Historic Commission

Minutes of the City of Wheaton Historic Commission DRAFT August 18, 2015 Meeting Held at City Hall, Wheaton, Illinois Attendance Present: Barbara Dutton, Emelie Engling, Nancy Flannery (Chair), Steph McGrath (Secretary) Absent: Maureen Fogerty, Tom Kay, Greg Morrison, Frank Principe, Bob Shuster There was no quorum The meeting was called to order by Nancy at 7:16 p.m. Public Comment None Approval of July meeting minutes Review and approval of the minutes of the July 15, 2015 was deferred until the September meeting. Note: Due to inclement weather, including a tornado watch, strong thunderstorm, tornado warning, and eventually the sirens sounding, the published agenda was not followed in chronology. Theme for 2016 Preservation Week – 25th anniversary of the City of Wheaton Historic Commission Nancy announced that while she and Steph were reviewing old minutes at city hall, they realized the commission has a big landmark anniversary to celebrate next year. Nancy has been working on compiling a list of past commissioners with the hope of including them in the celebration. She passed copies around. Bollards -Railroad bollard images update Nancy reviewed her efforts in locating a photo of the 1970s train station. She met with West Chicago City Museum staff and additionally has found one potential, but uncredited, image in a local history. Steph knew the author, now deceased, but can check the archives where the author’s papers were donated. -List of future bollards Steph noted technical difficulties delaying access to her list of future/potential topics. New plaque vendor sheet Nancy passed out a draft fact sheet “How to purchase a plaque for your historic home.” List of scanned brochures/documents Nancy passed around a list detailing her efforts to digitize various Historic Commission records and resources. Emelie said she has extra copies of the reprint version of “Wheaton and Its Homes” to share. Landmarks Illinois preservation survey Nancy and Barbara presented the Landmarks Illinois survey for review. Commissioners were urged to take the survey as individuals, if interested. Both noted that some of the questions were very technical/in jargon. Funds expenditure Nancy said she had purchased some replacement Pride in Preservation sign holders. Update on 8/5/15 Wheaton Downtown Design Review Board meeting Steph reviewed the Downtown Design Review Board meeting she attended as the Historic Commission liaison. The request is to paint the original, never painted, brick façade and limestone trim of 111-113 N Main Street, whereas the Downtown Design Guidelines provide for brick to be left unpainted. Staff recommended the request to paint the façade be denied. Steph said she had asked questions about the stated attempts to clean the brick and limestone trim, and spoke against painting the brick and trim. The applicant mentioned they might not want to paint the limestone trim, but absolutely wanted to paint over all the brick. Steph noted the applicant’s use of phrases such as “tired and worn out” and “fresh look,” and had suggested they instead embrace the historic character by rebranding it “patina.” A motion was made to allow the brick façade to be painted, but as there was no second, the motion did not go to a vote. Even though the Board had a quorum with four present, two members were absent, so the owner’s representative asked if it would be possible to meet again. The Board agreed to reconvene at a later date. Steph passed around photos of the existing building façade, two proposed designs using paint, and three other downtown painted facades, explaining why the latter had been allowed. Historic Commission members concurred that the brick looked great as is and were mystified at the suggestion by the applicant that painting over the brick would somehow call out the detail of the brick. They were encouraged to attend the meeting and voice their opinions as public comment. FOIA Response Nancy noted she had seen mention in past minutes that there were electronic copies of the old applications and said she would find that reference for us to include in our response letter to the Center for History. Sears Houses in Wheaton There was a brief mention regarding Sears houses in Wheaton. Landmark application changes Nancy and Steph discussed some needed changes to the application form, format, and language. Based on returned applications there needs to be better clarity about the applicant providing a narrative, and not just documentation, detailing WHY their property merits landmarking for their chosen criteria. We also need to follow up on some applicants and others in the research process saying that built dates had been provided to them by county offices. Both Nancy and Steph wondered if this reflected a review of the yearly historic tax records or merely referencing the Milton Township Assessor’s database which is frequently incorrect as it is not research based. It might also help to change to a more user friendly language as the current form seems more directed to those with architectural, preservation, or social history training. The same questions and concepts can be requested, just in a more accessible language. Steph noted that when crafting the new program application form and packet, the Commission understood that it would probably need to reevaluate everything after there had been some initial applicants to test things. The following agenda items were not addressed: -Fund-raising by commission issue (response by City) -Mission of the Historic Commission – what is the purpose of the Commission? -Future projects -Financial Report -Wheaton history trivia questions request -Commissioner Comments The meeting concluded at 9:05 p.m. NEXT MEETING: September 15, 2015