May 2021 Historic Resources Committee Packet May 14, 2021, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM This packet contains various materials to guide meeting discussions. The materials are listed below, linked and with reference to their page in the PDF file. 1. February 19, 2021 HRC Meeting Notes Page 2 of PDF 2. March 12, 2021 HRC Meeting Notes Page 4 of PDF 3. April 9, 2021 HRC Meeting Notes Page of PDF 4. Broad Recap of May 5, 2021 Meeting w/ Descendants Page of PDF MEETING NOTES Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee Friday, February 19, 2021; 11:00 a.m. – 1 p.m. Remote meeting via Zoom ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….... HRC Members Present HRC Members Not Present City Staff Present Rachel Lloyd, Chair Phil Varner Jeff Werner Sally Duncan, Co-vice-chair Robert Watkins Genevieve Keller Jalane Schmidt Heather Hill Margaret O’Bryant Ellen Wagner Dede Smith William Clay III Kay Slaughter 1. Call to order: 11:00 AM: Chair Rachel Lloyd calls the meeting to order. Lloyd opens the floor up for public comment, but the HRC receives no public comment. 2. Approval of the agenda: Dede Smith moves to approve the agenda. William Clay III seconds motion. Passes unanimously. 3. WORK SESSION II: [11:20, 1 hour, 20 minutes] a. Review subcommittee membership • Committee will assess status of existing subcommittees and adjust membership as necessary b. Subcommittee Updates • Members from each subcommittee will update HRC on project status, including COVID’s effects on progress c. Create prioritized list of projects for completion • Discuss types of meetings, number of meetings, and resources required to complete each Staff relays current city capacity for subcommittee meetings. City communications can host 6 additional virtual meetings for boards and commissions a month, but must be reserved in advance. Given the requirement to have publicly noticed and publicly accessible meetings, these are the only potential time for subcommittees to meet during COVID. Staff reviews membership of three subcommittees and their charge. Membership has changed since several HRC members have stepped down. • Walking Tour Map Subcommittee: haven’t met since February 2020, started to select sites to be included on revised walking tour map o William Clay III o Dede Smith HRC February 19, 2021 Meeting Notes • Vinegar Hill Subcommittee: haven’t met since February 2020, tasked with creating interpretation plan for Vinegar Hill Park o Genevieve Keller o Sally Duncan o Ellen Wagner • Court Square Markers Subcommittee: tasked with completing Court Square Markers, and assumed discussions over Slave Auction Block site after removal of plaque in February 2020 o Genevieve Keller o Sally Duncan o Jalane Schmidt Members of subcommittees review status of each project. • Walking Tour group had created a spreadsheet analyzing different sites it might potentially include on map. Intended to be paper-printed map, but material lends itself to electronic publishing. Members remark that many of the places that had distributed map have been closed through COVID. Point raised that in-person meeting might be more conducive to progress. • For Vinegar Hill, staff gives update about letter sent to Council in February 2020. No interest in placing additional temporary signage on construction fence at CODE Building, since construction will be completed in coming months. Members propose a check-in with people from the Jefferson School, as well as engaging those who lived and worked in Vinegar Hill. • Court Square update: Construction of new courthouse may offer interpretation options, as well as completed courthouse courtyard; while some members suggest withdrawing from writing and designing permanent physical markers, others feel compelled to continue drafting finished text. Members also propose testing out completed text in temporary format, like construction fence poster. Members decide to revisit text and progress made before determining next steps. Members discuss projects for coming year, including launching engagement for Court Square and historic resource mapping system for Charlottesville. Committee also communicates importance to continue existing projects: walking tour, Vinegar Hill markers, Corut Square markers. Staff gives update on available committee funds. HRC February 19, 2021 Meeting Notes MEETING NOTES Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee Friday, March 12, 2021; 11:00 a.m. – 1 p.m. Remote meeting via Zoom ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….... HRC Members Present HRC Members not Present Staff Present Rachel Lloyd, Chair William Clay III Jeff Werner Sally Duncan, Co-vice-chair Robert Watkins Phil Varner, Co-vice-chair Genevieve Keller Jalane Schmidt Heather Hill Margaret O’Bryant Ellen Wagner Dede Smith Kay Slaughter 2. Call to order: 11:00 AM: Chair Rachel Lloyd calls the meeting to order. Lloyd opens the floor up for public comment, but the HRC receives no public comment. 3. Approval of meeting notes: Dede Smith moves to approve February 12, 2021 HRC meeting notes, with edits as suggested by Genevieve Keller. Kay Slaughter seconds motion. Passes unanimously. 4. Public Engagement Plan: Committee discusses feasibility of public engagement for Slave Auction Block site. Committee plans to hold public meetings in-person once safe, but considers launching some virtual engagement in the interim. Members express concern over effectiveness of virtual engagement to engage a substantial number of descendants. Other members also express that Slave Auction Block site isn’t only HRC project needing public engagement. Committee decides to consult with community and descendant representatives who advised HRC in Spring 2020. Planning virtual and in-person engagement might require retaining a consultant. Also committee should talk about honorarium policy at future meeting. 