Joliet Historic Preservation Commission

150 West Jefferson Street City of Joliet Joliet, IL 60432 Joliet Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes Commission Members Quinn Adamowski Brian Bessler Mary Beth Gannon Bill Habiger Kevin Heinemann Candace Johnson Kailee Lowry Sharon Merwin Aaron Mikottis Christine Policandriotes Sara Stovall Steven Wright Wednesday, January 27, 2021 7:00 PM City Hall, Council Chambers The Governor’s Office and the Illinois Department of Public Health has activated a Tier 1 mitigation plan for Region 7 (Will and Kankakee Counties). Tier 1 limits in-person meetings to 25 people or 25% of overall room capacity (whichever is less). Council Chambers allows for 10 members of the public while adhering to social distancing guidelines. During meetings, any member of the public physically present in the Council Chambers in excess of the limit will be asked to wait in another room with live feed to the meeting until the Citizens To Be Heard on Agenda Items section or Public Comments section of the meeting has commenced. Speakers will be rotated into Council Chambers to allow everyone an opportunity to speak. Pursuant to the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity’s Guidelines, it is recommended that any individual appearing in-person wear a face-covering to cover their nose and mouth. Citizens who are unable to attend the meeting can email comments in advance of the meeting to publiccomment@joliet.gov. CALL TO ORDER DECLARATION OF QUORUM Page 1 of 7 Joliet Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes January 27, 2021 Present Candace Johnson, Kailee Lowry, Sharon Merwin, Aaron Mikottis, Christine Policandriotes, Sara Stovall, Quinn Adamowski, Brian Bessler, Mary Beth Gannon, Bill Habiger and Kevin Heinemann Absent Steven Wright APPROVAL OF MINUTES January 6, 2021 Historic Preservation Commission Special TMP-0840 Meeting Minutes Attachments: 01-06-21 REGULAR MINUTES Ms. Bernhard explained that there were several technical changes and formatting updates to be made to the January 6th minutes. Ms. Bernhard suggested the minutes be tabled and reviewed at the February 24, 2021 JHPC meeting. A motion was made by Candace Johnson, seconded by Bill Habiger, to table the January 6, 2021 Historic Preservation Commission Special Meeting Minutes. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: Johnson, Lowry, Merwin, Mikottis, Stovall, Adamowski, Beth Gannon, Habiger and Heinemann CITIZENS TO BE HEARD ON AGENDA ITEMS NOTE: There is a new temporary procedure for public speaking. Details can be found on the Joliet.gov “Public Comments” web page. This section is for anyone wanting to speak regarding items listed on the agenda . Anyone speaking on an agenda item is entitled to speak for a maximum of 4 minutes. It is not a question and answer period and staff and the Zoning Board of Appeals do not generally respond to public comments. Please note speakers who engage in conduct injurious to the harmony of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be called to order by the Presiding Officer and may forfeit the opportunity to speak. STAFF REPORTS a. Staff Report Ms. Bernhard went over the council memo which city staff is working on, it will be heard at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021. The project would be to update and/or standardize all of the information on file for the 130 designated historic properties in the City of Joliet. The project costs about $24,000, the City of Joliet will put up $7,200 match and the State of Illinois will pay 70%. About $14,000 of the proposed budget will be spent on survey work. The existing information will be loaded onto a web-based platform. There are three goals for this project: 1. To standardize and update the information we already have. 2. Getting the information onto a web-based forum. Page 2 of 7 Joliet Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes January 27, 2021 3. Completing the steps above will help with the permitting process, heritage tourism and economic development initiatives. This matter will be reviewed at the February 2nd City Council meeting. Ms. Bernard went over the survey of the St. Johns Neighborhood project. Ms. Bernhard explained the reason for the delay; there are issues with the past address changes in that area. There have been five major address changes. The consultant still has 30 buildings to review. Ms. Bernhard stated they are expecting to be finished at the end of February 2021. Ms. Bernhard worked with the Joliet Area Historic Museum to submit a nomination of 927 Collins Street, the former U.S. Steel Administration / Main Office Building, to the State of Illinois as one of the most endangered historic landmarks. Ms. Bernhard noted that Kendall Jackson, the former Community Development Director, asked Neighborhood Services to send the property owners notices requesting “permission to inspect” the property. The owner gave permission to access the property and N.S. Inspectors were able to go out and inspect