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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEHC Reg 04-04-17 approved 06-06-17City of Elgin Elgin Heritage Commission April 4, 2017 Minutes A. The meeting of the Elgin Heritage Commission was called to order at 7:01 p.m. in the City Council Chambers by Chairman John Wiedmeyer. 1. Members Present: George Rowe, Judith Van Dusen, Brian Anderson, Kim Bauer, Scott Savel, Tom Krebsbach, John Marston, Steve Thoren and John Wiedmeyer 2. Members Absent: None 3. Others Present: Rebecca Hunter 4. City Staff Present: Christen Sundquist, Historic Preservation Planner B. Approval of Minutes: 1. A motion was made by Commissioner Savel to approve the March 7, 2017 minutes with the following amendments: The following was changed from the Landmark designation from “The motion passed unanimously” to “The motion passed 8-0-1 (Thoren abstained).” The motion was seconded by Commissioner Krebsbach. The motion passed unanimously. C. Recognize Persons Present: Rebecca Hunter D. Plaque applications: 1. 832 Douglas Avenue – The plaque nomination received the following average scores: Historic Significance 8.44; Architectural Significance: 8.33; Current Maintenance: 7.78. A motion was made by Commissioner Thoren to approve awarding the plaque for the property with the inscription that would read T. & G. (Thomas & Gertrude) Huntley, 1906. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Krebsbach. The motion passed unanimously. E. Old Business 1. Reports from Neighborhood Groups on Heritage Related Activities 1. Commissioner Rowe stated that you can vote on the name of the new bison at Lords Park Zoo. You may vote on the Lords Park Zoo Facebook page. Voting for the bison’s name is open through April 30th. The announcement of the winning name of the bison will be an event a part of Preservation Month in Lords Park from 1PM -4PM on Saturday, May 13, 2017. Elgin Heritage Commission: Minutes Page 2 April 4, 2017 2. Commissioner Rowe stated that there are several events coming up at the Elgin History Museum including an interesting lecture on the history of Route 20 to be held on May 18th as a brown bag lunch. 3. Commissioner Marston noted that Elgin Today featured the Elgin History Museum as well as Preservation Month in April’s segment and encouraged the Commissioners to see the segment if they haven’t already done so. 4. Chairman Wiedmeyer stated that on Thursday, April 6, 2017, he will be leading a Painted Ladies Bus Tour of visitors from Arlington Heights. The tour will take the attendees past Elgin’s painted ladies ending with a tour of the Wing Mansion. 5. Staff noted that the Washington Post recently interviewed homeowners of Elgin’s Sears Houses as well as local historian and Design Review Commissioner, Rebecca Hunter, as a part of a video documentary of the Sears, Roebuck and Company Catalog Homes. Staff also noted that NPR also interviewed Rebecca Hunter and put together a documentary on Elgin’s Sears homes. 6. Commissioner Thoren thanked the Commission again for the recommendation for approval of landmarking the Wing Mansion. He noted that the Elgin Courier recently had a write up on March 28, 2017 about the designation. 7. Commissioner Anderson noted that Landmarks Illinois and Kennedy-King College students will be showing the documentary that they put together on Elgin’s bungalows as a part of their People Saving Places series on April 21, 2017 in Ottawa, IL. 8. Commissioner Thoren stated that the Gifford Park Association’s Annual Housewalk will be on the west side this year and that the Wing Mansion and the McClure Family properties (770 W. Highland and 272 McClure Avenue) will be on the tour this year. 9. Commissioner Thoren also stated that the Model A Club (M.A.R.C) Midwest Chapter will be visiting the Wing Mansion for a tour. He is expecting at least 20 Model A’s in front of his home for the walking tour. The tour will be held on April 23 rd. 2. Mayor’s Initiative/2017 Elgin Heritage Commission Goals 1. Directional Signage 2017– no update 2. Historic Resources Survey – no update 3. Web Based App a) Commissioner Bauer noted that she finished 1988 for the homes on the website. The remaining two years still need to be uploaded. 4. Tour Booklets – no update 3. Preservation Month Planning 1. Staff provided the Commission the Preservation Month brochure to review and noted that she will be printing out the brochure in the next week to begin to hand out to local organizations. 