HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Read Before Packet - 7/8/2014 - Letter From Ron Sladek, Tatanka Historical Associates, Inc., And Landmark Preservation Commission Chair, Re: Poudre River Corridor - Agenda Item # 2Tatanka Historical Associates, Inc.
P.O. Box 1909
Fort Collins, CO 80522
tatanka@verinet.com
970.221.1095
8 July 2014
Mayor Weitkunat and City Council
City of Fort Collins
300 LaPorte Ave.
Fort Collins, CO 80521
Dear Mayor and City Council Members,
I am writing to you as a professional historian, author, educator, and historic preservation
consultant who has been engaged by the City on a number of local projects over the past two
decades. I have spent years providing the community with tours, lectures, and consulting
services, as well as writing about Fort Collins and Larimer County history and historic sites. In
addition, I have served as a member of the Fort Collins Landmark Preservation Commission
(LPC) for the past five years, two of those as its chair. My comments here are presented in light
of my interest in protecting important historic resources in our community.
My concern today revolves around the draft plan for the Cache la Poudre River corridor
between Mulberry and Shields, which I understand you will be discussing at this evening’s work
session. In 2013, I was engaged by Anderson Consulting Engineers to prepare a study of
historic resources along the river corridor. The project’s goal was to determine whether any
resources exist there that might be historically significant. The resulting information was to be
incorporated into the master plan being prepared for the Natural Areas Department.
What I found along the river corridor was a relatively small collection of street and railroad
bridges, along with irrigation and other structures. Some of these features, especially the auto
bridges, lacked historic significance, primarily because they are not old enough. However,
several other resources were highlighted as having significance and were discussed as worthy
of further study, preservation, and perhaps even local landmark designation. The details of my
study were presented in a written report titled “Historic Structures Along the Cache la Poudre
River Corridor” (dated 27 December 2013). In the document, I recommended that efforts be
made to preserve those few resources along the river corridor that are historically significant.
While reviewing the Draft Plan that will be discussed at this evening’s Council work session,
which is by and large an excellent document, I found that some of my recommendations were
included and others were not. I do appreciate the fact that the document discusses the historic
importance of the corridor and some of its nearby features, such as the grotto at the old power
plant. In addition, the plan recommends that the Mason & Hottel Mill Headgate be preserved
and interpreted, and that other interpretive efforts be completed near the old Fort Site.
My primary concern is that other resources were highlighted in the draft plan for removal.
These include the historic Coy Headgate & Diversion Structure, at least part of the Lake Canal
Diversion Structure, and the historic concrete structure adjacent to the Lincoln Avenue Bridge,
which is in need of further investigation (this is simply referred to as an obstruction). No
mention was made of the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad bridges, both
of which appear to be significant. The City recently removed one of the features highlighted in
my study, the Coy Farm Dam adjacent to the Woodward campus, before it could be looked at
more closely for documentation.
As discussed in City Plan Fort Collins (2011, Principle ENV27), referenced in the draft river
corridor master plan on page 5-3, the City has developed a policy that “historic landmarks,
cultural landscapes, and scenic and aesthetic qualities will be protected within the Poudre River
Corridor.” I ask that at your work session this evening, and as you consider approval of the draft
plan for the river corridor in the coming weeks, you make sure that historic resources that are
important to the community are being adequately protected. While I agree with most of the
recommendations in the draft plan and believe that it will result in great improvements to the
river corridor, I am concerned that it may also cause the destruction of several important historic
resources that should not be lost.
Thank you for the great work that you do, and for your active support for historic preservation in
Fort Collins.
Sincerely,
Ron Sladek
President, Tatanka Historical Associates Inc.
Chair, Landmark Preservation Commission