CITY OF AUSTIN CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS DISCUSSION

Name of historic property: Covert Park at Mount Bonnell

Address of historic property: 3800 Mount Bonnell Road; Austin, TX

Brief description of proposed work: 0. Remove, restore and display 1938 marker in City Museum (PARD)1. Install Replica of 1938 marker on site2. Install new landscaping and amenities around marker

APPLICANT: West Point Society of Central Texas, representing Covert Family of Austin,

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APPLICANT: West Point Society of Central Texas, representing Covert Family of Austin,Austin Parks Foundation (ACL Grant Committee), and Friends of Mount Bonnell

OWNER: City of Austin

ARCHITECT : O’Connell Robertson, Austin

CONTRACTOR: KC Construction, Georgetown

11/14/2011

Founded in 1802, West Point is the nation’s oldest engineering

school. The West Point Association of Graduates was founded in

1869. West Point Societies exist to further the ideals of the Military

Academy, to perform community outreach, and to assist with

Academy admissions.

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In 2010, the West Point Society of Central Texas adopted Covert

Park at Mount Bonnell and began improvement projects under the

Austin Parks and Recreation Department Adopt-A-Park program.

There are over 600 West Point graduates in the Austin area.

Contacts:

Stan Bacon

WPSCT , Class of 1958

sbacon58@sbcglobal.net

512-345-5964

Fred Bothwell

WPSCT, Class of 1962

frebo3@yahoo.com

512-635-4433

11/14/2011

WEST POINT SOCIETY OF CENTRAL TEXAS“ADOPTED” COVERT PARK IN 2010

MOUNT BONNELL/COVERT PARK PROJECTS 2010-2011

•PARD Adopt-a-Park Agreement signed.•Supported Austin Oyster Urban Adventure Race.•Service Austin Days Fall Clean-up, 33 volunteers and 2 firefighters.•Used $1500 APF grant to restore views with PARD and community support •Raised funds for base of new kiosk in Covert Park

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•Raised funds for base of new kiosk in Covert Park•My Parks Day, APF, 23 volunteers.•Clean Sweep, KAB, 31 volunteers.•Supported Austin Oyster Urban Adventure Race.•Received KAB grant of $850 to apply to Kiosk Base payment.•Planned Clean-up w/Central Texas Mountaineers.•Service Austin Days Fall Clean-up.

MOUNT BONNELL WEB SITE MAINTAINED BY WEST POINT SOCIETYhttp://www.west-point.org/joseph_bonnell/mount_bonnell

11/14/2011

PRELIMINARY CONCEPTUAL MEETINGOBJECTIVES

REVIEW current proposal of the Friends of Mount Bonnell and the West Point Society of Central Texas for $100,000+ gift to the city of Austin in support of restoration and improvement of Covert Park at Mount Bonnell.

DISCUSS How WPSCT can improve likelihood of being awarded Certificates of Appropriateness for proposed Covert Park projects:

•Installation of replica Covert Marker, funded by Covert family•Landscaping and other amenities

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THE PROPOSED GIFT: $116,630 ($73,370 cash plus $43,260 in-kind support)

The West Point Society, in cooperation with the Covert family, APF, the Austin City Limits Music Festival, O’Connell Robertson of Austin, KC Construction of Georgetown, and other Friends of Mount Bonnell, proposes to give to the citizens of Austin gifts with a value in excess of $100,000, comprised as follows:

•~$20,000 donated by the Covert Family plus additional funding from Friends of Mount Bonnell and the West Point Society of Central Texas•$44,000+ in professional services and labor donated by O’Connell Robinson, KC Construction, and others•$50,000 in matching funds granted by Austin City Limits and the Austin Parks Foundation•Other in-kind support provided by PARD

11/14/2011

THE PROPOSED PROJECT

PART ONE – COVERT MARKER: $28,000 plus in-kind support•Removal of the existing 1938 marker to a site where it can be restored, protected from the elements, and preserved indefinitely (at PARD expense)•Erection of a granite replica of the original 1938 marker, donated by the Covert family, commemorating and rededicating the previous Covert family gift of the park and the 1938

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commemorating and rededicating the previous Covert family gift of the park and the 1938 marker.

