Historic Preservation Commission

Edwardsville Historic Preservation Commission October Meeting Minutes Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2019 Time: 7pm Place: Council Chambers, City of Edwardsville City Hall, 118 Hillsboro Avenue, Edwardsville, IL 62025 I. CALL TO ORDER Commission Chairman Tom May called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. II. ROLL CALL (present) Present: Brandon Adair, Joe Hutton, Tom May, Reggie Resper, Kerry Smith. (Excused absences: Ryan Downey, John Hackett, Bob Nickrent, Jennifer Plocher Wilkins) III. CITIZENS WISHING TO ADDRESS HPC IV. CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS a. COA #1: 252 North Main Street (Wildey Theatre). Developer: City of Edwardsville. Project: Simulated neon LED lighting on marquee. This COA was pulled from the agenda because the lighting schematics were not ready in time for this session. b. COA #2: 1301 North Main Street. Developer: Karen Zimmerman. Project: 1. Renewal of a COA that was approved on 3/18/18 for windows, doors and roof replacement. Moved by Kerry Smith and seconded by Joe Hutton to open discussion. Motion passed unanimously. Windows: Ms. Zimmerman reported that the windows will be true divided light, six over six. For the sashes, she plans to restore the original sashes in front and back. Property owner plans to preserve one sash that is pre-Civil War. The windows will be two-panel, wood that will be reproduced based upon the original one that remains. Brandon Adair asked if there are any changes to the March 2018 COA and Ms. Zimmerman said no. Reggie Resper motioned, Brandon Adair seconded. Unanimously approved by all 5 HPC members in attendance. 2. Ms. Zimmerman is seeking HPC suggestions on gutters, fascia, shutters and bulkhead. She is seeking this input now because her goal is to have the roof installed prior to winter, and the roof dictates other items such as the fascia which must be installed prior to the roof. Property owner wants to mimic existing crown molding (K-style gutters). The building never had gutters, so the crown molding on there currently (in front) is decorative. For remainder of fascia, Ms. Zimmerman plans to use that as a guide and copy the molding around the building, restoring as much as possible and installing half- round gutters. Remnants of twisted wire exist that may have been what is supporting the gutters. Her bid to install half-round gutters is $4,000 (four times the cost of K-style gutters) for 100 lineal feet. The roofing quote is $8,000 due to special venting. Joe Hutton said he just priced half-round gutters for the Sappington House and that Ms. Zimmerman’s cost estimate/bid is not out of line. Van Dyke’s Restorers sells this  material, Hutton said. According to Tom May and Joe Hutton, what people were doing in 1820s (regarding gutters) was either no gutters at all or V-shaped wooden gutters with a rubber liner. Ms. Zimmerman said she will install round downspouts. And she is researching the venting system. Joe Hutton suggests asking a contractor to cut a box cutter into 10-foot pieces. Because it’s a box cutter, it won’t have that muscle and cove in the front (and wouldn’t look as modern as a K-style gutter). This would be self- supporting, according to Mr. Hutton. He suggested using spike and ferrel aluminum hangers to make it self-supporting. The property owner is planning on installing a venting system with only one roof penetration and the sheet metal fabricator can cap the chimney. Hatch to basement: property owner plans to use wood and mimic the Stephenson House. Trim: Ms. Zimmerman plans to use clear one-by for all trim (fascia materials). Mr. Hutton recommends treated lumber, cedar or redwood, can get 5/4 in both of those. He suggests oil based Kilz. Property owner asked whether the ground- floor window shutter on this 2-story building should be solid or louvered. According to HPC guidelines, either is acceptable (solid or louvered). Ms. Zimmerman’s goal is to mimic the Stephenson House look. She said she may install temporary gutters just to get them on in the short term so they can install the roof by winter. c. COA #3: 715 North Main Street. Developer: Madison County Historical Society. Project: Robert Klaus, chair of the restoration committee and on the board of the Madison Historical Society, was present. The formal COA being proposed tonight is in line with his presentation from the September HPC meeting. Back porch renovations. Motion to discuss made by Joe Hutton, seconded by Brandon Adair. Replacing floor and vertical supports and all railings and rebuilding some of the foundation underneath it. Raising floor level about 5 inches to provide for handicap accessibility. Same style and size of railing down ramp as what exists on the existing porch. Northern post, adjacent to accessway on porch, had no support on it whatsoever, so the Madison County facilities department removed it. Reggie Resper made the motion, Joe Hutton seconded to approved the COA. All 5 HPC members present (Brandon Adair, Joe Hutton, Tom May, Reggie Resper and Kerry Smith) voted in favor of approving this COA. d. COA #4: 1003 North Main Street. Developer: Eden Church. Project: Installation of pergola. City’s public works department has issued an order for the pergola to be removed from this structure. