do what they want; however, the caution he has is that at some point do we get ourselves in trouble by spending too much money that hasn’t been approved by the city first. Roz Wise asked Brian James if he recommended that we keep as is and he advised yes. Roz Wise asked for clarification on the amount less than $250; approval doesn’t need to be obtained. Brian James answered that a pre-approval is not necessary for an amount less than $250, however, there is no guarantee that you’ll be reimbursed. Brian James further clarified that if the expense is less than $250, a board member can do that and it would still be eligible to be reimbursed. The caution he has is the board doesn’t have to approve that. Would recommend still getting pre-approved. If it’s between $250 and less than $1,000, then the board has to pre-approve and over $1,000, you’ll need to coordinate with the City Manager’s office. Roz Wise motioned to approve the by-laws with the discussed changes. Chris Hormel seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Fund Expenditures – Consideration and/or action regarding the submission of member expense vouchers and approval of fund expenditures. Roz Wise reports that she has expenditures totaling $113.16 on acrylic sign holders and voting box for the car show. Chris Hormel motioned to approve the reimbursement of expenditures to Roz Wise. Sue Boissonneault seconded. Motion passed unanimously. SHPC Minutes 10-27-22 Page 3 of 6 5. Book Sales Report – Consideration and/or action regarding book sale activities during the last quarter and other fiscal activities. a. Roz Wise reported on the total copies of the books we have remaining and the locations. Brian James reported that our Purchasing Department is in the process of obtaining pricing for both the brown and yellow books and is hoping to have more information for the November meeting. Roz Wise reported that the books for sale at the Library are kept behind the counter and are not displayed, therefore, you have to ask about them. Lizzi Bertoia at the Library advised she would work with Roz Wise to establish someplace in the Library where they can be displayed for sale on a rotating basis with other displays. Roz Wise asked Brian James if there was some kind of display that could be provided where they could not be taken. Pat Barnes advised she has a friend in the realty business that distributes packets to new residents and suggested we contact relators to see if they would be interested in buying books to give away to new residents at a reduced price. Roz Wise commented that because these are the city’s funds, would they have issue with offering them at a reduced price. Brian James responded that deference is shown to the SHPC on how we want to use your funds and if it becomes an issue at some point we can chat about it and adjust, but his impression is that Council defers to them to promote the history of the community and if it’s an idea you think is a good one, then he thinks Council would defer to the committee. Patrick Naughton had volunteered to assist with updating the book and then had to resign from the committee. Miguel Vazquez suggests that we get a subcommittee formed for the task of updating the book before printing additional copies. Becki Babcock commented that she works with the Escape Room in Cibolo and they are interested in offering the books for sale and suggested that realtors may be interested in having them available in their offices but may not even know about the books. Roz Wise also commented that she feels everyone on the committee should be required to read the book so that they know the history of Schertz so when asked by citizens they can answer questions. We need to be knowledgeable of this topic as members of the committee. Action Items: Brian James to assist with a poster for advertising the book. He also suggested that we form the subcommittee (3-4 members) to make revisions and where they would want to promote the book. Staff will keep working on pricing of publishing. By the January/February meeting we would be able to have a plan for moving forward. Jerry McFarland in Purchasing has the digital files of the books and can use that to get a rough idea of pricing. Chris Hormel suggested that we make a motion to start a subcommittee during this meeting. Roz Wise is the Chairperson of the Book Subcommittee, Pat Barnes SHPC Minutes 10-27-22 Page 4 of 6 is ad hoc on all committees, and Becki Babcock, Miguel Vazquez, and Chris Hormel have all volunteered to serve on the Publications Subcommittee. Jill Whittaker, Liaison, commented that we have a lot on our agenda and have already addressed that issue by deciding to meet monthly and you’ll get a lot more work done. A lot of the discussion tonight is about subcommittees or workshops and when you all come together as a full committee, part of your process is to report back what the subcommittee or smaller groups have decided and where the discussion happened and here, you’re presenting and then getting the overall approval to be more efficient. You do have the option to table items and don’t have to address each item on the agenda tonight. 