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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEHC Reg 11-01-16 apprvd 01-04-17City of Elgin Elgin Heritage Commission November 1, 2016 Minutes A. The meeting of the Elgin Heritage Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers by Chairman John Wiedmeyer. 1. Members Present: George Rowe, Judith Van Dusen, Brian Anderson (7:03), Kim Bauer, John Marston, Steve Thoren (7:01), Scott Savel, and John Wiedmeyer 2. Members Absent: Tom Krebsbach 3. Others Present: 4. City Staff Present: Christen Sundquist, Historic Preservation Planner B. Approval of Minutes: 1. A motion was made by Commissioner Rowe to approve the October 4, 2016 minutes with the following amendments: The location of the meeting was held in the City Council Chambers and not in the Police Department – North Community Room; and an omitted word to be added under Mayor’s Initiatives, “Rebecca Hunter has volunteered...” The motion was seconded by Commissioner Savel. The motion passed 7-0-1 (1 abstention: Anderson). C. Recognize Persons Present: D. Plaque applications: None E. Old Business 1. Reports from Neighborhood Groups on Heritage Related Activities a. Elgin History Museum - Commissioner Rowe noted the Elgin Area Historical Society’s Annual Benefit will be held on November 5, 2016 at the Elgin Country Club. Tickets are available now. b. Elgin History Museum – Commissioner Van Dusen stated that a group of volunteers helped clear brush and reset grave stones at the historic, Hillside Cemetery. This was once the cemetery for those at the Elgin Mental Health Center who had no families to claim them when they passed. Commissioner Marston noted that the Hillside Cemetery sign that the Heritage Commission donated funds to will soon be installed on the Highland Golf Course. Commissioner Thoren explained that signage is key to Elgin Heritage Commission: Minutes Page 2 November 1, 2016 bring awareness to this historic site as it is hardly noticed due to the thick tree line that surrounds it. c. Elgin History Museum – Commissioner Marston noted volunteers came out to the site of the Nancy Kimball House (302 W. Chicago St) on Sunday, October 30, 2016, to help move the cobblestones closer to the building so that mason, John Crowe, had easier access to install them back onto the building. Commissioner Marston stated that there was a morning shift of volunteers and an early afternoon shift of volunteers. There will be a couple more volunteer dates to move the remaining cobblestones. d. Commissioner Marston thanked Commissioner Thoren for his presentation on the Wing Park Golf Course that was given on Wednesday, October 5th at 6:00PM at Lords Park Pavilion. e. Commissioner Van Dusen noted that Elgin received honors and awards for three of their homes in the Chicago Painting and Coating Association’s Painted Ladies contest. There were only five homes awarded out of 30 applications. Commissioner Rowe congratulated Chairman Wiedmeyer as he was awarded the “Best use of a Bold Color Combination, Professionally Painted,” for 711 Douglas Avenue . Commissioner Anderson noted that this is truly significant as Elgin has continually proven that it has a wonderful array of historic homes that are worthy of preserving and taking a visit to see. f. Commissioner Anderson stated that he went to a lecture sponsored by the Elmhurst Historic Preservation Commission, Landmarks Illinois, and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency on October 12, 2016. He noted that this lecture focused on the York-Cottage Hill Historic Resources specifically focusing on Landmark Designation and Tax Incentives. 2. Mayor’s Initiative Ideas a. Directional Signage Update This project will be pushed back until 2017, however, staff noted that for the January meeting, possibly partnering with the Downtown Neighborhood Association to host a competition on the design of the signage for the Downtown Commercial National Register Historic District. The Commission agreed that this is a good idea, and asked staff to reach out to the Downtown Neighborhood Association about a partnership. b. Web Based App 1. Tour Booklets: This project will be pushed back until 2017 2. Photographs: It was noted that the Commission is diligently taking photographs of their assigned buildings and will return the photographs as soon as possible to staff to upload to the website. F. New Business 1. December Plaque Award Elgin Heritage Commission: Minutes Page 3 November 1, 2016 a. The annual plaque awards will be held on December 6, 2016 at 7:00PM at the Elgin History Museum. It was noted that Chairman Wiedmeyer will unfortunately not be in attendance at the awards. Staff asked if anyone from the Commission would like to help with the awards that night due to Chairman Wiedmeyer’s absence. Commissioner Thoren graciously volunteered to be the Master of Ceremonies. The Commission agreed that he would be the perfect announcer for this event. b. Topics for Speaker: (i) Nancy Kimball Home – History and its Rehabilitation: Staff noted to the Commission that Bill Briska has agreed to give a short presentation on the history of 302 W. Chicago as well as an update on progress. Commissioner Anderson noted that it might be interesting to see if Eric Pepa of Allen&Pepa Architects could also give a presentation regarding the structural aspects of the building. Commissioner Rowe noted that Bill Briska has a good understanding of the structure of the building and as this presentation is typically limited to 20 minutes, then we should limit the amount of speakers. Chairman Wiedmeyer asked staff to see if Bill Briska will be touching on the structural aspects of the building. c. Plaques to be Award – There will be five Heritage Commission Plaques awarded as well as four bungalow plaques. d. Dish to Pass: Commissioners agreed to bring a plate to pass and to notify staff of what they will be bringing to ensure no duplicates. 2. Elgin Heritage Commission Budget a. Ms. Sundquist provided the Commission with its current budget status. She reviewed upcoming anticipated expenses. The plaque painting and website cost are the only expected and remaining expenses of the year. In keeping with this, Commissioner Savel noted that materials need to be bought for the creation of th e Heritage and Bungalow plaques. Commissioner Thoren noted that he will be buying paint soon for the plaques and can provide staff with receipts of the purchases. Commissioner Savel also stated that in the past, the Heritage Commission has given funds to the Elgin Area Historical Society for the purchase of computer equipment. The Commission noted that they are interested in helping fund the Nancy Kimball House project as well as the Dairies to Prairies dependent on what project is need of it most. A motion was made by Commissioner Savel to reimburse Commissioner Thoren for paint used for the Heritage and Bungalow Plaques and the remaining funds to be donated to the Elgin Area Historical Society to be used at their discretion for the following recommended projects: Nancy Kimball House; Dairies to Prairies Documentary; for the purchase of equipment. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Marston. The motion passed 5-0-2 (2 abstentions: Rowe and Thoren). Elgin Heritage Commission: Minutes Page 4 November 1, 2016 G. Other Business None H. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner Savel to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Thoren and passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Christen Sundquist, Historic Preservation Planner Community Development Department Approved: 01/03/17