4. Mayor’s Award Planning: 1. Mayor’s Awards Nomination Review Elgin Heritage Commission: Minutes Page 3 April 4, 2017 a) The Commission revisited the nomination for the Berrys as more photographs were provided of the work completed: (i) Christopher & Rebekah Berry. Nominated by Dan Miller. For their exterior and interior rehabilitation of 442 DuPage Street. Commissioner Anderson thanked Commissioner Rowe for providing more photographs of all the work the Berrys completed on their home. He noted that with the additional photographs, the Berrys are more than deserving of recognition. The Commission agreed. A motion was made by Commissioner Thoren to recommend the nomination for a Mayor’s Award. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Krebsbach and passed 8-0-1 (Savel abstained). 2. Day Before/Day of Planning a) Staff noted to the Commission that they are allowed to set up on Monday and take down on Wednesday. Commissioner Rowe stated that the Commission can begin to pick up chairs at 2:00PM at First United Methodist Church on Monday to bring over to event space. b) Staff stated that the spaces in front of 1 Douglas Avenue will be reserved on Tuesday to aid with unloading/reloading of the equipment. F. New Business 1. Advertisement: Bravo Magazine a) Staff asked the Commission if they would like to purchase advertisement space in the Bravo Magazine for the month of May to advertise the HistoricElgin website as well as Preservation Month. Commissioner Bauer generously offered her advertisement space that she received last year for writing an article for the magazine. The Commission thanked Commissioner Bauer for her offer. Commissioner Rowe made a motion to purchase the half-page horizontal advertisement space for the May issue of Bravo. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Marston and passed unanimously. 2. Plaques to be Made a) Staff noted that she will be placing an order for three Heritage Plaques and one Bungalow Plaque to be made for the Mayor’s Awards. She also stated that in the past, the Heritage Commission has partially paid for the creation of a bronze plaque for our Landmark properties. She received several quotes and found that Bronze Memorial Company in Chicago, of which the Commission has used before, was the most affordable in cost. The Commission agreed to provide half the cost of the bronze plaque. Commissioner Rowe made a motion to provide half the cost of the bronze plaque ($280.80) and to fund the three Heritage Plaques and one Bungalow Plaque for the Mayor’s Awards. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Anderson and passed 8-0-1 (Thoren abstained.) Elgin Heritage Commission: Minutes Page 4 April 4, 2017 3. Rebecca Hunter presented a donation by Dale Wolicki of his 1928 Home Builders Catalogue to be used as a reference for design of homes brought before the Design Review Subcommittee. The Commission thanked Rebecca for reaching out to Dale and agreed to send him a Thank You letter for his generous gift. The C ommission also thanked Rebecca Hunter for her donation of the Language of Doors book. 4. The Commission set the date of Wednesday, April 19th for the Historic Rehabilitation Grant Review. Staff stated that she will be sending out an email to see who is available to volunteer for the review. She noted that the grants will then be placed on the May 10, 2017 Committee of the Whole Agenda with final approval by City Council on May 24th. 5. Staff stated that Elgin was approved as a Field Study for our Mid-Century Architectural Tour. She stated that there will be a dry run date on Wednesday, June 7th with a National Trust member and that we will likely be on November 16th or November 17th for the final field study. She stated that at that time, she may need volunteers to help participate in the field study. 6. Staff also asked for volunteers for the April 22nd Open Elgin event for Elgin’s City Hall. Commissioners Marston, Van Dusen and Design Review Commissioner Hunter volunteered to be docents on that day. G. Other Business 1. None. H. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner Thoren to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rowe and passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Christen Sundquist, Historic Preservation Planner Community Development Department Approved: 6/6/17