Advisory Commission Meeting 11/16/2022

Keweenaw National Historical Park Headquarters

November 16th, 2022

Present: Commissioners

• Glenn Anderson, State of Michigan (Vice President and acting President)
• Karin Cooper, Houghton County (Secretary)
• Gerald Juntunen, at-large
• Dan Jamison, at-large (acting Treasurer)
• Thomas Helppi, Calumet Township

Absent:

• John Sullivan
• Franklin and Quincy Townships (Treasurer)
• Village of Calumet (Vacant)

Present: Executive Director

• Sean Gohman

Present: National Park Service (NPS)

• Wendy Davis, Superintendent
• John Arnold, Historical Architect
• Brian Hoduski, Museum Lead
• Amber Kraft, Interpretation and Education Lead

Present: Guests

• Brad Barnett, Visit Keweenaw
• Andrew Ranville, Village of Calumet
• Rebecca Gofelty, Real People Media
• Mark Wilcox, IRKPA
• Beth Baker and Cheryl Layne, Agassiz House

Call to Order

A regular meeting of the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission was opened at 1:03 p.m., Wednesday, November 16, 2022.

Approval of Agenda.

Motion to amend and approve agenda. Moved by Cooper and seconded by Jamison to approve agenda for November 16, 2022. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0).

Approval of Minutes of July 27, 2022.

Moved by Juntunen and seconded Jamison to approve of the minutes of January 19, 2022. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0).

Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Davis welcomed the Park’s new Interpretation and Education Lead, Amber Kraft, and introduced her to the Commission and meeting attendees.

The Quincy Smelter received $30,000 in stabilization and “safeing” work over the summer. Focus was on replacing window/opening covers and adding plexiglass to some of them to allow for more natural light into the reverberatory building’s casting shed. These new covers will prevent impacts from vermin and pigeons as well.

Brain Hoduski is currently working on projects for not only KNHP, but also for Isle Royale and Picture Rocks NPs. The C&H Warehouse’s transformation into a world class curation facility is moving ahead. The design process is approved with shovels in the ground (hopefully) in 2024.

• Brian is also retiring at the end of the year, and Superintendent Davis expressed heartfelt thanks to his years in NPS and at KNHP.

Still waiting for Congress to approve funding for the next year, which the park depends on to move forward with projects in 2023.

A new agreement between NPS and the Heritage Sites is completed and awaiting signatures from Heritage Site representatives this spring (at the Spring Heritage Sites annual meeting).

Q&A with the Superintendent:

None

Executive Director’s Report

I want to start by welcoming our newest Commissioner, Thomas Helppi. Mr. Helppi has filled the Calumet Township seat vacated by Keith Koppernolle last summer. Mr. Helppi is a former teacher, currently a carpenter, and has a deep interest in the history of the Copper Country. Thank you, Tom, for taking on this position as the Commission enters 2023. I would also like to thank Keith for his service on the Commission and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Several Commission seats will be open in the coming year. In January of next year John Sullivan, serving Franklin and Quincy Townships, will be stepping down after many years of service to the Commission. Anyone interested in filling this seat can contact me for more information or get in contact with the Franklin Township Clerk’s Office for more details. Commission appointments are for 3-year terms and Commissioners can serve 3 consecutive terms. The Houghton County and the State of Michigan seats will need to be filled at the end of April, and we will soon be sending out notices and press releases advertising those positions as well. Again, if interested, please contact me for more information.

The Advisory Commission and National Park hosted the Fall Heritage Sites meeting in person at the park Headquarters last month on Oct 19th. 14 Heritage sites as well as other affiliated organizations attended and updated each other on their organization’s activities over the past 6 months as well as what was coming up for the winter. They were also treated to an afternoon workshop focused on access, specifically how to manage access to one’s site as visitor numbers continue to increase in the Keweenaw. This includes signage, consistent wording, and other means of communication and managing access to one’s historic property.

Attendees also got to hear about my recent month-long visit to Ireland and Wales to learn about their heritage practices. The Ireland portion was just me, but the Wales portion was with students and faculty from MTU looking to learn about how the World Heritage Program has been received in Wales, which has several industry-focused World Heritage Sites including the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales, just inscribed in 2021. Both Ireland and Wales were incredible, and much was learned. The presentation focused on the various sites we visited, the innovations in interpretation we encountered (and how those could be adopted here), as well as forging links between MTU, Welsh heritage practitioners, the Commission, and the Park. I could honestly stand here for a couple hours and talk about this trip. I’ve never had such an immersive deep dive into a nation’s heritage (speaking of Wales) over such a short period of time. It was just incredible. I’ve also written a (rather lengthy) report on my experiences there. I can send a digital copy to anyone interested, and I am also open to presenting on this trip to any organization hoping to learn from that experience.