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF HPC MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 – Joe Hutton motioned to accept; Reggie Smith seconded. Roll call vote. All 5 board members present approved the September 2019 HPC meeting minutes. VI. FINANCIAL REPORT - none VII. CORRESPONDENCE – A letter signed by a City of Edwardsville alderman and Mayor Hal Patton, written by Joe Hutton, was sent to developer Jonathan Fowler to commend his work to preserve the original Poag Store brick (that was later part of Rusty’s restaurant on North Main Street) as best as possible during the demolition phase of the former restaurant. VIII. COMMITTEE REPORTS a. Attaboy Letters b. Historic Districts and Landmark Updates  1. Stephenson House 2. Brick Streets 3. Downtown 4. Leclaire – Joe Hutton reported that he was invited by Jamie Henderson to do a walk- thru of the Nickel Plate Depot. The 2 walked through on 10/8. Differing opinions on the siding. A large percentage of it is lost. Was maintained in a utilitarian fashion throughout its life. Has lost a lot of architectural accuracy through the years. Options exist for siding, some of it ecofriendly, that is indistinguishable from wood siding. Windows are in very poor condition. This is to be a commercial space, and as such needs to have tempered glass, which means the sashes (many that are in rough shape) will need to be removed. Mr. Hutton and Mr. Henderson discussed a sash pack window system with sash liners that are very narrow in profile. Upside: window jambs and interior window parts don’t need to be ripped out - thus, a good percentage of the window body is able to be preserved and not touched. Also, wide casings are not thick enough and the casings are in bad shape as well. Appropriate to remove the casings to match it with Azek (PVC material) for an appropriate profile. Leclaire Parkfest – Sunday, October 20th 5. St. Louis Street IX. OLD BUSINESS X. NEW BUSINESS a. Historical Markers: Poor Farm (behind the new public safety building) and Rusty’s. Walt Williams reports that Cindy Reinhart will be submitting application to the state. She will also be applying to the state historical board on behalf of the city by late October. b. Former Governors’ Plaques on Plaza. Walt reported that he and Cindy went out to the pillars in front of the new public safety center and determined that they can have a 12x14-inch plaque, one for each governor. 5 separate plaques. Cindy is writing the narratives for these plaques. c. Walt has renewed HPC’s membership to the preservation leadership forum. d. The city received a letter from the state of Illinois about removing a historical sign and status from the site of what was formerly the Madison County Sheriff’s House and Jail at 210 North Main Street. The state will be taking this site off the national register. e. Joe Hutton asked about the COA for the building on the corner of Plum and Park next to Walgreens. Walt Williams says a tenant has committed to the redevelopment project. Mr. Williams thanked HPC for its professionalism and thoroughness. f. 115 South Main Street (Country Financial): paint is being removed in a non-approved way (not according to HPC guidelines for historical structures). Mr. Williams is investigating this. Karen Zimmerman brought it to his attention. She says someone has taken a power washer to the soft brick. Joe Hutton says there’s an acrimonious relationship (and there has been for 10 years) between the property owner and the HPC. g. Tom May: Today (10/9/19), non-COA-approved activity at a residence in the Leclaire Historical District was observed. HPC Chairman May notified Mr. Williams and Williams went immediately to investigate. (Mr. May noticed a row of trucks parked on  Lindenwood). Someone in the middle of the block decided to put new siding on their house. HPC did recently approve the owner’s COA for construction of a garage. At that time, the homeowner said that his contractor would work with the city on it. As of the date of HPC’s October 2019 session, one-half of the home was already in process of getting new siding. Because the siding needed to be replaced and since it resembles a like-kind replacement, the city made the decision to allow the work to continue. A question came before the HPC commission about this: The next time this occurs, should the item come before the HPC commission? Kerry Smith said HPC needs to know and stop work needs to occur. Joe Hutton says unless it’s a partial replacement due to wind damage, for example, HPC requires a new COA. In this example, Walt Williams said work would have stopped immediately if what they were doing (or had done) did not meet HPC guidelines. Walt Williams thanked Tom May for bringing it to his attention. Mr. Williams also said that when something like this occurs, he promptly brings it to the aldermen’s attention. Once per week, Mr. Williams makes a point of driving around the city to look for any scenarios like this one. In this situation, Mr. Williams said, the owner was very apologetic. The property owner’s COA was approved for garage work but his COA did not include any mention of vinyl siding work to be performed. Brandon Adair said that if an HPC member discovers something, it should first be reported to staff in real time (short of HPC having to meet about it). Even with a staff issue, Mr. Williams notifies the HPC chairman as soon as possible. XI. ADJOURNMENT: Next HPC Meeting is Wednesday, November 13, 2019 at 8:03pm. Minutes respectfully recorded and submitted by Kerry Smith