Thursday, January 21, 2021. NS Inspectors noted lots of violations on the exterior of the building. An interior inspection was not completed. The NS Inspectors noted flooding in the basement and substantial roof damage. The limestone building structure was sturdy and not of concern. Ms. Bernhard hopes this nomination and violations letter from the inspection will encourage U.S. Steel to do something with the building. Chairman Adamowski asked who was taking the lead on the U.S. Steel Building, Ms. Bernhard stated she was not. Ms. Bernhard would like for Neighborhood Services to take the lead and enforce compliance on the property. Chairman Adamowski asked if U.S. Steel was willing to make more urgent improvements, or if the City of Joliet would be able to go in and make urgent improvements . Ms. Bernhard explained her understanding of how things moved forward and expressed that she would try to get city staff on board to move things forward. Ms. Bernhard went over the Underrepresented Communities Grant information. Ms. Bernhard announced the Design Guidelines Manual was approved by the City Council in December, staff will be working with a Consultant on that. Ms. Bernhard announced the Hiram Scutt Mansion will not be getting around forty solar panels installed. The homeowner was dissatisfied with the original solar contractor. The homeowner is working with a new solar company and reducing the number of panels to around twenty solar panels . Ms. Bernhard had the homeowner to sign an amended agreement with the reduced number of solar panels . OLD BUSINESS NOTE: There is a new temporary procedure for public speaking. Details can be found on the Joliet.gov “Public Comments” web page. During the Public Hearing, members of the public will be allowed to present evidence and ask questions subject to the rules of the meeting . NEW BUSINESS NOTE: There is a new temporary procedure for public speaking. Details can be found on the Joliet.gov “Public Comments” web page. During the Public Hearing, members of the public will be allowed to present evidence and ask questions subject to the rules of the meeting. a. (COA-2-2021) Certificate of Appropriateness for Solar TMP-0836 Modules on the Garage at 708 Western Avenue Page 3 of 7 Joliet Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes January 27, 2021 Attachments: COA-2-2021_Staff Report Packet_708 Western Ms. Bernhard read the staff report into the record. Chairman Adamowski asked if the applicant had any additional comments or questions. Ms. Kathleen Falk who showed up on behalf of the certificate of appropriateness, did not have any comments. Chairman Adamowski asked if the commissioners had questions. Ms. Merwin clarified the panels would only be on the garage and not the home. Some of the commissioners asked about existing features of the house and garage in the photos. Ms. Bernhard explained the photos were just for reference. Ms. Falk explained some of the Photoshopped features in the photos. Chairman Adamowski asked if anyone else had any input. No one came forward. A motion was made by Candace Johnson, seconded by Sharon Merwin, to approve (COA-2-2021) Certificate of Appropriateness for Solar Modules on the Garage at 708 Western Avenue with the following conditions: 1. That the number, location and mounting of the solar panels shall not differentiate from the submitted site plan and specifications, which outlined: - that there shall be no more than 31 solar modules mounted on the east and west facing roof surfaces of the garage; - that the modules shall be mounted no higher than 6” from the surface of the roof; - that the disconnecting load center shall be located on the first story of the rear elevation of the house, located adjacent to the existing electrical box. 2. That the conduit leading from the ground to the load center located adjacent to the existing electrical box shall be painted to match the surface to which it shall be mounted. 3. That no other architectural or building feature of the home other that what is specified in the submitted site plan shall be modified, altered or removed. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: Johnson, Lowry, Merwin, Mikottis, Stovall, Adamowski, Habiger and Heinemann Nay: Beth Gannon b. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair positions Ms. Bernhard explained that Chair and Vice-Chair positions are voted on each year, Quinn Adamowski is the current Chairman and Candance Johnson is the current Vice Chairman. Ms. Bernhard asked if the Commissioners would like to nominate members for the positions. Ms. Merwin nominated Chairman Adamowski and Vice Chairwoman Johnson Page 4 of 7 Joliet Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes January 27, 2021 for another year of service. Ms. Bernhard asked if there were any other nominations. No one came forward. A motion was made by Sharon Merwin, seconded by Sara Stovall, to nominate Quinn Adamowski as the Chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission. The motion was carried by the following