As for updates on the Quincy Smelter. The tour season that the Commission works with the Quincy Mine Hoist Association has concluded for this year. This summer a new gift shop and reservation system was implemented at the smelter office, and by all accounts this addition to the experience went over quite well. We had increased visitorship thanks to package tours offered by the Mine Hoist Association with their hoist and underground tours. We hope these changes mean even more visitors next year, as we continue to improve the experience for site tours. Speaking of improvements, this year the casting shed building, housing the historic Walker Casting Wheel, received some securing and interior lighting improvements that minimized access for pigeons and other pests as well as improved the visual experience. Pigeon waste was also cleaned up by Sagola Cleaning Inc. out of the Marquette area. The wheel has looked this good since the early 1970s. Students from MTU recently documented the dockside warehouse using a couple 3-d imaging technologies. Photogrammetry and LiDAR scans created a virtual warehouse one can explore inside and out, and it’s hoped this sort of project can benefit both the students as well as the Commission and the Park as we work together to further secure the site and find a new uses for the historic property’s various resources. These scans allow us to visit the smelter’s warehouse all year round, so measurements can be taken, designs made, and perhaps in the future even create virtual tour experiences on-line.

Finally, the Commission would like to announce that a process is going into motion to accept and evaluate applications to the Keweenaw Heritage Site Program. We currently have 22 sites in the program, and it was felt that the time has come to think about adding to that number. We invite any interested parties/orgs to get in touch to learn more about how your org could become a Heritage Site. The primary qualifications are that your site/org incorporates the story of native copper into your interpretation programs that fit within the mission of Keweenaw National Historical Park, that you have a stable board and organizing structure, and that you have regular hours of operation open to the public. As details on this process formalize, more information including application forms and press releases will go out to the public.

Q&A with the Executive Director:

None

Commissioner Announcements / Executive

The Commission welcomed its newest member, Thomas Helppi, to the board. Mr. Helppi represents Calumet Township.

Anderson put forth a slate of officers for 2023:

Chair: Anderson

Vice Chair: Juntunen

Secretary: Cooper

Treasurer: Jamison

Motion made by Jamison. Seconded by Juntunen. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0).

Reports and Projects

Karin Cooper, speaking on behalf of UP Engineers and Architects (UPEA), updated the Commission on the status of an ongoing structural assessment of the Calumet Theatre and a replacement of the boiler. The boiler replacement was put out for bid. They received one bid, which isn’t all that surprising considering the contracting climate now, and that bid is currently being evaluated.

Anderson put forth a slate of officers for 2023: Chair: Anderson; Vice Chair: Juntunen; Secretary: Cooper; Treasurer: Jamison

Motion made by Jamison. Seconded by Juntunen. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0).

Budget / Finance

Motion to approve the bills moved by Jmaison and seconded by Juntunen to approved in $59,119.23 billing and wages and tax of $13,708.40. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0)

Motion to approve the Fiscal year 2023 budget of $401,877.00 made by Jamison. Seconded by Juntunen. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0)

Comments from the Public

Rebecca Gofelty from Real People Media and Storytelling Center thanked the Commission and Copper Country Preservation for ongoing support and assistance in the production of the Red Jacket Jamboree radio program.

• Michigan Humanities Council recently awarded the Storytelling Center $15,000 for the creation of “Animated Stories of the Copper Country-Miners.” This will be animated shorts based on recorded copper miner stories and interviews.

• Just got a Keweenaw Time Traveler kiosk set up at the Storytelling Center.

• Michigan Arts and Culture Assoc. awarded $16,500 grant for a bathroom rehab for the center.

Mark Wilcox informed the Commission that the Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Assoc. (IRKPA) membership drive will kick off later in the month (November).

Andrew Ranville, speaking on behalf of the Village of Calumet, shared that the Village is looking at the parking meters as a conduit for telling stories to visitors. How this will happen is TBD, but there is an opportunity to get more out of the meters than just change.

• Ranville asked how to make request for funds from the Commission outside the Keweenaw Heritage Grant program.

• Anderson informed that the FY23 budget does contain a line item for miscellaneous requests, but that the KHG is the preferred avenue for planned projects.

• Cooper clarified that requests need to be formally made to E.D. Gohman ahead of time. Public meetings are not the venue to hearing requests, but rather voting on requests that were heard in the quarter leading up to the meeting.

• Superintendent Davis added that certain projects, if they require or desire NPS assistance, can take longer than emergency funding allows, and that the KHG is the appropriate avenue for those sorts of projects.

Brad Barnett of Visit Keweenaw (formerly the Visitors Bureau) stated that their internal surveying of visitors indicates a deep lack of knowledge of the National Park, the boundaries of the park, and just general awareness of where people are in relation to the Park. Visit Keweenaw is interested in working with the Commission and KNHP in developing ways to improve that knowledge and awareness.

Comments from NPS/KNHP

Brain Hoduski thanked the Commission for touring the History Center building last July with Archivist Jeremiah Mason.

• There is talk of recognizing this area as a Natural National Landmark. A representative from the NPS Midwest Regional Office was here this past summer to look into this and that this work is “progressing.”

• Brian stated he’s been involved with the Commission as a staff member of KNHP for over 22 years, and he hopes to continue to do so in retirement.

• Anderson thanked Brian for his service and passed along the Commission’s best wished in his future endeavors.

Motion to Adjourn

Moved to adjourn by Jamison, and seconded by Juntunen at 2:14 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0).

Next Meeting

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 1:00pm at Keweenaw NHP Headquarters.