(Feb. 9, 2017) Following a busy few months, Berlin’s Historic District Commission enjoyed a quiet – and brief – meeting last Wednesday with only one property on the agenda.
“We didn’t have anyone in the audience – it was really weird,” Chairwoman Carol Rose said. “But we did have a really good meeting.”
The dais was also short, with only three of the five members of the commission present. Because of that, Rose said selections of a chair and vice chair were postponed until the next meeting, March 1.
Rose, who also serves on the board of directors for the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum, Diakonia, the Worcester County Library Foundation and the Worcester County Veteran’s Memorial Foundation – where she is also the vice president – is expected to be reelected as chair.
She also teaches Sunday school every week.
“If they want me to do it, I will,” Rose said of the chairmanship. “The other four [members of the commission] work, and it’s more than just being there for the meeting. I spent four or five hours one afternoon [researching a historic home] and then taking my book and walking the street and looking at the windows and making notes. I think that’s my responsibility as chair to have all the facts.”
During the meeting, the commission approved construction of a shed on 203 Main Street. The homeowner, Scott Taylor, also made a request for replacement windows, a continuation from two previous meeting in December and January, which will be continued again in March.
That home was first conveyed to an Episcopal church in 1892, which owned it until Taylor purchased it a few years ago.
“[Taylor] is really so good about wanting to get this right with the windows,” Rose said. “He did bring a sample and it still wasn’t quite exactly what we were looking for [because of] the age of the house.”
She said commission member Robert Poli recommended a company that specializes in making historic windows, and the homeowner agreed to get another sample and come back. Rose said grant money could be available to pay for at least a portion of the work.
“We talked a long time and we were all in agreement, including Mr. Taylor, to do a continuation,” Rose said. “We’re 99 percent there, but we just want to make sure, with the age of the house and the windows in the house being original, that everything is what it should be. He’s just been wonderful about understanding where we’re coming from, plus he wants to get it right too.”
Rose said approval of a new sign at Berlin Town Hall, originally on the agenda but advertised in error, would also be postponed until next month.
“We didn’t have anyone in the audience – it was really weird,” Chairwoman Carol Rose said. “But we did have a really good meeting.”
The dais was also short, with only three of the five members of the commission present. Because of that, Rose said selections of a chair and vice chair were postponed until the next meeting, March 1.
Rose, who also serves on the board of directors for the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum, Diakonia, the Worcester County Library Foundation and the Worcester County Veteran’s Memorial Foundation – where she is also the vice president – is expected to be reelected as chair.
She also teaches Sunday school every week.
“If they want me to do it, I will,” Rose said of the chairmanship. “The other four [members of the commission] work, and it’s more than just being there for the meeting. I spent four or five hours one afternoon [researching a historic home] and then taking my book and walking the street and looking at the windows and making notes. I think that’s my responsibility as chair to have all the facts.”
During the meeting, the commission approved construction of a shed on 203 Main Street. The homeowner, Scott Taylor, also made a request for replacement windows, a continuation from two previous meeting in December and January, which will be continued again in March.
That home was first conveyed to an Episcopal church in 1892, which owned it until Taylor purchased it a few years ago.
“[Taylor] is really so good about wanting to get this right with the windows,” Rose said. “He did bring a sample and it still wasn’t quite exactly what we were looking for [because of] the age of the house.”
She said commission member Robert Poli recommended a company that specializes in making historic windows, and the homeowner agreed to get another sample and come back. Rose said grant money could be available to pay for at least a portion of the work.
“We talked a long time and we were all in agreement, including Mr. Taylor, to do a continuation,” Rose said. “We’re 99 percent there, but we just want to make sure, with the age of the house and the windows in the house being original, that everything is what it should be. He’s just been wonderful about understanding where we’re coming from, plus he wants to get it right too.”
Rose said approval of a new sign at Berlin Town Hall, originally on the agenda but advertised in error, would also be postponed until next month.