Historic Preservation Commission

Edwardsville Historic Preservation Commission August Meeting Minutes DATE: August 9, 2017 TIME: 7:00 p.m. PLACE: Council Chambers, City Hall 118 Hillsboro Avenue, Edwardsville, IL 62025 I. CALL TO ORDER - Jennifer Wilkins called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. II. ROLL CALL Present: Kurt Ackerman, Kathryn Biarkis, Debbie Caulk, Joe Hutton, Jeanne Coyle, Tom May, Bob Nickrent, Cindy Reinhardt, Jennifer Wilkins Absent: Cheryl Jett, Andrew Payne, Casey Weeks Also in attendance: Walter Williams and David Sirko III. COA DESIGN REVIEW a. COA #1 Location: 211 W. Franklin Owner: William & Denise Levora Project: Vinyl siding & aluminum fascia Discussion: Walter reported that the owner wants to cover up the existing wood so that there won’t be any maintenance. He and Will Krause spoke to the owners while canvassing Leclaire after the recent storm, and the compromise that was discussed was to leave the bed moulding between the ceiling and fascia exposed. Will reportedly went by the house of the example photo that was provided, and he was comfortable with what was done. The COA says that fascias will be repainted and cleaned, but the owner still wants to cover them and leave the bed moulding exposed. Jen noted that with this direction, all of the original elements would still be there for someone to restore in the future. Motion to approve the COA with an amendment to leave the bed moulding exposed made by Debbie; Bob seconded. Vote: Those in favor: Debbie Caulk, Tom May, Jeanne Coyle, Bob Nickrent, Jen Wilkins. Those opposed: Kurt Ackerman, Joe Hutton. Motion to approve the COA passed. b. COA #2  Location: 1106 St. Louis Street Owner: Mrs. Harry Armstrong Project: Replace rear deck Discussion: The owner wants to replace the existing deck floor with T&G composite decking, and replace the railings with metal railings like in the submitted COA. The issue with the existing conditions is safety. Kurt noted after the vote that the composite decking is not a historic material. Motion to approve made by Joe, Tom seconded. Vote: Those in favor: Debbie Caulk, Joe Hutton, Tom May, Jeanne Coyle, Bob Nickrent, Jen Wilkins. Those opposed: Kurt Ackerman. Motion to approve the COA passed. c. COA #3 Location: 315 N. Main Owner: Main Street Investing LLC Project: Install metal planks on front of building Discussion: The existing building has wood siding at the upper part of the façade. The material proposed is a painted steel standing seam material that appears to have just been installed at 201 E. Vandalia as well. Cindy noted that there is a historic building under the newer façade, but it was remodeled in the 60’s or 70’s. Joe noted that the proposed material seems forced; others noted that it seems utilitarian and barn-like. Motion to deny made by Joe, with a request for resubmittal of a different material, and a recommendation to use cementitious siding. Bob seconded. Vote: All in favor, motion to deny the COA passed. d. COA #4 Location: 105 Plaza Court Owner: Main Street Investing LLC Project: Install metal planks on front and side of building Discussion: The existing building has small roof areas, and the owner wants to install the same metal roofing material described in COA #3. Bob noted that this condition is different because the areas in question are clearly designed to be roofs, so it makes more sense to have a roofing material. Still, this material does not seem appropriate to the historic district. Joe pointed out that this is a commercial building, a roof requires a permit, and permits require an architect; he recommends getting an architect to design what is appropriate. Walt said that he wants to see the previous proposal from Gori “brought back”, but Bob noted that it was  never brought to HPC, renderings were just posted by Gori on Facebook. Walt noted that he had a meeting with Mr. Gori and one of the reasons that the idea of renovating the building was pulled was because of negative comments on Facebook. Jen commented that HPC has no control over what is posted by others on Facebook and City Management should not blame HPC for projected investment lost. Motion to approve made by Bob, Joe seconded. Vote: Those in favor: Debbie Caulk, Joe Hutton, Bob Nickrent. Those opposed: Kurt Ackerman, Tom May, Jeanne Coyle, Jen