5. Month-by-Month Meeting Schedule: Committee plans work schedule for coming months, preparing when to hold discussions on each HRC project: • April – holding for report back from community and descendant representatives regarding Slave Auction Block site engagement; planning engagement • May – continued planning for engagement and public facilitation at Slave Auction Block site • June – discussing signage for Vinegar Hill Park HRC March 12, 2021 Meeting Notes • July – review drafts of Court Square Markers (and coordinate review by community groups, such as Central Virginia History Researchers, or public schools curriculum coordinators) • August – review walking tour map progress 6. Announcements: [12:45, 15 minutes] Jeff Werner reviews committee bylaws to determine number of voting members. HRC March 12, 2021 Meeting Notes MEETING NOTES Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee Friday, April 9, 2021; 11:00 a.m. – 1 p.m. Remote meeting via Zoom ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….... HRC Members present HRC Members not present Staff present Phil Varner, Co-vice-chair Rachel Lloyd, Chair Jeff Werner Genevieve Keller Sally Duncan, Co-vice-chair Robert Watkins Heather Hill Jalane Schmidt Margaret O’Bryant Heather Hill Dede Smith Ellen Wagner Kay Slaughter 1. Call to order: Co-vice-chair Phil Varner calls the meeting to order. Varner opens the floor up to public comment but the HRC receives no public comment. 2. Approval of the agenda: The committee unanimously approves the agenda. 3. Approval of meeting notes: a. February 19, 2021 Meeting Notes b. March 12, 2021 Meeting Notes The committee decides to defer voting on approval of meeting notes to May HRC meeting. 4. Planning Engagement for Slave Auction Block site: Staff provides update on planning progress for Slave Auction Block site. HRC members will meet with descendant and community representatives in the coming month and report back at May meeting. Committee requests that future discussions more clearly define who this outreach will be aimed towards. 5. Walking Tour Map : Walking Tour subcommittee presents existing walking tour map and reviews questions raised by subcommittee: • Do you focus on a certain era/eras? • Are there too many stops? • Do we incorporate Vinegar Hill with Vinegar Hill Park? • Do we include West Main? • How do we look at span of dates? Committee members also propose having more than one map: perhaps a “main map” and then more specific maps on specific themes. HRC April 9, 2021 Meeting Notes Committee identifies important questions to answer moving forward: • Do we agree that printed map is ideal? • Should we have online content working in concert with printed maps? Committee proposes location-based map, instead of individual map stops. Maybe 5 or so vantage points, each from a different era.. Subcommittee will report back at future meeting after reviewing potential vantage points. 6. Announcements: Staff updates committee about delivery of Daughters of Zion Cemetery marker, coordination with Historical Society about Pen Park Cemetery. HRC April 9, 2021 Meeting Notes Mission Statement The mission of the Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee is to advocate for historic preservation; to promote an appreciation of local historic resources, both tangible and intangible; and to encourage and coordinate, with appropriate municipal agencies, civic organizations, institutions and individual scholars, the documentation and interpretation of local history. The Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee achieves its mission through: • Education • Public commemoration (historic plaques, signs, markers, and civic festivals and ceremonies) • Publications (maps, brochures, tour books, and digital media) • Public meetings (planning sessions, workshops, and lectures) • And through other means. * Regarding public comment(s). The HRC values community participation and input and welcomes public comments at meetings. At the beginning of each meeting, not more than 10 minutes will be allowed for the introduction of any guests and public comments. Speakers may speak for a maximum of two-minutes and shall begin by identifying their name and address. The intent is to allow public input; not initiate a dialogue or debate with the committee. Subsequent to this meeting segment, by majority approval the HRC may amend the agenda to allow further discussion; however, the motion should also establish a time limit for that discussion. Additionally, prior to adjourning--and applying the conditions above--the HRC may allow a period not to exceed five minutes for public comment. HRC April 9, 2021 Meeting Notes Rough Summary of Discussion from May 5, 2021 Meeting with Descendant Representatives: Occurred on Zoom. Jalane Schmidt and Robert Watkins in attendance representing the City, joined by 9 descendants, many from Charlottesville/Albemarle but others from farther afield (Toronto, New York). o Questions posed: hoping to meet back in person according to CDC guidelines to get input from folks about site of former Slave Auction Block plaque. What are the best methods for reaching out to folks? The best times? The best ways of having get-togethers for folks? ▪ Things to consider: first and foremost: multiple times (to account for working folks). Like during the day AND during the evening, as well as on multiple days. ▪ Is it possible to pick one of our parks and have outside engagements? (if in the evening, have food too). ▪ How can you broadcast? Variety of mediums. Churches, networks of descendants through Monticello. Make sure to get to older folks who aren’t on social media. o Maybe use Survey Monkey, though not all older people use it. Old-fashioned door- to-door engagement effective. o Reminder to be patient and very clear in the process. Don’t feel pressured to make a quick decision. The process is just as important as the final product. o Important to actually communicate what the Slave Auction Block site is in advertising engagement meetings. Many aren’t aware of it. o Come back in a month to re-group, get word out more and more each time. In future meeting, discuss what a facilitator might need to do for future engagement meetings.