Historical Commission

Tuesday, February 20, 2024, 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm
Riverside Municipal Building
A meeting of the Historical Commission

AGENDA

Gill Historical Commission

Tuesday, February 20, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Riverside Municipal Building

Call to order: _______

Notes:

1. Approve minutes of December 19, 2023 and January 23, 2024

2. Treasurer’s Report and Business:

Account Totals on January 23, 2023 (Meeting on Jan. 16 was cancelled due to snowy weather)

Town budget: Donation account:

Ending balances, Jan. 23, 2024:

Town budget: Donation account:

3. New and current business for short discussions:

A. Severance House: letter from GHC to NMH (Pam and group)

B. Selectboard and GHC meeting: Renee Jenkin’s house (Kit, Bob, Sherry)

C (tabled from January): Preservation of Bridge Railing; choosing a site and next steps

(accounting for location, costs, labor, GHC time):

1. In middle front of RMB

2. Along sidewalk leading to steps

3. Inside RMB replacing wooden railing leading to basement

4. Free-standing L-shaped piece framing NRHP area

5. Free-standing 4-sided “pen” on grounds

6. Mounted on ramp railing, south side (24’ possible)

7. Other ideas

8. Call our work a “good college try” and let this project go

D. Gravestone Girls, update (if any)

E. Capital Improvement Plan (extended to Feb. 15 or beyond): (Kit, Terri, Bob; amounts estimated so far for LED lighting in museum and basement, basement repairs and equipment,

Anchorage masonry and upkeep)

F. Unfinished priorities: Basement cleaning and inventory (Kit, Bob; next steps: volunteers needed to remove moldy papers and books, photograph and inventory what’s in the room

G. GHC/Slate Library talks: (Insert in winter newsletter)

1. Sat., Feb. 24 (Gary Stevens, Ernie Hastings, others: “Tales of Farming in Gill”), 10:30 – 12:15

2. Sat., March 23 (Joel Fowler, Northfield Historical Society and others: “Crossing

the River: Ferries and Bridges”), 10:30 – 12:15

Coffee and snacks will be served at 10:00 a.m.

3. Sat., April 6: weather date if either of the two talks is postponed.

GHC + others’ tasks:

Bring 10 chairs to the library (open 2 – 8 Thursday) from Town Hall on Feb. 22 (Bob)

Bring coffee and donut holes for snacks (Bob)

Introduce speakers, bring water (Kit)

Record the presentations (Janet Masucci)

Setup (9:30): help library staff and GHC members; Cleanup (12:15 or a little later)

4. Old and Continuing Business

A. FB and Website Changes: Transitions needed (Charlene, Kit; discussion)

B. GHC members and volunteers’ roles, continued: bring suggestions for March meeting

C. Training to use RMB laptop, scanner and printer, part II: to be scheduled by email (Kit)

D. Acquisitions for museum (Kit)

5. Other topics not listed at time of posting

Adjournment: ____________ Next meeting: Tuesday, March 19, 1:00 p.m., RMB

Hi everyone,

Just an update about last night's meeting: it seemed to go well. Greg and Randy invited GHC to be part of the planning process to figure out what the town needed to know in order to decide whether to accept the house.

Bob spoke eloquently about GHC's role in finding supporting information that would help the town decide. Sherry spoke eloquently about Renee,

her forebears and the contributions they had made to the town. I spoke about GHC's role in promoting and preserving Gill's historic resources, wherever possible, in honor of generations of residents who had contributed to the town and to inform current residents about Gill's past.

After some discussion, the "end use" emerged as key to the beginning of our process. Given many factors, how can the house best be used?

The first step will be for the Selectmen and Ray to walk through the house, as soon as they can gain access, looking at its condition as a building.

Depending on what they find, a next step can be asking an expert e.g. Holly Grosvenor to evaluate its possibilities for preservation.

What GHC can do in the next few weeks is generate ideas about how the house could be used, discuss this at our next meeting, and, I believe, continue our dialogue with the Selectboard to share what we've all found.

Thanks to Bob and Sherry for their participation; to Pam for supporting materials I gave to Ray, which he shared at the meeting,and to you all for giving me a key role in a very interesting, complicated meeting experience. I enjoyed it!

P.S. on another current project: We have been granted a two-week extension (at least) for turning in the Capital Improvement Application. :)

Have a good week,

Kit