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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLandmarks Minutes 08-11-21CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION Minutes August 11th, 2021 PRESENT: Shirley Brabender Mattox, Steve Cummings, Gerald Jacklin, Bill Miller, Kristopher Ulrich EXCUSED: Nikki Stoll Olthoff ABSENT: Elizabeth Hintz STAFF AND OTHERS: Steven Wiley, Andrew Smith, Richard Mattheis 1. Call to Order Ms. Brabender Mattox called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m. and a quorum was declared present. 2. Approval of June 23rd, 2021 Meeting Minutes Ms. Brabender Mattox asked the Commission if there were any revisions for the July meeting minutes. No Commissioners had any revisions for the minutes so the Commission voted 4-0 to approve the minutes as written. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked Mr. Mattheis to introduce himself. Mr. Mattheis stated that he was interested in historic buildings and that he learned at the library about the Landmarks Commission. Ms. Brabender Mattox thanked him and welcomed him. 3. 404 W New York – Local Landmarking – Discussion/Action Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that the commission could not take action on this item because the owner of the property was currently in California. The owner had plans to be in Oshkosh later in August. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the property was at the corner of Jackson Street and W New York Avenue. She stated that local landmarking would be a first course of action prior to nominating the property for the National Register. She stated that she had talked with State Historic Preservation Officer Daina Penkiunas regarding the property. Ms. Brabender Mattox provided a brief story of the house for the Commission. She reiterated that since the owner was not in town no action on this item would occur at the August Landmarks meeting. 4. Longfellow Lintel - Discussion Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if Mr. Cummings got in touch with Dave Elbing from the condo association. Mr. Cummings replied that he had not yet but that Kurt Koeppler who was the owner of the property where the lintel was currently located said the Commission could do what it wanted with the lintel. Mr. Cummings stated that ideally the lintel would not be located on City property due to liability concerns. Mr. Miller asked for a synopsis of the lintel project. Mr. Cummings explained that the former Longfellow School was torn down to create room for a parking lot. The lintel was left over from the demolition of the Longfellow School and the Commission had plans to restore the lintel. Mr. Cummings asked Mr. Wiley to see if there was funding available from the Great Neighborhoods program for the project. Ms. Brabender Mattox mentioned that Reinke was originally willing to lift the lintel from its current location, assess, and restore it. Mr. Cummings stated that he would contact Dave Elbing regarding the project. 5. U.S. Cellular Cell Upgrades – 780 High Avenue (UWO Taylor Hall) - Action Mr. Wiley stated that U.S. Cellular was looking to make upgrades to the existing cell equipment on Taylor Hall. He stated that the proposed antennas were of a small size. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the Commission had a four part letter that was usually sent for cell upgrades. Mr. Wiley showed the drawings submitted by the consultant for the proposed upgrades and he explained that the antennas were 11” long by 8” wide by 4” deep. Their small physical sizes would have a minimal visual impact on any nearby historic districts. Mr. Wiley stated that he had a draft letter for Ms. Brabender Mattox to sign if the Commission had no issues with the proposed upgrades. Commissioners did not have concerns with the upgrades and voted 4-0 to support the upgrades as proposed (Cummings/Ulrich). 6. Building Permit Review Ms. Brabender Mattox noted that there were quite a few furnace and A/C permits on the building permit list for July. She raised the question of whether the state would consider A/C separately or as part of a project for tax credits. She was not sure of how this worked so she mentioned that she would follow up with the state. Mr. Ulrich stated that he was happy Andrew Leavitt was putting up cedar fencing at his property at 1337 Washington Avenue. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked about the property at 432 Hazel and what it meant for the owner to install a concrete decorative block uncovered landing. Mr. Wiley stated that it was his understanding that the landing was a raised, uncovered entry platform leading to the front door. No other commissioners had comments on the building permit review so discussion concluded. 7. Acanthus Awards - Update Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the Acanthus Award for 2021 was not yet done and that there were only two weeks between the July and August meetings. Due to the August meeting occurring so close to the July meeting there was no update. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that her goal was to have the Acanthus Award completed within the next month. 8. Historic Preservation Plan – Steven Wiley - Update Mr. Wiley explained that he did not have an update on the plan beyond what was provided at the July meeting. He stated that he would work with Anne Schaefer on the case statement for the project. 9. Historic Survey Ms. Brabender Mattox explained the historic surveys and properties deemed eligible or ineligible for historic designation to Mr. Miller. She stated that property eligibility could change from an earlier survey to a later one. She explained that properties listed or deemed eligible for listing in the registers were eligible for historic tax credits. Oshkosh could also apply for CLG grants for consultants to write National Register nominations. Mr. Ulrich suggested reexamining the eligibility of properties on Jackson Street since the road diet was going in. He stated that examining a potential Hazel Street district and Irving Avenue district was also a possibility. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that the state recommended that Landmarks look at the Bay Shore area. She asked commissioners to come back to the next meeting with more ideas and that the Commission could then take the ideas to the state. Ms. Brabender Mattox recapped that she would look at the Jackson Street area, Mr. Ulrich could look at Irving Avenue, Mr. Jacklin could look at the church across from his home, and Mr. Cummings could look at the Fish/Bay Shore district as potential areas for nominations. 