Simsbury, CT - Design Review Board Minutes

The Special Meeting of the Design Review Board was called to order at 5:50 P.M. in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices. Present were Chairman Emil Dahlquist, Board Members Steve Ossias, Linda Kennedy, William Gardner, Matt Koch and Victoria Rogers.

Chairman Dahlquist distributed a copy of a memo to Rich Sawitzke, Town Engineer prepared by Scott Barnett, Charles Stephenson and Matt Koch outlining the board's concerns relative to the Traffic Signal Proposal and the board's desire to meet with the DOT to explore and discuss all possible options for the project. After the Board Members read and discussed the memo, a motion was made by Mr. Gardner and seconded by Mr. Ossais to send it to Mr. Sawitzke. The motion passed unanimously. A copy of the memo is attached to these minutes.

Chairman Dahlquist distributed copies of the latest draft of Guidelines for Community Design dated August 14, 2001 for review and discussion by the board. Chairman Dahlquist went over the research assigned to individual board members: Victoria Rogers - graphic design and physical appearance of the document, Chairman Dahlquist - meeting with landscape architect, Dean Johnson, Linda Kenndy - photos of appropriate sites within the town, Matt Koch - contact with professional photographers and to research existing photographs with the Historical Society, Visitors Center, Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. Rogers reported on her contacts with Graphic Design Professionals Kathy Cowles and Ken Mason to check availability and willingness to work within the project's budget for this service. Both were available and Ms. Rogers provided each of them with a previous draft of the document in order for them to work up a proposal for the project and feels they will both be competitive and able to produce quality work. She requested that they work up a proposal with two different binding styles and templates that will accommodate the photographs and line drawings to be included in the document.

Chairman Dahlquist reported on his meeting with Dean Johnson and Mr. Johnson's ideas for the project. Chairman Dahlquist estimates that approximately 20 to 25 line drawings will be used in the document. Mr. Dahlquist requested a letter of agreement from Mr. Johnson for approval to First Selectman Anita Mielert.

Mr. Koch reported on his contacts with the Historical Society, the Main Street Partnership, the Chamber of Commerce and the Visitors Center. He and Mr. Dahlquist have arranged to review the 4000 catalogued photographs at the Historical Society on August 15th. He will be looking at the photographs at the Chamber of Commerce on August 17th. He has contacted Hunter Neal regarding professional photography services and he and Mr. Dahlquist will meet with him on August 16th.

Chairman Dahlquist distributed samples of Mr. Johnson's rough sketches and ideas for illustrations of the various elements of the document, i.e. how to design for energy efficiency - wind and solar, how to screen utility poles and wiring, use of underground utilities, effective lighting, traffic hierarchy, views from the road, selective pruning, uses of plant material, dissimilar land use, curbs and bollards, lighting cut-offs, foundation plantings, ornamental trees, snow shelf, boulevard entrances, turn-arounds, open space, buffering of different land uses, screening options.

Ms. Kennedy presented the photographs she took of various sites within the town to the board for review and discussion. The board members discussed the use of appropriate photos to illustrate and emphasize the document's text and the effective placement of line drawings vs. photographs in relation to bulleted points and character definition within the document. Chairman Dahlquist thought it might be of value to include existing photographs with corresponding new photographs for the "Then" and "Now" effect.

Mr. Ossias asked whether or not maps or aerial photos would be included in the document and it was the consensus of the board that either or both would enhance the document by defining the major areas of the town, i.e. Tarriffville etc.

The subject matter of the cover was discussed, the consensus being that the Sycamore and the bridge are indicative of the character and historic nature of the town. There was further discussion as to whether it should be represented by a photo or drawing.

Binding options were discussed with the need to update and change the document to keep it timely being a key component of the decision on the type of binding to be used.

A motion was made by Mr. Gardner and seconded by Ms. Kennedy to approve the minutes of the July 10, 2001 meeting. The motion passed unanimously with Mr. Koch abstaining.

A motion was made by Mr. Koch and seconded by Ms. Kennedy to approve the minutes of the August 7, 2001 meeting. The motion passed unanimously with Mr. Ossias abstaining.