Advisory Commission Meeting 4/12/2023

 

Keweenaw National Historical Park
Headquarters, Calumet
April 12, 2023

Present: Commissioners

• Glenn Anderson, State of Michigan (President)
• Karin Cooper, Houghton County (Secretary)
• Gerald Juntunen, at-large (Vice President)
• Dan Jamison, at-large (Treasurer)
• Thomas Helppi, Calumet Township
• Andrew Ranville, Village of Calumet

Absent:

• John Sullivan, Franking and Quincy Townships

Present: Executive Director

• Sean Gohman

Present: National Park Service (NPS)

• None

Present: Guests

• Paul Lehto, former Commissioner
• Karen Hintz, Keweenaw County Historical Society
• Mark Wilcox, Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association
• Brian Hirvela, Calumet Art Center
• Aidan Reilly, Daily Mining Gazette (Virtual)
• Marica Slater, Hanka Homestead Finnish Museum (Virtual)
• Jacob Mihelic (Virtual)
• Mary Sears, Franklin Township (Virtual)
• Michael Prast, Painesdale Mine & Shaft (Virtual)

Decisions and Announcements

• This year’s Keweenaw Heritage Grant program received 20 applications from 19 organizations and individuals. Awards will be announced next month.
• A committee to evaluate applicants to the Heritage Site program received 4 applications for inclusion in the Keweenaw Heritage Sites program. Recommendations coming in the next few weeks.
• The Commission approved a request made by Mark Rhodes of Michigan Technological University to partially fund a visit from Dr. Joanie Willet, University of Exeter, to the Keweenaw to learn more about the area’s Cornish Heritage.

A.1. Call to Order

A regular meeting of the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission was opened at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 13th 2023.

A.2. Introductions

The Commission welcomed its newest member, Andrew Ranville, to the board. R. Ranville was nominated by the Village of Calumet to replace David Geisler, who stepped down last year.

A.3. Approval of Agenda for April 12th, 2023

Motion made by Cooper and seconded by Jamison. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0).

A.4. Approval of Minutes of January 17th, 2023

Motion made by Cooper and seconded by Helppi. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0).

B.1. Superintendent’s Report

None

B. 2. Executive Director’s Report

1. First, I’d like to welcome Andrew Ranville to the Advisory Commissions. Nominated by the Village of Calumet – and a sitting Village Council member -- Andrew has experience with the Calumet planning commission, DDA, and various non-profits including the Rabbit Island Foundation and Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition. Also being a property owner in downtown Calumet, Andrew has great interest in developing Calumet and the Keweenaw into a sustainable community and forward-looking destination built on a nationally significant history.
2. I would like to announce that the Keweenaw Heritage Grants program’s window for application submission closed on March 31st. The Commission received 20 grants from 19 applicants, 14 of which came from Keweenaw Heritage Sites. The total ask is $209,000 for projects totally almost $550,000. The Commission will be announcing awards totally at least $125,000 at the end of the first week of May. Four applications were also submitted last month to be included in the Keweenaw Heritage Sites Program. A committee has been formed to evaluate these applications, with recommendations for inclusion or further evaluation coming at the end of the month. These recommendations will be presented to Superintendent Davis for final decisions.
3. Next month, I will be the Vernacular Architecture Forum’s (VAF) annual meeting in Plymouth, MA. The Keweenaw will be hosting the 2024 VAF meeting, and I sit on the planning committee, so this is an opportunity to learn more about the VAF and how their meetings are held. Next year, a couple hundred visitors from all over will descend on the Keweenaw to experience our unique architectural resources… and hopefully spread the word about our park and its Heritage Sites. I will present a report on my trip at the next quarterly meeting in July.
4. Speaking of travel, some of you may remember I took a trip to Wales as part of an exchange with Michigan Technological University. I spent two weeks touring Welsh industrial heritage sites and learned a great deal. Recently, Mark Rhodes from MTU submitted a follow-up grant application with the US Embassy in London to continue this exchange with another week-long trip to Wales and Cornwall. If accepted, Mark and I will be giving a series of lectures in both Wales and Cornwall, with (fingers crossed) reciprocal lectures given here (virtual or in-person) by members of the Welsh and Cornish industrial heritage communities. My lectures will focus on our National Park and its partnership model and finding links between heritage landscapes.
5. The Advisory Commission, the National Park, and Michigan Tech’s Visual and Performing Arts program met recently to discuss ways to collaborate that benefit the program’s students as well as the National Park, the Commission, and its Heritage Site partners. It’s looking like we will be working with them to put on another Haunted Halloween at the Quincy Smelter in October. This would be our second collaboration at the smelter, and we are very excited to put this event on again. About 1,000 people walked through the smelter during the 2021 event, and hopefully we’ll top that in 2023. Beyond Halloween, The VPA program is interested in developing spring events/programming, and/or exhibit design and creation for the park, the smelter, and Heritage Sites as well. Ideas include outdoor exhibits, working models of historic technology, historic wardrobe creation, etc. Stay tuned for more.