PART TWO - DAIS: $38,700 plus in kind support:•Landscaping and additional amenities around the marker, final design in cooperation with PARD.•APF has informally announced the award of an ACL grant in the amount of $32,745 for the sole purpose of implementing PART TWO of the plan, pending resolution of the marker status.

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MOUNT BONNELL•“The Best View in Austin”•One of the most popular sightseeing destinations in the city:•775 feet above sea level.

COVERT PARK•5.36 acre City park at summit of Mount Bonnell

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•Donated to Travis County for use as a public park in 1938-39 by Covert family of Austin•Deeded in memory of Frank M. Covert, Sr., byClarence Covert and F. M. Covert, Jr•Marker erected in 1938•Deeded to city of Austin in 1972•Adopted by West Point Society of Central Texas in 2010

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Marker is no

longer

vertical

COVERT PARK MARKER CONDITION:1938-2011

1938 2010

2008 2010

Marker is

disintegrating

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FACTS:

•The public, as reflected in the views of the neighborhood associations, the Friends of Mount Bonnell, and the grant committees of the Austin Parks Foundation and Austin City Limits support the WPSCT proposal. •The original 1938 limestone marker commemorating the Covert family gift of the park to Travis County has deteriorated, a possible matter of “Demolition by Neglect” Ch 25-11-211(6)•It is in the interest of history that the original marker be restored, preserved, and protected from future damage. •The Covert family has agreed to fund the installation of a durable replica of the original Covert marker so that the original may be restored, preserved

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the original Covert marker so that the original may be restored, preserved and protected from future damage.

Installation of a replica would allow the original marker to be

removed, repaired, restored, and displayed in a suitable, protected

environment in a city museum or public building, as in the case of

many other historic artifacts: the Rosetta Stone, The Stone of

Scone, the Elgin Marbles, etc.

11/14/2011

Over 70 years ago, the Covert family of Austin, then owners ofthe tract of land on which Mount Bonnell stands, gave thesummit of the mountain to the people of Travis County for useby residents and visitors. Known as Covert Park at MountBonnell, the site was dedicated in memory of the family patriarch,Frank M. Covert, Senior.

Now in their sixth generation in Central Texas, the Covert family continues in their civic-mindedtradition, playing an important role in support for local charitableorganizations and the restoration of the pre-Civil War

Carrington-Covert House (1857)

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Carrington/Covert House in Austin, now headquarters for theTexas Historical Commission.

The Covert family would like to see the 1938 marker protected from further deterioration, to be replaced on site with a more durable granite replica of the original marker, funded by the Coverts.

Restored by Covert family, now occupied By Texas Historical Commission

11/14/2011

Objects with historic significance may be placed in protective enclosures….

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PLYMOUTH ROCK (1620)

MASSACHUSETTS, USA SUENO’S STONE (800-900 AD)

FORRES, SCOTLAND

Sueno's Stone stands about 21 feet high.

It is the largest surviving Pictish stone of

its type in Scotland. In the early 1990s the

stone was encased in armored glass to

prevent erosion.

11/14/2011

THE ROSETTA STONE (196 B.C)

British Museum, UK

STELE OF NARAM-SIN (2450 B.C.)

....or displayed in museums

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STELE OF NARAM-SIN (2450 B.C.)

Mesopotamia

On display in The Louvre, Paris

ELGIN MARBLES

5TH CENTURY B.C.Removed from Parthenon

1801-1812. Put on display

in the British Museum,

planned for return to

Acropolis Museum in

Athens

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The original historic artifact may be placed in a protected location….

THE STONE OF SCONE (1249 A.D.?)

Original Stone in Westminster Abby

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REPLICA STONE OF SCONE

at original site at

Moot Hill, Scotland

REPLICA ROSETTA STONE

at original site at

Rosetta (el-Rashid) Egypt

….AND A REPLICA INSTALLED AT THE ORIGINAL SITE11/14/2011

CONSIDERATIONS:•If allowed, Covert family gift can set an example to encourage other sources of private funding for city improvement projects, e.g., Waller Creek development.•If disallowed, it may prevent any proposed enhancements, due to APF/ACL matching grant requirements. •If installed in an unprotected outdoor location, can future

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•If installed in an unprotected outdoor location, can future deterioration of the 1938 marker be prevented? For how long?

