Historic Preservation Committee

Meeting Minutes – March 13, 2014

A meeting of the Mountain Lakes Historic Preservation Committee (“HPC” or the “Committee”) was held on March 13, 2014, at the Mountain Lakes Borough Hall.  In attendance were Co-Chairs Tom Dagger and John Grossmann, Mike DeWitt, Pat Rusak, Brigid Walsh, and Chris Smith on speakerphone from the Far East. Absent were Ginny Cassidy, Margaret DeWitt and Borough Liaison Frank Borin. 

Approval of Prior Meeting’s Minutes

The Committee approved the minutes of the February meeting in the form distributed to the Committee in advance of the meeting. 

Treasurer’s Report

Tom Dagger presented the report prepared by Chris Sheasby:

Opening Balance as of February 3, 2014: $30,985.71

Debits:

$300.00           ML Board of Ed, Seventeen magazine framings

  $79.89           Michael DeWitt for eBay purchases for the Archives

  $81.49           John Grossmann for audio walking tour jewel cases and art

$461.38           Total Debits

Credits: $0.00

Closing Balance as of March 11, 2014: $30,524.33

Archivist’s Report

Pat Rusak reported five historic house orders.  She said she was ready to drop off three boxes of Hapgood work orders to the UPS store for digitizing.  With discussion on the archives, there was discussion of the possibility of someday having a list of archived materials, such as Hapgood’s house by house work orders, on the HPC website. All agreed that doing so would help show the breadth of archival holdings and encourage resident interest.

Old Business

Transition to Borough Administration of HPC Account

Tom Dagger said there has still been no response from Borough officials on their readiness for the handoff of our account.  We will continue with business as usual pending word from the Borough.

Remote Monitoring for Archives/ML Library

Mike DeWitt reported a successful test of the monitoring system on loan from his house and provided a cost estimate of $312 to purchase a similar system to monitor temperature, humidity, and water leaks.  He said it would cost an additional $392 to add a battery backup.  The Committee voted to approve the purchase of the system, which Mike will purse and then install.  With the Library having recently purchased a generator, it was decided to revisit the possible need for a backup power supply at a later date as need be.  Mike was thanked for his diligent work on this project—past and still to come.

New Business

Citizen of the Year and Janice D. Hunts Awards nominations

John Grossmann reminded all of the Borough’s call for nominations for these two awards and passed out forms for those to submit their suggested names.

Discussion of New HPC Member

Lesley Karczewsky’s candidacy for Committee membership was discussed.  All agreed she would be a valuable addition to the Committee.  John Grossmann said he would e-mail Borough Liaison Frank Borin to tell him of her willingness to serve and the Committee’s eagerness to have her aboard so that he could submit her name to the Council for consideration.  She would fill the spot recently vacated by Roberta Matalon.

Oral Histories

Tom Dagger raised the hope that the resumption of Oral Histories could soon add new voices to the HPC web pages and preserve the memories of longtime residents.  John said that he had sounded out Margaret DeWitt, found her interested in the job, and had asked her to contact Edithy Marcellis who now lives in Boonton.  

Date for Next Meeting

Thursday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mountain Lakes Borough Hall.

Minutes prepared by John Grossmann and Tom Dagger.