Historic Commission

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 Gamon Room, City Hall I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:02 pm Present In-person – Louise Ferrebee (Chair), Bob Purdy (Secretary), Mike Hill (Treasurer), Debra Corwin, Nancy Flannery, Syed Hussain, Elizabeth Krecisz Absent – Jackson Metcalf II. Public Comments None III. Approval of September Meeting Minutes Approved on a motion by Syed, seconded by Bob, and passed unanimously. IV. Treasurer Report None V. Welcome New Commissioners VI. Old Business A. Publicity  New promotional brochures and business cards. Louise presented the final drafts of both items. 500 Historic Commission brochures will be printed and 250 business cards will be printed.  October 23 Talk: Cemeteries of Wheaton. 79 have registered. Library continues to promote via email, and flyers have been placed at DuPage Historical Museum. The Commission will have an information table at meeting room entrance.  Table at Library. Was tentatively planned for October 19, but now will be considered for a Saturday next April, to promote Preservation Month events.  Presence at DuPage Museum “Evening with Geoffrey Baer” November 6. We will be delivering Historic Commission brochures for display and distribution at the event.  Name Tags. Debra will be pursuing options for name tags for Historic Commissioners to wear at events. B. Permanent Historic Markers  Memorial Park markers. Two of the three markers that were removed are being reinstalled. The third one, depicting the site of the Elbert H. Gary home, is of an older design and will remain in storage at the Mary Lubko Center.  Updated brochure. Louise hopes to have a final draft ready for approval at the November meeting. C. Downtown Design Review Board – new appointee. Tabled until November.  D. Website: New “Researching Your Home” page. This was live as of October 7. The introductory information will be very useful to homeowners who are considering Historic Register applications. VII. New Business A. 2024 Annual Report and 2025 Budget. Commissioners reviewed the final edits and Louise will be submitting the report along with the 2025 budget as required. B. Commission Handbook review. Many additions and updates were made to our internal how-to guide, based on our work and activity this year. This guide will be especially useful to newly-elected chairs, vice-chairs, secretaries, and treasurers going forward. The Task Lists for Preservation Month events and activities are a new feature; they should greatly help in delegating the work and avoiding missed deadlines. C. Preservation Month Lecture Topic/Presenter. Bob will be following up with Beth Petti of Trinity Episcopal Church. At our June meeting she agreed to a May 2025 lecture presentation about the plans for the 150th anniversary of the church. D. Event for Historic Register property owners and potential applicants. Debra will develop ideas for a Commission event, possibly held at DuPage Museum or WPL, to share information, experiences, and methods. VIII. Updates A. Walking Tour of Main Street – What is possible with GIS Map? This is being pursued with City IT personnel and others. B. Smith 1916 (Sandburg) Building & 101 W Front Street (Starbucks) Building. Bob is attempting to learn more about plans and ownership of the 101 W Front St building, which is a Historic Register property. With the planned departure of Starbucks to the Smith (Sandberg) building (which is not on the Historic Register), there may be other plans for 101 W Front building and tenants following the recent exterior work. IX. Commissioner Comments None X. Adjournment Elizabeth moved to adjourn, Nancy seconded. The meeting concluded at 8:38 pm. XI. Next Meeting: Tuesday, November 19, 2024. No December meeting. Respectfully submitted, Robert Purdy Secretary 2