Wilkins. Motion to approve the COA denied. e. COA #5 Location: 103 E. Vandalia Owner: Andrew Schlueter Project: Signage Discussion: The proposed project is vinyl signage on windows. Motion to approve made by Kurt, Bob seconded. Vote: all in favor, motion to approve the COA passed. f. COA #6 Location: 511 N. Main Owner: Main Street Investing Project: Demolition Discussion: The building was previously a dry cleaner and there are environmental issues on this site. The land area is less than half an acre, and the proposed cost to remediate is over $1m. The owner wants to demolish the building as “softly” as possible, and install a parking lot as a cap. The parking would be used for the new building that is being proposed for the Public Safety Building site. There are reportedly no brownfield grants available from the state. Joe said he doesn’t find this building significant, and if it was a different building he would push back. Motion to approve made by Debbie, Tom seconded. Vote: all in favor, motion to demolish passed. IV. CITIZENS WISHING TO ADDRESS HPC None. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF HPC MEETING in August  Tom made a motion to approve the minutes and Bob seconded. All in favor of approval. VI. FINANCIAL REPORT None. VII. CORRESPONDENCE None. VIII. COMMITTEE REPORTS a. Attaboy letters i. The letter for Bin 51 has not yet been sent, since Walt wants an issue resolved first. They have requested façade grant money after the project is completed. ii. Cindy asked about sending a letter to a house in Leclaire, she will get the address for Walt. b. Historic Districts and Landmarks updates i. Stephenson House – The BBQ and Beer Bash is coming up in September, and they are already collecting for the 50/50 auction. ii. Brick Streets – no report. iii. Downtown – no report. iv. Leclaire – The lake has been lowered and work to rebuild the wall and sidewalk has begun on the east side. The City’s response to the storm that hit Leclaire hard has been great. v. St. Louis Street – no report. IX. OLD BUSINESS a. Design guidelines review comments A subcommittee of Kurt, Joe, Tom, and Jen will meet to further discuss proposed changes to the design guidelines. Proposed changes will be discussed at a full HPC meeting, and no action will be taken in the subcommittee meeting. b. Public Safety Building Mural Walt approached the Madison County Historical Society about taking the mural. Mary Westerson checked it out, Gary Denue called Walt and said they have no use for it. Walt asked if there is a history of the mural, as management would like to have that information; Cindy has newspaper articles from 1963 that she will forward to Walt. The mural was designed by Edward Kane, a prominent local architect. Funds to construct it were raised by schoolchildren, who donated a small amount for each tile. There was a controversy in the past about how the African American person in the mural was portrayed, and the mural was changed in response.  Cindy has written a letter to the Mayor suggesting that the mural become the center of our bicentennial celebration – it depicts our history and is something for the public to rally around. She suggestediting the mural at the new Public Safety building, at the library on a wall facing Vandalia, or at the restrooms behind the bandstand, which are slated to be remodeled. Cindy said she thinks the effort needs to start at the top, but Walt said management doesn’t want to save it. Kurt said he thinks the effort needs to start with HPC, and Walt suggested attending the council meeting. Debbie and Cindy both said others on HPC need to contact the Mayor to voice their opinion, and call him in advance of anyone attending a council meeting. We should also make sure there is council member support before the meeting. X. NEW BUSINESS a. Bin 51 Façade Grant – The owners have requested façade money after the project has been completed. Walt said that there will be a meeting of the Façade Committee to review this request. Walt will check to see if this is required to be an open meeting under the OMA; it was confirmed after the meeting that yes, this is a public meeting with the agenda posted in advance. XI. ADJOURNEMENT: NEXT MEETING IS Wednesday, September 13, 2017 Kurt made a motion to adjourn; Bob seconded. Meeting adjourned at 8:41 pm.