Present: W.Bailey; T.Furlong; C.Pynn; P.Schenna; C.Webber
GUEST: Brian Harvey, H&B Homes

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION

1. BARTLEY HOUSE: The Commission will prepare a priority list for the most urgent repairs based recommendations of Jim Garvin, State Architectural Historian. Square footage of the building will be needed for rental options. There have been additional inquires regarding rental possibilities. P.Schenna discussed "triple net" where the tenant pays for heat and utilities at a rate of about $4.00 per square foot.
2. COMMUNICATION: Invitation received from Dept. of Transportation to attend public hearing on March 13 re: Route 93 widening.

HERITAGE COMMISSION:

1. SB 410 Land and Community Heritage: Alan Campbell has given permission to the Commission to place his land on the priority protection list through REPP. The parcel is #178 on the GIS map and is parcel #01C-100 on the town historic resource list. This places the owner under no restrictions or obligations, but may sometime in the future be to his advantage should he wish to place this land under conservation protection.
2. Train Depot: Request for maintenance has been made to David Sullivan for painting as soon as weather permits.
3. Lot 1-A-100 & 400 Carr Hill Road comments to Planning Board. This property has a noteworthy history. The first road was built here in 1750 when the Kerr family settled the area. The spelling was later changed to Karr then to Carr. The family had connections to the Campbell family of Windham. Sally Carr Campbell was still living on the homestead when Morrison wrote his book "History of Windham". William Lamson bought the farm in 1883 and the property became the Lamson Dairy Farm. The large stone foundation is all that remains of his barn. The Commission would be happy to assist the developer in putting together a small pamphlet to give to prospective buyers describing the history of the area. This idea has been used as a successful marketing tool in the past and also serves to keep history alive.

HISTORIC ELEMENTS:

1. Many of the stone walls running through new lots are to be removed, namely lots 107, 124, and 125. The Commission asks that the stones from these walls as well as others not shown on the plan, be stockpiled for use by new owners to rebuild their own walls if they so choose. We ask that the stones NOT be used for fill, for retaining walls, or trucked off to be sold somewhere else.
2. The stone walls running through lots 131, 132, and 133 can be left intact. It should allow houses to be built on 131 and 132 without disturbance to the wall and also on lot 133 if the driveway fronted on Coventry Road. This particular stone wall is a superb example of ancient craftsmanship and probably could not be duplicated.
3. Coventry Road fills in the last remaining stone lined cistern (water supply) in Windham. This is a sad loss of a piece of Windham's history. The Carr family may well have built it. If the road cannot be realigned to bypass the cistern, and if there is no possibility of the Fire Dept. using it as a fire pond, its existence should be documented. Perhaps the developer would be willing to install a marker in the ROW at Carr Hill and Coventry Road intersection to document its existence.
4. There are outbuilding foundations of cut granite and stone that are not shown on the plan. Preservation of these would be a marketable asset for the lots involved. This type of artifact has been used for sunken gardens and outdoor sitting areas. The Commission asks for consideration of these.
5. Lot 1-A-400 contains a granite post at the junction of the towns of Windham, Derry and Londonderry. Special care should be taken to ensure that it is not damaged.

Morrison Road subdivision: The Commission did a second site walk of the property with the Planning Board in February. The developer is firm in his decision not to use the original configuration of Morrison Road which would avoid demolition of the 1856 Proctor house. Nor is he willing to move the house to an adjoining lot. He did state that anyone interested in the house could have it provided they made all arrangements and moved it off the property. He also agreed to allow the Commission video the area of old Morrison Road to document what it looked like historically. The entire area will be totally compromised.

The next meeting of the Historic District/Heritage Commission will be April 13, 4pm Town Hall.

Respectfully Submitted,

Carol Pynn
Chairman, Historic District/Heritage Commission

note: these minutes are in draft form and have not been accepted by the Commission.