Historic Commission

Minutes of the City of Wheaton Historic Commission December 20, 2016 Meeting Held at City Hall, Wheaton, Illinois Attendance - Present: Barbara Dutton (Vice Chair), Nancy Flannery (Chair), Maureen Fogerty, Steph McGrath (Secretary), Frank Principe. Absent: Emelie Engling, Tom Kay. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. Public comment: Two visitors were present, Mark Sargis and John Goettsch. Mark Sargis introduced himself to the Commission. He is a lawyer at Bellande & Sargis Law Group, Wheaton, IL. He has practiced environmental, zoning and land use law since 1986. Mr. Sargis also served from 2002 to 2012 on the Wheaton Zoning and Planning Board. Mr. Sargis brought up issues related to the City’s legal contracts with the Wheaton Historic Preservation Council. He will send a summary of his ideas to Nancy who will then distribute it to the Commission. Minutes of the November 15, 2016 meeting were approved following a motion by Frank, seconded by Maureen, and passed unanimously. New Business -Arin Thrower has been rescheduled for the January meeting. She plans to discuss our past publicity and future efforts with the City. Several Commissioners brought up the issue of the importance of keeping in contact with newspaper reporters who cover local preservation issues. -The Commission discussed Landmarks Illinois Most Endangered list application possibilities. The application is due January 17, 2017. Nancy will fill it out. -The Commission continued its discussion of possible new commissioner candidates. Mark Sargis suggested two names. He was encouraged to have them fill out applications per the usual process. -Preservation Crisis updates: --Nancy received a letter from Starbucks in which they replied that they were glad the Warren L Wheaton house was saved from demolition. --Possible future scenarios for the Warren Wheaton house were evaluated. The Commission is still gathering ideas. --John Goettsch discussed the Jarvis Hunt Seven Gables Loretto Convent where he works in maintenance and has a deep knowledge of the facility and its present condition. He reviewed the floorplan and features of all three floors as well as the building’s uses and history. All discussed the options for saving the structure vs saving the structure and land. -Nancy discussed the Illinois Association of Historic Preservation Commissions and Landmarks Illinois memberships. All agreed these memberships and contacts have been very helpful and should be continued. Steph moved and Maureen seconded that we join the IAHPC and it passed unanimously. Nancy will use the historic commission gmail as our contact and forward information to all. -Nancy presented the Commission’s budget for next year and went over the revised budget items. The total allocation of $5,000 will remain the same -Nancy informed the Commission that the brown cultural site sign for the Center for History at Main and Roosevelt has been removed. There used to be one at Main and Geneva, too, but its present status is unknown. New Business -Financial report – Nancy announced that the Commission is on track and will have enough of its budget remaining for the railroad bollard sign. -Local Historic Organization Status – Nancy informed the Commission that the City of Wheaton Historic Commission is not viewed as a local historic organization and thereby does not qualify for a landmarked property exemption from compliance with the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) building code. It was agreed that any historic property that wishes to seek local historic organization status for the exemption needs to apply to the State or the National Trust. Commissioner Comments None Adjournment Frank moved, Maureen seconded, the motion passed unanimously, and the meeting adjourned at 9:04 p.m. Next Meeting: Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 7:00 p.m., City Hall