11/14/2011

How can WPSCT improve likelihood of being awardedCertificates of Appropriateness for proposed Covert Park projects?

DISCUSSION

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•PARD removal and restoration of original Covert Marker, to be displayed in City Museum•Installation of replica Covert Marker•Landscaping and other amenities

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BACKUP CHARTS

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BACKUP CHARTS

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MUSEO NACIONAL DE ANTROPOLOGIA, Mexico City

MEXICA EXHIBIT ROOM

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Reproduction of the Tikal Stela

(250 – 650 A.D.)

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•Established in 1950: Award-winning Austin-based, architectural/engineering/interior design firm •. Specializes in education, healthcare, and sports facility design•Known for developing innovative design solutions•Won statewide competition for design of Texas 9/11 Memorial

Covert Park Planning Support 2010-2011

ARCHITECTURAL PLANS AND PROJECT SUPPORT: O’CONNELL ROBERTSON:

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Covert Park Planning Support 2010-2011•Estimated value of pro bono support to date: ~$10,000•OCR design staff site visits to Mount Bonnell•Joint design conferences and site study•Preliminary design concept and presentations•Plan reviews with Covert family, PARD, WPSCT, FOMB•Plan amendments and cost estimates, bids, renderings, continuing, ongoing support

11/14/2011

ARCHITECTURAL PLANS AND PROJECT SUPPORT: O’CONNELL ROBERTSON:

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS

•The Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, North End Zone Expansion

•Texas State University Baseball/Softball Complex Enhancements

•New University of Texas Softball Training Facility

•New Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Residence Hall

•New Texas A&M University McFerrin Indoor Athletic Center A/E

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TEXAS STATE CEMETERY 9/11 MEMORIAL, AUSTIN

•The Texas State Cemetery 9/11 monument is dedicated to all Texans who died during the September 11 terrorist attacks•Commissioned in 2002, numerous designs were submitted from artists, architects and private citizens from around the state.

ARCHITECTURAL PLANS AND PROJECT SUPPORT: O’CONNELL ROBERTSON:

http://www.oconnellrobertson.com/

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•The final design by O’Connell, Robertson and Associates of Austin was chosen by the Governor’s Office and the Texas State Cemetery Committee.

11/14/2011

PAST PROJECTS(New Construction/Site Remediation)Williamson County ParksUT Wetlands Education Center and ParkMarine Science Institute, Port Aransas

RECENT CUSTOMERSTexas Department of Public Safety (DPS)Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD)City of AustinAustin Energy

GENERAL CONTRACTOR AND PROJECT MANAGEMENTKC CONSTRUCTION COMPANY OF GEORGETOWN

Eric Klingemann, West Point ’95, President

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Marine Science Institute, Port AransasTravis County East Metro ParkCommunication Tower SitesWater Treatment Plant Physical Security ImprovementsParking Lot ImprovementsWater Treatment Plant ConstructionDrainage Channel ConstructionDetention Pond ConstructionDrainage Culvert ConstructionWater Meter Vault

Austin EnergyTravis CountyWilliamson CountyCity of GeorgetownCity of Cedar ParkCity of Taylor, TXCity of Rogers, TX Housing AuthorityWilliamson County MUD #10Newland Communities of Texas (TeraVista)Woodlawn Condominiums Home Owners AssociationKB-CK Limited PartnershipOak Bluff Estates, Round Rock, TXForest Creek, Round Rock, TX

11/14/2011

PHASE ONE: REPLACE BROKEN HISTORIC MARKER

BROKEN EXISTING LIMESTONE MARKER PROPOSED GRANITE REPLICA

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PHASE TWO: ENHANCE VISITOR FACILITIES: CREATE PAVED DAIS

EXISTING MARKER AREA PROPOSED DAIS AND SEATING SPACE11/14/2011

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