6. Sub-Committee Reports a. History – Roz Wise. Tabled until next meeting. NEW BUSINESS 7. Committee Meeting Frequency – Consideration and/or action regarding the frequency of the SHPC meetings from quarterly to monthly on the fourth Thursday of each month, except July, November, December. Discussed during #3. 8. Newsletter Discussion – Consideration and/or action regarding the continuation of a Remembrances newsletter. Tabled until next meeting. 9. Schertz Historical Picture Calendar – Consideration and/or action regarding a 2023 Schertz Historical Picture Calendar. Roz Wise suggested we do our own calendar. A subcommittee could be formed to discuss the possibility of a 2024 calendar. She spoke with the GVEC marking representative who assisted with producing the GVEC calendar and she was very help and gave her everything she needs to know to do the project. Pat Barnes suggested that it be the same subcommittee that was formed for the books. Miguel Vazquez asked if this would be a free item to give away or a sale item. Roz Wise answered it would be a sale item. Sue Boissonneault motioned that we move forward with the idea of producing a 2024 SHPC calendar. Chris Hormel seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Heritage Month Picnic – Consideration and/or action regarding a Heritage Month Picnic for March/April. Tabled until next meeting. 11. 2022 2nd Annual Classic Car Show Recap – Report on 2022 2nd Annual Classic Car Show. Pete Perez reported on the totals: RECEIPTS Car Entry Registrations $1,230.00 Vendor Registrations $515.00 SHPC Minutes 10-27-22 Page 5 of 6 Raffle $185.00 T-Shirts $120.00 Food Trucks $100.00 TOTAL RECEIPTS $2,150.00 EXPENDITURES D.J. $250.00 T-Shirts $1,625.00 Trophies $1,030.50 Supplies (Roz Wise) $113.16 TOTAL EXPENDITURES $3,018.66 GRAND TOTAL -$868.66 This is for the community, so we don’t consider it as a loss. There were 40 entries this year (71 last year) and one reason for the decline is that morning the weather was not looking optimistic. Chris Hormel suggested that the car show be moved to Main Street for the exposure. Current Car Show Subcommittee: Patrick Holmes, Chris Hormel, Becki Babcock, Pete Perez, and Jesse Gonzalez. Chris Hormel suggested that the books should be brought to every event. 12. 2023 3rd Annual Classic Car Show – Consideration and/or action regarding a 2023 Classic Car Show. Proposed date of Saturday, October 14, 2023. Tabled until next meeting. 13. Committee Member Shirts – Consideration and/or action regarding Committee Member Shirts. Tabled until next meeting. OLD BUSINESS 14. Schertz Landmark Property/Heritage Neighborhood Designation Nominations – Consideration and/or action regarding Schertz Landmark Property/Heritage Neighborhood designation nominations. Tabled until next meeting. a. Dietz home on 3009 b. Beck home on Beck Street c. Form Sub-Committee REQUESTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 15. Request by Committee Members that items be placed on a future agenda. a. Roz Wise asked that we replace landmark banners with metal signs. b. Roz Wise found a Texas Historical Commission book that has a lot of cities listed. Schertz is not in the book. All we have to do is submit a small article to be included in the book and the Texas Historical Commission would determine if it would be included in their next book. To be discussed by the Publications Subcommittee. c. Becki Babcock asked about the Main Street grant and how it can be offered to the other side of Exchange to historic homes. Brian James advised that Councilman Davis asked about that at Council this past Tuesday and there is an item on a future agenda for Council to consider this topic. As a reminder, for the preservation grant, the city funds that it, it doesn’t come out of the SHPC. Nobody on the committee has a problem SHPC Minutes 10-27-22 Page 6 of 6 considering making a recommendation on those grants for properties with the designation not on Main Street. Council should be discussing this at the next meeting on Tuesday, November 1 and he will report back at our next meeting. 16. Requests by Committee Members to City Manager and Staff for information. a. None 17. Announcements by Committee Members a. Jill Whittaker verified with Brian James that the subcommittees can meet whenever – you don’t have to publish, take own notes, etc. Also suggests that when there is a big event such as the car show, it would be good to report on the event at the meeting immediately following the event (if you made money, how many people attended, stats in general). 18. Announcements by Chair/Co-Chair a. Holiday dinner to be planned for December. b. The First United Bank is planning a grand re-opening for Monday, November 7 from 4-7 PM. Their remodel includes historic pictures of Schertz. c. The next meeting will be Thursday, November 17, 2022 at 6:00 PM. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 7:21 PM by Patricia Barnes.