vote: Aye: Gannon, Habiger, Heinemann, Johnson, Lowry, Merwin, Mikottis and Stovall Abstain: Adamowski A motion was made by Sharon Merwin, seconded by Sara Stovall, to nominate Candance Johnson as the Vice Chairwoman of the Historic Preservation Commission. The motion was carried by the following vote: Aye: Gannon, Habiger, Heinemann, Lowry, Merwin, Mikottis, Stovall and Adamowski Abstain: Johnson c. 2020 Annual Report of the JHPC: Review and TMP-0852 Recommendation for Approval Attachments: 2020 Annual Report of the JHPC Ms. Bernhard explained that part of the requirements for certified local governments and in accordance to the Joliet Historic Preservation rules, the JHPC must submit an annual report of activities to the State of Illinois Historic Preservation office. Ms. Bernhard went over the process of reviewing and moving forward with the annual report. Ms. Bernhard noted that she forgot to include one of the workshops that commissioners attended. Ms. Bernhard asked for input on the report. The commissioners asked a couple questions. Ms. Bernhard went over the 2020 annual report. The commissioners discussed aspects of the report and asked questions. A motion was made by Candace Johnson, seconded by Sharon Merwin, to approve: c. 2020 Annual Report of the JHPC: Review and Recommendation for Approval with the recommended changes. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: Johnson, Lowry, Merwin, Stovall, Adamowski, Beth Gannon, Habiger and Heinemann Abstain: Mikottis d. 2021 Annual Goals TMP-0837 Attachments: 2021 Goals Page 5 of 7 Joliet Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes January 27, 2021 Chairman Adamowski asked the Commissioners to continue the previous conversation on the 2021 Annual Goals. Ms. Bernhard went over the previous additions to the goals. Chairman Adamowski asked if there was any additional input on the 2021 goals. No one came forward. A motion was made by Candace Johnson, seconded by Sharon Merwin: d. 2021 Annual Goals. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: Johnson, Lowry, Merwin, Mikottis, Stovall, Adamowski, Beth Gannon, Habiger and Heinemann COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Ms. Johnson asked if there was an update on the St. Mary Carmelite Church in Downtown Joliet. Ms. Bernhard said yes, the property owner has completed his environmental assessment. One of the commissioners asked what the report stated, Ms. Bernhard has not reviewed it. Ms. Johnson asked about the status of reaching out to Joliet Township regarding land marking Oakwood Cemetery. Ms. Bernhard stated that she has not done so yet. Ms. Merwin asked about Library updates and future review. Ms. Bernhard said Illinois State staff reached out to her about the project. Ms. Merwin expressed her concerns with the most recent library plans and current library conditions. Ms. Johnson stated work has stopped on the Barrett building in downtown Joliet, and she also talked about the current conditions at the site. Ms. Bernhard said Marriott is still moving forward with the hotel project, noting that things have stalled due to COVID-19. Staff will look into the current conditions at the site. Ms. Merwin expressed her interest with 65 W. Webster, although it is not historic, Ms. Merwin asked if construction is still moving forward on the building. Ms. Bernhard said yes, there will be a fitness center on the first level and office space on the upper levels. Ms. Merwin stated that although buildings similar to 65 W. Webster have no historical significance, they are being updated and used in new ways. Mr. Mikottis asked about the old United States Postal Service building at 51 E. Clinton Street. The commissioners discussed ownership and updates. Chairman Adamowski asked anyone else would like to comment. No one came forward. PUBLIC COMMENT NOTE: There is a new temporary procedure for public speaking. Details can be found on the Joliet.gov “Public Comments” web page. This section is for anyone wanting to speak regarding items listed on the agenda . Anyone speaking on an agenda item is entitled to speak for a maximum of 4 minutes. It is not a question and answer period and staff and the Zoning Board of Appeals do not generally respond to public comments. Please note speakers who engage in conduct injurious to the harmony of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be called to order by the Presiding Officer and may forfeit the opportunity to speak. Page 6 of 7 Joliet Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes January 27, 2021 ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Candace Johnson, seconded by Bill Habiger, to adjourn the meeting . The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: Johnson, Lowry, Merwin, Mikottis, Stovall, Adamowski, Beth Gannon, Habiger and Heinemann This meeting will be held in an accessible location. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact Christa M. Desiderio, City Clerk, 150 West Jefferson Street, Joliet, Illinois 60432 at (815) 724-3780. Page 7 of 7