Joplin Historic Preservation Commission Regular Meeting - July 21, 2026
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Joplin Historic Preservation Commission Regular Meeting - July 21, 2026
The Historic Preservation Commission met on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at Joplin City Hall. Chair [name not given] presided. Roll call showed members present: Mr. Huff, Mr. Millard, Ms. Ditarr, Mr. Bruckner, Dr. Mounts, Dr. Fisher, Dr. Reed Adams, Ms. Proven, and Ms. Hong. Absent members were excused. The agenda was adjusted to add a discussion item on the Downtown Joplin Alliance Downtown District Expansion.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes from the June 16, 2026 and July 3, 2026 meetings (unanimous).
Discussion Items
- North Heights Porchfest: Planning for the October 3, 2026 event (noon-7 p.m.) is underway; a tent has been registered.
- Memorial Hall: Friends of Memorial Hall announced passage of legislation to place a 2% tourism tax on the April 2027 ballot. Design work continues with architects; meeting planned for early August. Fundraising will begin after designs are complete (end of September).
- North Heights Survey Phase 1 & 2 Update: Phase 2 grant application submitted; additional budget clarification requested by new HPF grants manager; response pending. Phase 1 consultant needs to add survey forms for vacant lots (Missouri requires forms for parking lots of 6+ spaces). Staff is working with SHPO to adjust the project budget. Final research design submitted for SHPO approval; Commissioner comments due by July 31, 2026. Discussion about district naming: the area is commonly called North Heights, though half lies outside the original plat.
- Park Survey: No update; staff will prioritize in the coming weeks.
- State Preservation Conference (September 14-16, 2026): Registration not yet open. Members asked to respond to staff email to coordinate attendance, hotel, and travel.
- Downtown Joplin Alliance Downtown District Expansion: Laurie Hahn presented findings of a study. A public meeting is scheduled for July 22, 2026 at Empire Market (4:30-6 p.m.). Commissioners were asked to review materials and submit comments to staff for inclusion in the final report.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes approved.
- No formal votes were taken; actions are delegated to staff for follow-up.
- Staff will follow up on Phase 2 grant clarification, consultant change order, SHPO approval on research design, and conference registration.
- A special meeting may be called in August if needed for building permit applications; the regular August meeting is cancelled per bylaws.
- Meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
All right. All right, let's go ahead and uh call this uh meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission to order on Tuesday, July 21st, 2026 at 5 p.m. on the fifth floor of Joplin's City Hall. Eric, can we have roll call, please? Mr. Huff. Mr. Millard. Present. Ms. Ditarr. Mr. Bruckner. Actually present. Dr. Mounts. Present. Dr. Fisher. Present. Dr. Reed Adams. Present. Ms. Proven. Present. And Ms. Hong. Present. All right. I'd entertain a motion to excuse those not present. So moved. Seconded. All right. Motion or excuse me. Uh moved by Dr. Adams and seconded by uh Dr. Fisher. Uh all in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. Uh before we move on, I'm gonna add, I'm gonna adjust our agenda at the end of the last discussion item. I'm gonna add um the downtown Joplin Alliance Downtown District Expansion point. Um and Laurie Hahn is going to speak on that when we get to that. All right. Uh budget. Or the minutes. Oh, excuse me. Oh, yeah, approval in the minutes.
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