Historic Commission

Minutes of the City of Wheaton Historic Commission February 16, 2016 Meeting Held at City Hall, Wheaton, Illinois Attendance- Present: Barbara Dutton (Vice Chair), Emelie Engling, Nancy Flannery (Chair), Maureen Fogerty, Tom Kay, Steph McGrath (Secretary), Greg Morrison, Frank Principe. Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm. Minutes of the January 19, 2016 meeting were approved following a motion made by Maureen, seconded by Frank, and passed unanimously. -Public Comment None Old Business -Gardens project Maureen and Barbara met with the staff at DuPage County Historical Museum (DCHM) and the Wheaton Park District (WPD). They still need to contact the horticulturalist at Cantigny. They plan to hold an event at DCHM with speakers for a panel discussion. The Commission considered possible dates for event, but it will depend on speaker availability. The Commission also discussed posters for PR use. Maureen complimented Barbara on her Parks poster design which Barbara will bring to the next Commission meeting. - Foulis brothers golf talk Nancy informed the Commission that Bob Jacobsen will give a talk on the Foulis brothers and golf in Wheaton on Saturday, May 14 from 10am to noon at the Wheaton cemetery at the Foulis family plot. Discussion ensued regarding a canopy or tent. Emelie volunteered to look into using the Friends of Wheaton Library’s canopy. -Home History Research Steph will check with the Wheaton Public Library (WPL) for staff and site availability to host this year’s Home History Research events in April and/or May. Nancy volunteered to help with this event. Steph will get back to the Commission with the final dates. Nancy reported that DCHM is reviewing the possibility of scanning the originals of 1882 bird’s eye view drawing and 1906 captive air ship photo for research use during the Home History events. -Letters Nancy asked for volunteers to help stuff letters being sent to owners of landmarked properties. They need to go out in March. It was agreed that she will bring the letters and envelopes to the next meeting for everyone to help. -Signs The Pride in Preservation signs will be put out by commission members and be up from May 13 to 23. Greg will create distribution maps and bring them to the March meeting. Nancy will send Greg the landmark properties list prior to the March meeting. -May meeting Due to a scheduling conflict of the Marcellus Jones talk, the Commission will meet on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 instead of its regular date. -25th anniversary of Historic Commission The Commission decided to hold a special event in June or the summer to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Historic Commission. -Wheaton Register of Historic Places Nomination Form The issue of privacy of contact information on the landmark applications was discussed: name, address, email and phone number. Nancy reported the opinion of the city attorney. It is our choice to disclose or not disclose this information. Greg moved to keep email and phone numbers private and Tom seconded. The motion was passed unanimously. Additional revisions on the Wheaton Register of Historic Places application were completed. Nancy will mail the revised form to members of the Commission for review. -Historic Site Marker The Commission discussed options for the layout of the downtown railroad sign and decided to continue with Nameplate for sign production and use MetalArt for installation. Steph will contact Nameplate for a design draft. -Commissioner opening The Commission still has one opening. Nancy asked for names of potential candidates. New Business -Financial Report No expenditures were made this past month. Nancy reminded the Commissioners to encumber Preservation Month projects and event costs before May. -DCHM Foundation The Commission has been invited by the DCHM Foundation and staff to meet and discuss partnering for future events and projects. The Commission accepted the invitation with pleasure. Commissioner Comments -Frank reported on his latest local history explorations. -Nancy questioned the linking of certain properties on the Wheaton Register of Historic Properties as having Foulis associations. She presented US census data which indicated that two properties might not have been Foulis residences. Steph suggested that more research needed to be done and that the category of historical associations could mean more than property ownership. Adjournment Greg moved to adjourn, Emelie seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:07 pm. Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 7:00 pm, City Hall