QUARTERLY MEETING

November 11, 2008 | Olompali State Historic Park, Novato

Mark your calendar for the next meeting: Tuesday, February 10. Location to be determined - (make suggestions!)

The meeting was hosted by Diane Einstein at Olompali State Park. Einstein and Garrett led a tour of the site and talked about the plans to restore the Mary Burdell garden.

1. Olompali

   Diane Einstein reported that the contract for the HALS historic report with Carol Roland has been signed. The contract is being paid for by a $2,500 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Reviewers for Roland's report were requested and Johnck, Pattillo and Gracyk volunteered. Grant sources for funding for the restoration of the garden may include Caltrans (as mitigation for widening) and California Cultural and Historical Endowment. Einstein worked with a graduate student who investigated the rumored connection between William Hammond Hall and Olompali, but he was not successful. Charmain Burdell, descendent of the woman who created the Olompali garden, has approved the statement of significance and the plans for restoration.

2. Piedmont Way

   Fredrica Drotos reported major hurdles with the City of Berkeley in the Friends of Piedmont Way efforts to landscape Piedmont Way. The Friends group was required to take liability for the plans and to carry insurance. The City has finally agreed to pay PGAdesign for the design documents, which are nearly complete. The Friends and a city councilmember are searching for funding opportunities. The question was raised about the possibility of UC funding Piedmont Way improvements as mitigation for the removal of the oaks for the new stadium; Drotos said that the community is too upset with UC over the loss of the trees to pursue this idea at this time. To complete HALS documentation the Friends are looking for someone to write the narrative.

   On the weekend of November 15, students participating in a community event will plant California poppy seeds in the center strip.

3. Kaiser Roof Garden

   Cathy Garrett and Cate Bainton showed the current set of drawings for the Kaiser Roof Garden documentation. They have scanned a nearly complete set of (mostly legible) original drawings, have 7sheets with design changes done by Walter Guthrie and others and have been preparing drawings of existing conditions. The narrative prepared by Marlea Graham is nearly complete and Pattillo has written a statement of significance for the cover page. Bainton showed a graph she prepared that indicates a dramatic increase in the number of species of plants used in the garden between 1960 and 2008, with a sharp increase occurring since 1983. She also noted that several shrubs have grown to become trees and we speculated about the effect of this increased weight on the roof away from the columns that support the weight of the intentionally planted trees. Chris Pattillo noted that the current issue of Garden Design magazine features the Marvels of Modernism and includes the Kaiser Roof Garden and two other sites in California.

4. Grants

   Chris Pattillo reported that ASLA agreed to be the fiscal agent for HALS/CA. She also reported that she again approached the SWIG Company, owners of the Kaiser building in Oakland, for a donation to support our work, and they renewed their offer to donate $5000. Chris explained that in her request she conveyed the terms as discussed and agreed to at our August meeting. This announcement led to two discussions; one regarding possible projects to fund, and the second over the possibility that the SWIG Company may expect HALS/CA to support any changes SWIG may propose to the rooftop garden in the future.* For grant opportunities, we agreed that we will solicit suggestions from the membership (consider this your solicitation) to be presented at the next meeting. We have grant application forms and a committee to review applications once projects are selected (see the discussion below). We agreed that we could focus on getting current tasks complete, and that there may be opportunities to leverage the SWIG funds with matching grants.

   Pattillo was questioned as to whether The SWIG Company may consider our acceptance of the grant to mean that HALS/CA will support any changes SWIG may propose to the Kaiser rooftop garden. Pattillo thought not, given conversations she has had with them, but agreed that there was no clear statement in that regard and that she would rectify this point in further discussion with the group. It was also suggested that future grant agreements should contain language making our position clear. Janet Gracyk reported on the work of the Grants Group. The Fiscal Agent form, the Grants Application form, the Grants Group responsibilities document and the Conflict of Interest Policy were written byte committee, and are available on the Yahoo Group site. The group consists of Einstein, Johns and Kerri Allergen. (A fifth member is needed so there will be two alternate members who can step in should a regular member need to recues her/himself.)

5. Website

   Cate Bainton showed the newly on-line website, available at HALSCA.org. She and Steve Cancian demonstrated the organization of the site and asked for comments. Members agreed the site was attractive and well designed. Bainton asked for someone to volunteer to field any questions that are sent to the site until another arrangement is made, (more on that next) and Drotos volunteered to take on that task. Brown suggested linking to associated research sites, such as genealogical sites, and assuring information about how one would make adoration to HALS/CA. There was a discussion about getting organizations, such as ASLA, the Garden Conservancy, and the National Trust, to link back to us. Pattillo reported that ASLA has requested copies of our grants documents and suggested putting the documents on the web site. Gracyk volunteered to write an article for Landscape Architecture Magazine. Bainton pointed out a new section underdevelopment called Professionals listing persons and firms who are interested in and qualified to do cultural landscapes work. This led to a discussion about the possibility of charging a fee to those who request to be listed, an idea which turned out to be favored by some and protested by others. No action was taken.

   Cancian reviewed the funding for the website. The Beatrix Jones Farrand Fund of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP) is providing a grant for the development of the website and will also provide funding for management of the site by way of a grant to a LAEP student. These grant funds may also cover the expenses involved in completing HALS inventory forms (for example, copy costs).

6. ASLA Annual Meeting

   Pattillo attended and reported on the ASLA convention. She attended both as a HALS/CA liaison and as the chair of the ASLA Historic Preservation Professional Practice Network (PPN). Of the 19 PPNs, the Historic Preservation PPN meeting was the most heavily attended. ASLA is committed to acting as an advocate for HALS. HALS/CA is a leader in the nation for its achievements and organization to date. In discussion with Paul Dolinsky (Chief of the Historic American Landscapes Survey), Pattillo learned that Dolinsky would rather HALS groups focused on getting as many properties documented as possible, which means concentrating on completing HALS inventory forms, with less emphasis on completing full documentation. (See next entry.) More thorough documentation can be completed at a later date; currently most sites have no documentation at all.

   Pattillo reported that the ASLA has outlined a new strategic plan to 1)secure liaisons in each chapter; 2) complete HALS fact sheets for every state that feature one or more cultural resource in that state; 3) secure increased member awareness; 4) increase public awareness, and; 5) increase awareness in Congress and get one million dollars secured for HALS.

   Pattillo pointed out that federal funding remains an issue and that volunteers will be needed in February to visit their representatives on District Lobby day.

7. HALS Inventory Forms

   The group agreed that HALS inventory forms are a top priority since the completion of this relatively simple form is the first step in documenting a landscape. We agreed to issue a challenge to members to complete at least one inventory form by the next meeting. Pattillo pointed out that it would be a simple matter for many members, who have intimate knowledge of sites they are working on. Members are requested to notify Cate Bainton of their landscape of choice, to avoid duplication. Inventory forms are available on the new website at HALSCA.org

* In response to a question raised by Tom Brown regarding SWIG's expectation regarding advocacy Chris followed up after the meeting and clarified that our acceptance of the donation in no way implies an endorsement of current or future plans that the SWIG company may have for the property. Jeanne Myerson, CEO has acknowledged these additional terms.