Advisory Commission Meeting 1/17/2023

Keweenaw National Historical Park
Headquarters, Calumet

January 17, 2023




Present: Commissioners

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

Absent:

• Village of Calumet (Vacant)

Present: Executive Director

• Sean Gohman

Present: National Park Service (NPS)

• Wendy Davis, Superintendent
• John Arnold, Historical Architect

Present: Guests

• Paul Lehto, former Commissioner
• Mel Jones, Keweenaw County Historical Society (KCHS)
• Jeff Ratcliffe, Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance (KEDA)
• Karen Hintz, Keweenaw County Historical Society
• John Jaszczak, A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum (AESM)
• Chris Guibert, Keweenaw Mountain Lodge (KML)
• John Mueller, Keweenaw Mountain Lodge
• Jean Pemberton, Copper Range Historical Society (CRHS)
• Kathy Ceno, Copper Country Firefighters History Museum (CCFHM)
• Marica Slater, Hanka Homestead Finnish Museum (HHFM)
• Keith Meyers, Chassell Heritage Organization (CHO)

Decisisions and Announcements

• The Commission moved to table a decision regarding a request (more below) from KEDA, Main Street Calumet, and Houghton County Landbank to act as fiduciary on a SHPO CLG grant for the Herman Flats Building, Calumet until further information was received regarding the status of Federal funds in the backing of this grant application.
• This year’s Keweenaw Heritage Grant program cycle kicked off today. $125,000 (minimum) is on offer for eligible applicants. More information can be found at the Park’s website.
• A committee to evaluate applicants to the Heritage Site program is being formed. An application process will be announced in the coming weeks.
• Openings on the Commission are coming up this spring for the State of Michigan and Houghton County nominating bodies. Notices will be put out in the coming weeks.

A.1. Call to Order

A regular meeting of the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission was opened at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 17th, 2023.

A.2. Introductions

See attendees above.

A.3. Approval of Agenda for January 17th, 2023

Motion made by Cooper and seconded by Jamison. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0).

A.4. Approval of Minutes of November 18, 2022

Motion made by Juntunen and seconded by Jamison. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0).

B.1. Superintendent’s Report

A. The Park’s new Interpretation and Education Lead, Amber Kraft, is busy meeting with area stakeholders and educators to develop new programs and/or continue existing programs on pause since 2020.

• Brian Hoduski recently retired as the Park’s Curator and Museum Lead. Applicants to fill this position are being reviewed currently. Any questions can be addressed to Martin Hobmeier.
• The Park will shortly also be looking to fill the Landscape Architect position.
• Isle Royale staff are sharing space at Park Headquarters, further strengthening the bond between the two parks.

B. The annual Service Call for National Parks was completed in December. Decisions regarding Park projects for FY23 are, as always, contingent on an approved Federal budget. The Commissions has received its annual agreement operations funding from the Park, in the amount of $115,000.

C. The Abandoned Mineral Lands program, on hold last year, will be funded this year to the amount of $2 million. The Park has two potentially funded AML projects in line for FY23, but as of yet it is unclear if both/either will received funding. It is hoped that a stabilization project for the Quincy Smelter’s dockside warehouse, initially slated for FY22, will be funded this summer.

D. The new agreement between the National Park, the Advisory Commission, and the Heritage Sites is completed and awaiting signature this spring from all Heritage Site representatives. This is one singular agreement that binds the three parties into cooperative work to further the mission of the National Park.

B. 2. Executive Director’s Report

A. Several Commission seats will be open in the coming year. The Houghton County and the State of Michigan seats will need to be filled at the end of April, and our two at-large positions will need filling this fall. Glenn Anderson and Karin Cooper, nominated by the State of Michigan and Houghton County, are each eligible to serve again if inclined to do so, while Dan Jamison and Jerry Juntunen, each sitting as At-Large members, are also eligible for re-appointment. We’ll soon be sending out notices and press releases advertising those positions as well. If interested in any of these, please contact me for more information. Commission appointments are for 3-year terms and Commissioners can serve 3 consecutive terms.

B. The Commission has created a committee to create a process for accepting potential new members into the Heritage Sites program. The committee is made up of four members: 2 each from the Advisory Commission and National Park, and four members representing existing heritage sites in Ontonagon, Keweenaw, and Houghton Counties. The committee will soon finalize the application process, and once completed, press releases and invitations to apply will go out to interested parties. We hope to complete this process in the spring. 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. If you have any questions, please reach out to me.

C. I would like to announce that the Keweenaw Heritage Grants program cycle begins this month. A minimum of $125,000 is available this year to hand out in grant awards, and applications for this year’s awards will be available upon request or found on the Keweenaw National Historical Park’s website in the coming days. Eligibility extends to existing Heritage Sites, properties located within the national park’s two units, and properties located along Torch Lake, the Cliff Mine area, and Painesdale, all of which are areas listed in the park’s general management plan as areas of significance to the park’s mission. Projects eligible for applying include building maintenance and historic preservation work, accessibility improvements, interpretation and education projects related to the story of copper, museum and exhibit work, and organizational sustainability. Applications will be due by close of business on Friday, March 31st. Decisions and awards will then be made in early May and June, respectively.

