Historic Commission

FINAL Minutes of Wheaton Historic Commission January 20, 2015 Meeting at Wheaton City Hall, Wheaton, Ill. In attendance: Nancy Flannery (Chair), Tom Kay, Bob Shuster, Greg Morrison, and Barbara Dutton (Secretary). Absent: Trent Nichols (Vice Chair), Emelie Engling, Steph McGrath Guests: Local history enthusiast Frank Principe brought some items of potential interest to the Commission, including a Center for History newsletter, and a program about a time capsule he discovered among postal records. Nancy inquired about scanning and she’d be interested in organizing volunteers to perform scanning of historic documents. The meeting was called to order by Nancy at 7:06p.m. Minutes of the December 16, 2014 meeting were approved following a motion made by Bob and seconded by Greg. Old Business It was decided to defer a discussion of a home history research program to host at the Library, as Steph was not attendance. Website: Nancy thanked Greg for sending to the City changes for the Commission’s section of the City website; Greg reported that the changes had been made. They include a link to the historic overlay district statute and the slideshow depicting landmark properties in the community. Wheaton Register of Historic Places (WRHP): Regarding a list of landmarks in the WRHP, a discussion ensued as to what information to include. Since there are “gaps” in information that the Commission has on landmark structures, it was thought that maybe the list might just name properties, while it is determined whether the Commission might be able to obtain applications (that presumably include listing criteria) from the Center for History. Nancy expressed that she is leaning toward listing property address, date of construction, architectural style, and if, pertinent, the name of any prominent citizen that might have resided at the property. Nancy will email the Commission a list of headings for consideration on such a list to get feedback to achieve consensus. Bob said that maybe only basic facts be listed, along with a statement indicating that further information was available in files. Discussion of a design of a certificate of landmark was tabled, since Trent has the file and is absent from the meeting. Bollards: Greg observed that the Masonic Temple bollard looked “off kilter;” Nancy will ask Mayor Gresk about installation assistance. New Business Future Events: Plans for Preservation Week 2015 were discussed. Bob related an exchange that he had with Paul Herbert, director of the First Division Museum at Cantigny, about potential delivering a talk, an idea that looked like it wasn’t feasible for this year’s event. Bob will ask David Maas, a former Wheaton College professor with whom he is acquainted about possibly being a lecturer. Nancy thought that a walking tour in collaboration with the DuPage History Museum might be an event to consider, and will contact the Museum about joint efforts. Barbara voiced that the celebration might be an appropriate time to introduce the historic bicycle tour that has been in the works. She is also to see if she can ascertain the date of the annual Memorial Day commemoration held by the Friends of Pioneer Cemeteries. Another event discussed was holding a dedication of the bollard placed at the Wheaton Masonic Temple. Nancy expressed that perhaps an event announcement would be in order as a public relations step in promoting Preservation Week. FINAL Nancy reported that she is awaiting a response from Sharon at the City who is checking with legal counsel as to guidance on a remote attendance policy that would allow a Commission member who is out of town to participate in a meeting via technology connection. Tom motioned to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Bob, the motion was approved by vote, and the meeting concluded at 8:03 p.m.