TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
HISTORICAL PRESERVATION COMMISSION
JULY 27, 2020

Members Present:
Shawn Warnke, Commission Member
Steve Bench, Commission Member
Connie Archibald, Commission Member
Larry Douglas, Commission Member—excused
Chris Breinholt, Commission Member
Cynthia Nelson, Deputy Recorder

Commission Member Warnke called the Historical Preservation Commission Meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. The meeting was held July 27, 2020 in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Commission Members Warnke, Bench, Archibald, Breinholt, and Deputy Recorder Nelson. Commission Member Douglas was excused.

1. Approval of agenda:

Motion by Commission Member Bench to approve the July 27, 2020 agenda. Motion seconded by Commission Member Archibald. Vote: Commission Member Warnke – aye, Commission Member Bench – aye, Commission Member Archibald – aye, and Commission Member Breinholt – aye. Motion approved.

2. Approval of minutes—October 30, 2019

Motion by Commission Member Archibald to approve the October 30, 2019 minutes. Motion seconded by Commission Member Bench. Vote: Commission Member Warnke – aye, Commission Member Bench – aye, Commission Member Archibald – aye, and Commission Member Breinholt – aye. Motion approved.

3. New Business:

a. Review, discussion, and consideration of recommending approval of the 2020 Reconnaissance Level Survey and Nomination of the proposed Tremonton Historic District to the Tremonton City Council and the Board of State History- Presented by Shawn Warnke

Commission Member Warnke said it was recommended we engage an actual historic professional to put together a reconnaissance level survey and do the nomination since the paperwork is of a technical level. Angie Abram did a great job and put together a PowerPoint presentation with a narrative, which we will watch.

During that presentation she gave an official list of the property deemed historically significant, meaning those individuals property are part of an area that has played a significant role in local, state, or national history. She said that contributes to community pride and a sense of place, while encouraging learning and preserving historical buildings and neighborhoods. There are financial benefits as well, including tax credits for rehabilitating property listed on the national register. National register listings do not restrict property owners in anyway. They can do anything they see fit based on local ordinances. She then went through the process of being listed on the national register. In Tremonton we chose the oldest part of the town and surveyed them this fall and spring to determine if they still have their integrity. After the nomination is complete it is submitted to the Utah State Historic Preservation office that reviews it with the Utah State Board of History. The board will have a meeting regarding this nomination on October 29, 2020. That is then forwarded to the National Park Service for official review and approval.

Ms. Abram gave a quick look at the boundaries and how each building in the area contributes to the district. The Tremonton Historic District has statewide significance in both the areas of exploration and settlement, and community planning. Under exploration and settlement, Tremonton is significant because it is unique to Utah as a successful town developed as a result of a large scale water reclamation project with private, external to Utah, funding. The historic district is also locally significant under criteria C for all of its commercial and residential architecture development during each of its contextual periods of early settlement (1889-1925), agriculture and community development (1926-1955), and postwar growth and transition (1956-1975 the age of Thiokol). The district is significant for its rich stock of period cottages and linear ranch houses.

In summary of the proposed district, she said each building is evaluated to see if it is contributing or not to the district (eligible significant, eligible contributing, ineligible and out of the period). She found 67% of the buildings are contributing. The Tremonton Historic District includes 699 primary resources (697 buildings and 2 structures). Of those, 470 are contributing. The district has very good historic integrity with 81% of the buildings being single-family residences and 13% being commercial. There are 13
multi-family residences, five civic/government buildings, four agricultural buildings, four religious buildings, and two structures.

After the presentation, Ms. Roberta Fronk gave some insight to Tremonton’s history. Commission Member Warnke said we need to make a recommendation to the City Council and the Board of State History to create the Tremonton Historic District
(600 South up to 1000 North, and 300 East to 400 West). Commission Member Breinholt asked about the settlement on Iowa String and why it was not included. Commission Member Warnke said she did recommend additional areas to survey, but it was just outside the scope of work.

Motion by Commission Member Archibald to recommend that there is a Tremonton Historic District. Motion seconded by Commission Member Bench. Vote: Commission Member Warnke – aye, Commission Member Bench – aye, Commission Member Archibald – aye, and Commission Member Breinholt – aye. Motion approved.

Items b. and c. were discussed together

b. Overview of the designation process of the proposed Tremonton Historic District being listed on the National Register of Historic Places – Presented by Shawn Warnke

c. Discussion and consideration of scheduling a virtual public meeting to present the proposed Tremonton Historic District to the public – Presented by Shawn Warnke

Commission Member Warnke said we as a City have the responsibly to do some public outreach, which will be a virtual meeting through Zoom. The City will provide a mailed notice to all property owners in the district about the meeting. There is some material included in that so they have a basic understanding and can participate. On October 2 the State Board of History will review it. Any property owner who has a contributing building has the opportunity to get tax credits for their project that improves their historic structure. This includes roofing and windows, as well as interior work with electrical and plumbing, or cosmetic items as long as they are compatible with the history architecture. Individuals are required to spend over $10,000 to receive the 20% tax credit. They will have to submit the required paperwork showing the before and after. The next process is to reach out to these individuals and pick a date. They have never seen one of these districts not go through based on public concerns because there are not negatives to creating the district, only benefits. Commission Member Breinholt said as long as people understand it does not affect what they can do to their property, I do not see why it would be a problem.

d. Discussion and consideration of historical research regarding a prisoner of war camp in Tremonton and potential of a historical marker- Presented by Shawn Warnke and Roberta Fronk

Commission Member Warnke said I gave the historic preservation consultant the wrong information, so she could not find it. With the libraries being closed, she was not able to do more research. She would write up the historical language for the historical marker for around $500, which would be helpful if we move forward. Mrs. Fronk said this was a German and Italian prisoner of war camp. She gave some of the history that she remembers, as well as some of the details she has from newspaper articles. Commission Member Warnke said it was on the site of the old hospital and care center. We would like to have a historical marker there. The next step would be to have our consultant do the research and create a write up. Commission Member Archibald said all of the information Ms. Fronk has in these articles could help Ms. Abrams. Commission Member Warnke said he would pass that information onto the consultant to help with her research.

Motion by Commission Member Bench to hire Angie Abram to do this history. Motion seconded by Commission Member Archibald. Vote: Commission Member Warnke – aye, Commission Member Bench – aye, Commission Member Archibald – aye, and Commission Member Breinholt – aye. Motion approved.

4. Adjournment

Motion by Commission Member Archibald to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by consensus of the Board. The meeting adjourned at 10:35 a.m.

The undersigned duly acting and appointed Recorder for Tremonton City Corporation hereby certifies that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Historical Preservation Commission held on the above referenced date. Minutes were prepared by Jessica Tanner.

Dated this 10th day of February, 2021.

______________________________
Linsey Nessen, CITY RECORDER

*Utah Code 52-4-202, (6) allows for a topic to be raised by the public and discussed by the public body even though it was not included in the agenda or advance public notice given; however, no final action will be taken.