D. I will be attending two conferences on behalf of the Advisory Commissions this spring. The first is the Vernacular Architecture Forum (VAF) meeting in Plymouth, MA in May. The Keweenaw will be hosting the 2024 VAF meeting, and I sit on the planning committee, so this is an opportunity to learn more about the VAF and how their meetings are held. Next year, a couple hundred visitors from all over will descend on the Keweenaw to experience our unique architectural resources… and hopefully spread the word about our park and its Heritage Sites. The following month, I’ll be attending the Society for Industrial Archeology (SIA) conference in Grand Rapids, MI. I may even present a paper. Regardless, I’ll report on those conferences during the Commission’s public meeting in July or August.

B.3. Requests to Commission and Financial Reports

A. Jeff Ratcliff, representing KEDA and speaking on behalf of the Houghton County Land Bank, presented a request to the Commission to act as the fiduciary on a grant application to the State Historic Preservation Office’s Certified Local Government program. The request is for $61,000, to complete basic stabilization of Hermann Flats. The work will include creating a protective mortar cap on top of the sandstone walls, select tuck pointing, documentation and removal of the remaining roof members, exterior brush removal and finally securing the building. While this basic work will not make the building habitable, it will provide desperately needed stabilization that will preserve it for future redevelopment.

• CLG grants are reimbursing grants, requiring the applicant organization to fund the entire project out of their own pocket and then submit requests for reimbursement by CLG once complete. Due to the size of the grant and the period of time the funds would be inaccessible (estimated 3-6 months), no local organizations that have been involved in developing this project are able to meet the financial requirements.
• Just prior to the meeting, Ratcliffe was informed that there may be a restriction on whether or not the Commission can act as a fiduciary as the Commission’s funding is Federal, and the grant as a stipulation against additional federal funding.
• Although there were questions from the Commission regarding the bid process, work schedule, and other potential fiduciary agents for this application, this new information lead the Commission to table a decision until it was clear whether or not they could legally act as a fiduciary.

B. Motion to approve billing in the amount of $15,336.47 moved by Jamison and seconded by Helppi. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0)

Motion to approve $18,899.76 in payroll and tax made by Jamison and seconded by Cooper. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0)

B.4. Commissioner Reports

A. Jamison, speaking on behalf of the Calumet Theatre, announced that a fundraiser for the Copper Dog sled races was held at the theatre and raised about $4,000. The theatre was able to book 52 events in 2022. The Theatre Board is working with the Village to secure funding for a boiler replacement to improve year-round heating in the building.

B. Helppi, speaking on behalf of Calumet Township, announced that the township recently received a generous donation to put towards the installation of a shelter/pavilion at the 6th Street Extension park property next to the Fire Hall.

C. Cooper announced that the Michigan Historic Preservation Network (MHPN) is looking for an individual to sit on the board for their meetings, held in Detroit and virtually. MHPN is a leader in historic preservation outreach in the state, and having a local voice there would benefit the Keweenaw greatly.

C.1. Comments from legislators or legislative staff

None

C.2. Comments from Keweenaw Heritage Site representatives

Mel Jones, KCHS, announced that the Keweenaw Heritage Grant- funded project for the Life Saving Museum in Eagle Harbor is under way and going well.

Meyers, CHO, announced the completion of a Keweenaw Heritage Grant-funded project ot address window and siding needs at the historical museum in Chassell. Meyers thanked Historical Architect, John Arnold, for his technical assistance.

• Private funding was also secured to move ahead with the installation of a interpretive trail on the site of the historic Sturgeon River Lumber Company site. MTU students have assisted in creating the content, while Industrial Graphics is being tasked with the creation and installation of nine signs on the trail.

Marcia Slater, HHFM, announced that they would be putting on their annual Heritage Days event this summer on a date TBD.

• They are also looking into installing an interp trail of their own around the property, and looking to add new signage as well.

Jean Pemberton, CRHS, announced that they plan to apply for a Heritage Grant to help in collections management and digital storage of metadata related to their holdings. They are currently scanning items to UPLINK, but also want to create database using Past Perfect software.

• This work will also help inform planning for their collections in the (unexpected) case that the organization ever has to dissolve.

C.1. Comments from the public

Guibert and Mueller, KML, informed the Commission that they are offering 10km of cross country ski trails and another 3km of snowshoe trail on the property. Open 10-5, 7 days a week.

• A self-guided history tour of the property is also now on offer.
• Looking to add an exhibit or display about the history of the lodge, especially now that the front porch area has been restored to an all-season visitor area.

D. Motion to Adjourn

Moved by Jamison and seconded by Juntunen at 2:14 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0).

Next Meeting

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at Keweenaw NHP Headquarters.