HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/16/2010 Southold Town Landmarks Preservation Commission
May 2010
Date: May 16,2010
Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Building Department Conference Room,Town Hall Annex, Southold, NY
Attendees: Jim Grathwohl, Jamie Garretson, Larry Jungblut, Ron Rossi, Barbara Schnitzler. Doug
Constant and Mel Phaff Leslie Tasca attended as Admin.Assistant. Tim Kelly from the
Suffolk Times attended a portion of the meeting as public.
The March and April minutes were approved.
Jim asked the commissioners to consider nominations for properties to be designated as Landmarks and
encouraged local historical societies to submit nominations as well. He mentioned that a SPLIA workshop on
Teardowns and Economic Hardships would be held in Southampton on June 5 and encouraged the
commissioners to attend if at all possible.
Jim mentioned that the Ramone Public Hearing for Demolition is now officially closed and that he had received
two letters supporting denial of the application and one in favor of the application after the public hearing on
April 20, 2010. A vote of the commissioners was held regarding the application. Doug recused himself and all
other commissioners voted in favor of denying the application. The commissioners proceeded to review and
approved the draft denial of C of A prepared by Jim. Several changes were recommended and Jim would
revise the draft and present it to the commission prior to sending it to the Assistant Town Attorney for comment.
A discussion regarding how applications should be handled when several agencies are involved, e.g.ZBA,
Zoning, and the like,took place. It was agreed that the LPC must work with the other agencies and in some
cases take the lead so that the overall application process is smooth and seamless.
Ron and Mel reported that they, along with Geoff Fleming (Southold Historical Society), inspected and
photographed the standing Ben Franklin markers. They also reported that the three"missing"markers were
found at the Southold Town Highway Department. Ron is once again contacting the NYS DOT for assistance
in maintaining the markers.
The Helen Keller house was inspected by Ron and Mel and found to be in extremely poor condition. At best it
is believed that a portion of the front fagade may be saved with a new structure built around it, however this
would be at considerable expense. A discussion followed as to whether Helen Keller actually lived there and it
is believed that she may have spent a weekend in the house. The commission confirmed its application to the
Town Board to designate the property as a Southold Town Landmark. The Suffolk County Legislative will be
voting in early June whether to authorize money for the preservation of the building or proceed with its
demolition.
The meeting was adjourned and the next meeting is scheduled for 3:00 PM in the Town Hall Annex conference
room on June 15, 2010.