Lombard Historic Preservation Commission

Village of Lombard Village Hall 255 East Wilson Ave. Lombard, IL 60148 villageoflombard.org Minutes Tuesday, January 16, 2024 7:30 PM Lombard Village Hall Lombard Historic Preservation Commission Lyn Myers, Tom Fetters, Eileen Mueller, Stephanie Zabela, Bob Wardzala, Chelsey Alsobrook, Mandy vonBokern, Randy Pruyn, Sandi Smith, Heather Parris, and Leslie Sulla Ex-Officio Member - George Seagraves Board Liaison - Liz Brezinski Village Liaison - Tami Urish Lombard Historic Preservation Minutes January 16, 2024 Commission Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance Acting Chairperson Myers called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Acting Chairperson Myers led the Pledge of Allegiance. Present 8 - Stephanie Zabela, Chelsey Alsobrook, Mandy vonBokern, Randy Pruyn, Sandi Smith, Heather Parris, Leslie Sulla, and Lyn Myers Absent 3 - Tom Fetters, Eileen Mueller, and Bob Wardzala Introduction of all Commissioners Roll Call Present 8 - Stephanie Zabela, Chelsey Alsobrook, Mandy vonBokern, Randy Pruyn, Sandi Smith, Heather Parris, Leslie Sulla, and Lyn Myers Absent 3 - Tom Fetters, Eileen Mueller, and Bob Wardzala Also present: George Seagraves, Ex-Officio; William Heniff, Director of Community Development and Tami Urish, Planner I, Staff Liaison Appoint an Acting Chairperson On a motion made by Commissioner Sulla and seconded by Commissioner Parris to appoint Commissioner Myers as acting chairperson for the meeting with all in favor. Public Participation Approval of Minutes The minutes of the meeting on April 18, 2023 were approved with no changes. The motion was made by Commissioner Myers and seconded by Commissioner Sulla with all in favor. New Business Recognition of former Chairperson Rita Schneider: Acting Chairperson Myers discussed options for honoring Rita Schneider for her service. She said she would like to avoid a physical Village of Lombard Page 1 Lombard Historic Preservation Minutes January 16, 2024 Commission award or plaque and would favor a proclamation instead. Staff was directed to investigate the process for a proclamation. Information Only Information Only 1. General House Keeping · Recommend a Historic Preservation Commission Chair and Vice Chair. Acting Chairperson Myers reported that Chair and Vice Chair are designated by the Village President subject to the approval by the Board of Trustees. To conduct a meeting, an Acting Chair will need to be identified and approved by the Historic Preservation Commission at the start of each meeting in the interim. Mr. Heniff suggested that the Commissioners make recommendations by the end of 2024. · The Historic Preservation Commission meeting start time. Acting Chairperson reported that The Commissioners previously discussed that the Historic Preservation Commission consider meetings to begin at 7:00 p.m. instead of currently at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Heniff suggested if the start time were to be changed for 2024, the regularly scheduled meeting can be cancelled and a special meeting scheduled for a different time. Otherwise, a vote to recommend a time change to the Village Board would not take effect until January 2025. · Agenda delivery preferences. Acting Chairperson Myers asked that Commissioners let staff know how they would like to receive their materials for the meetings. According to other commissions and committees, some individuals prefer not to have paper copies. 2. Budget Update Acting Chairperson Myers referenced the attached budget materials. Mr. Heniff said that the previous Finance Committee of one requested documents from Village staff for distribution. Since the budget documents are for the Historical Society who have their own Finance Committee, it is not necessary for the Commission to have a standing Finance Committee as action Village of Lombard Page 2 Lombard Historic Preservation Minutes January 16, 2024 Commission or voting is not requested. The Commission’s staff liaison can provide documents from the Village Finance Department staff for informational purposes at each meeting. 3. Bylaws Acting Chairperson Myers outlined that the bylaws were last updated in 2016. Mr. Heniff suggested a review by the Village Attorney to ensure compliance with Village Code and State provisions. The Historic Preservation Commission’s ordinance provides the structure of what the Commission does, and the bylaws provide the structure for how to accomplish objectives. The bylaws should not conflict with the ordinance. Acting Chairperson Myers referenced the attached Robert’s Rules of Order guidelines for review. Open Meetings Act training was discussed briefly. Mr. Heniff stated that there are a number of new members on various Village commissions and committees therefore all members will be required to go through the training that is generally an online program. 4. Draft Work Program for 2024 Acting Chairperson Myers explained a software platform that could make the Architectural and Historical Surveys pdf files searchable. Her son created a database. The next steps would be to define criteria to use for searching. This would include coming up with a top ten to use. The database requires a home to be exported. Also, the current photos of the buildings on the front page need to be updated. The photos in the database are saved separately. Another project of note would be to formulate a list of items that could be grant eligible in 2025. Chairperson's Report 1. Certified Local Government Acting Chairperson Myers explained the program. The Village of Lombard applied and met the criteria to become certified local government in December 2017. The program allows property owners the benefit of applying for renovation grants for local landmarks. The State of Illinois also provides resources such as architectural services. 2. Intergovernmental Agreements The Lombard Historical Society and the Village of Lombard have legally delineated responsibilities for the properties used by the Historical Society in two separate Intergovernmental Agreements - one for the Victorian Cottage Museum at 23 W. Maple and one for the Sheldon Peck Homestead at 355 E. Parkside Village of Lombard Page 3 Lombard Historic Preservation Minutes January 16, 2024 Commission Local Landmarks Committee - Eileen Mueller Acting Chairperson Myers discussed the Lombard Historic Preservation Commission section of Village Code. Commissioner vonBokern asked what happens to local landmarks that fall into disrepair. Acting Chairperson Myers responded that a past local landmark, a Lustron home, was renovated without a certificate of appropriateness from the Commission and is no longer a local landmark. Mr. Heniff added that the Downtown TIF grants was a tool to provide assistance for historic preservation of viable uses. If a property is a local landmark either commercial or residential, the permitting software alerts staff that a certificate of appropriateness is required prior to releasing a permit that would allow alterations. Heritage Award - Lyn Myers Acting Chairperson Myers described the William J. Mueller Memorial Heritage Award. Re-tooling the process has been underway in the last year. Applicants were generally solicited in the spring with a decision presented to the Commission at the July meeting. The award was then presented to recipient(s) at an October Village Board meeting since October is history month. Since there is a lead up to requesting community input, the award is tabled for 2024 but will remain on the agenda. Cemetery Acting Chairperson Myers stated that the Lombard cemetery is a local landmark and is officially considered an abandoned cemetery. The cemetery board had dissolved due to age of the members and running out of funds. What money was left was allocated to a monument repair company to continue work to restore head stones. A Cemetery Committee was formed with representatives from the LHPC, LHS, Village of Lombard, Lombard Park District, Lombard Garden Club, VFW to review the needs of the cemetery. Ex-Officio Report - George Seagraves and Alison Costanzo LHS President George Seagraves explained the grant process that made the new addition to the Carriage House possible. The Village fronted the funds with a loan then the State reimbursed the Village when the project was completed. He encouraged all Commissioners to Village of Lombard Page 4 Lombard Historic Preservation Minutes January 16, 2024 Commission call for a tour. Education and fund raising are the Society’s main goals. Activities for attracting attendance to the museums were referenced in the attached report. Adjournment On a motion by Commissioner Smith and seconded by Commissioner Parris and all were in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 9:08 p.m. Village of Lombard Page 5