B.3. Requests to Commission and Financial Reports

1. Request for Co-Sponsorship: Visit from Dr. Joanie Willett, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies at University of Exeter—Camborne School of Mines in Penryn, Cornwall. Details below:

Dr. Willett has worked at the University of Exeter for 13 years, serving as co-director of the Institute of Cornish Studies since 2019. Her work explores rural economic development and the role that places and regions play in economic regeneration. She works directly with the Cornwall County Council which manages the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, composed of 10 distinct areas scattered across the Cornish Peninsula. Dr. Willet, her work, and her experience overlaps with the Copper County in numerous ways and at numerous scales:

• She is one of 6 collaborators who have applied for a grant from the US Department of State titled “Global Industrial Heritage: Linking Northwest Wales, Cornwall, and the Keweenaw Peninsula”
• She is familiar with the challenges of managing a copper mining heritage site composed of multiple stakeholders across a large geographic region.
• She is based at the Camborne School of Mines. Camborne is twinned with Calumet as a sister city.
• As a global leader in Cornish Studies, she has multiple potential linkages with the Copper County including the Phoenix Church KHS, the Keweenaw Kernewek Society, and the Copper Country Archives, and Keweenaw National Historical Park staff.

Dr. Willett has expressed a willingness to work with partners across the Keweenaw National Historical Park, the Keweenaw Heritage Sites, and Michigan Technological University. Having never met any stakeholders across these organizations, and given Dr. Willett’s current and temporary location in Chicago, there is an opportunity to explore these partnerships.

This funding request would bring Dr. Willett to the Copper Country for one day, April 16-17, 2023, in order to meet with key potential partners at the National Park, the Advisory Commission, and Michigan Tech with an eye to developing future collaborative work and reinforcing existing networks which span across the Keweenaw and Cornish Peninsulas.

The Industrial Heritage and Archaeology Program at Michigan Technological University has agreed to cover half ($391.50) of Dr. Willet’s travel costs, as well as volunteer their time for coordinating her visit and local transit.

United Airlines ORD-CMX roundtrip cost (April 16-17): $554.00
The Vault Hotel (1 night – April 16): $229
Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission Request: $391.50

Advisory Commission Request: $391.50 Motion made to approve amount of $391.50 by Jamison and seconded by Juntunen. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0)

2. Motion to approve billing in the amount of $9,891.91 moved by Juntunen and seconded by Anderson. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0)

Motion to approve $13,652.32 in payroll and tax made by Juntunen and seconded by Anderson. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0)

B.4. Commissioner Reports

1. Jamison, speaking on behalf of the Calumet Theatre: The Theatre Board is working with the Village to secure funding in a Certified Local Government/State Historic Preservation Office grant for a boiler replacement to improve year-round heating in the building. The Board also put in a 2023 Keweenaw Heritage Grant application for reinstalling the steam radiators in the ballroom and getting rid of the large heaters currently working in there.
2. Ranville, speaking on behalf of the Village of Calumet: Ranville invited attendees to meet the new Village Manager, Megan Haselden. The Village is applying for a grant with Citizen’s Institute for Rural Design to put on a workshop related to design in terms of wayfinding, branding, etc.

C.1. Comments from legislators or legislative staff

None

C.2. Comments from Keweenaw Heritage Site representatives

Karen Hintz, KCHS, Announced they received a Michigan Lighthouse Assistance grant for tower rehabilitation at the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse. Repairs, painting, and mitigation of water infiltration. $60,000 grant with minimum 50% match.

• Wants to thank John Arnold, Historical Architect for the park, for assistance in the creation of the grant application.
• The KCHS museums should be open mid-June. This is a bit later than usual but this is due to some electrical upgrade work that needs to be completed beforehand.

Marcia Slater, HHFM, stated that there are no updates for Hanka as it is still snowed in.

C.1. Comments from the public

Paul Lehto, Calumet Township: A few recreation projects taking place this summer. Coliseum, Calumet Dam, and the water storage tank will all receive attention.

Mark Wilcox, IRKPA: IRKPA is ready to open three of their 4 gift shops, with the KNHP Visitor Center (VC) shop already open. Isle Royale headquarters shop opens next week. The other two on the island open in mid-May.

• Working with Amber Kraft, Interp & Education lead, to develop more products directly related to Keweenaw NHP.
• Invested in some new shelving units for the VC gift shop as well.

Brian Hirvela, Calumet Art Center. The Art Center has applied to become a Keweenaw Heritage Site. There are many issues they would like some technical assistance with.

• Gohman informed Hirvela that since the Art Center lies within the boundaries of Keweenaw NHP, they are eligible for technical assistance regardless of inclusion to the Heritage Sites program and offered to assist further.

D. Motion to Adjourn

Moved by Jamison and seconded by Ranville at 1:34 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. (6/0).

Next meeting will be held Wednesday, July 12th at 1:00pm at Keweenaw NHP Headquarters.