10. Social Media – Discussion/Action Mr. Wiley stated that he had no updates since the last major posting which was for the historic plaque presentation at 1321 Porter Avenue. Mr. Ulrich stated that he liked the article in the Herald that was done for the Porter property. Mr. Ulrich asked if the Herald was looking for contributions. He suggested that the Commission could do a revolving column where perhaps each commissioner would write a column once per week. Mr. Jacklin suggested an alternative of once per month. Mr. Ulrich asked the other commissioners if they would contribute every week to a revolving column. Mr. Miller and Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that weekly might be too often. Mr. Ulrich stated that the column could occur at a lessor frequency and that he would reach out to the Herald on this. 11. Wisconsin Historical Society – Commissioner Training – Discussion Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the current training chapter was on finances. She explained to Mr. Miller that the Wisconsin Historical Society had 10 chapters of training and was working on an 11th chapter. She stated that Wisconsin’s training was unique. Mr. Miller explained that Mr. Cummings had asked him if he could get some funding for the Landmarks Commission. Mr. Miller had secured $5,000 after talking to Mark Rohloff. If the Commission needed more funding Mr. Miller could go back but $5,000 was a start. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that paid staff was important. She stated that smaller communities often had to hire out. She stated that books and resources were mentioned in the training and that years back the Inspections Division used to be “cookie cutter” in their handling of permit requests regardless of historic status. She stated that if the Commission could prove historic details, etc. this was useful in the permitting process. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if Landmarks had a library. Mr. Wiley explained that Planning had a library where several books were kept. Mr. Jacklin suggested that architecture/design materials be stored in planning for easy access during the permit process. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the biggest thing Landmarks did was try to get properties on the National Register. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked the Commission what everyone thought about the funding Mr. Miller secured. Commissioners replied that they were not aware that Mr. Miller secured $5,000. Mr. Miller stated that selling a specific need was easier than stating that the Commission needed a budget. Discussion then concluded on the training. 12. Commissioner Statements a. Historic Building Code Discussion – Steve Cummings Mr. Cummings did not have an update for this item but that he still wanted a workshop with Paul Porter from the Wisconsin Historical Society. He stated that the City needed to differentiate between pre and post WWII homes because there were differences between these homes. b. 303 Washington Avenue – William Waters Home – Shirley Brabender Mattox Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the buyer was planning to close August 30th for this property. She stated that the home was originally built for Dr. Corbett and was designed by William Waters. Tim Neubauer was one of the buyers and Ms. Brabender Mattox referred the buyers to Mr. Wiley. She stated that the buyers did not know anything about historic properties but that they contacted Terry Laib who was happy to meet with them. The byers had plans to live at the property. Mr. Ulrich asked what the timeframe was for the buyers to move. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the buyers hoped to have work done within 6-9 months. 13. Agenda Items for Next Meeting (September 8th, 2021: 3 PM in City Hall Room 203) Mr. Wiley stated that he was directed to ask the Commissioners whether they wanted a virtual or in- person meeting format for upcoming meetings. He asked if the Commission wanted to go back to virtual meetings moving forward. The Commission discussed the meeting format and came to a consensus that if members and attendees were masked Commissioners were comfortable meeting in- person. Ongoing items such as the Longfellow Lintel and 404 W New York landmarking projects would be back on the meeting agenda for September. 14. Outstanding Issues Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that Landmarks was involved with the Chief Oshkosh signage project since 2015. She mentioned that she and Mr. Cummings had visited with the tribe twice and met with David Grignon and Douglas Cox of the Menominee Nation. Mr. Cummings provided background for Mr. Miller. He stated that initially he had lunch with Bill Heaney and that he had known Mr. Heaney for a long time. The conversation started and Mr. Heaney wrote the City a $5,000 check. Mr. Cummings had said that he wanted the tribe to assist in writing their history and that the tribe was in agreement at the meeting. Progress did not occur for a while after the initial meeting with the tribe. Mr. Cummings stated that Alexa Naudziunas in Planning was initially involved and went up for the first visit with the tribe. Mr. Cummings stated that he later involved Dennis Zack who used to work at UW-Oshkosh and that he, Ms. Brabender Mattox, Mr. Zack, and Mr. Wiley went up to meet with the tribe. Mr. Zack subsequently involved Pascale Manning from the university and that the project then expanded to four markers. The fifth plaque was later added and was controversial. Mr. Cummings was supportive of saying that the statue was not a good representation of Chief Oshkosh but rather an Italian sculptor’s interpretation of Chief Oshkosh. Mr. Miller asked to have the latest draft of the text sent to him. Mr. Cummings stated that Colonel Hicks had good intentions when he commissioned the statue. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that some artistic license was taken by the sculptor when completing the statue. At the last Landmarks meeting Landmarks had agreed to meet with the DEI committee. Ms. Brabender Mattox informed the Commission that she had met with Mr. Rohloff, Mayor Palmeri, and the DEI Chair. At the meeting the DEI Chair believed Landmarks was not willing to meet and Ms. Brabender Mattox had the DEI Chair re-read the minutes from the previous Landmarks meeting. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that the previous meeting minutes reflected the interest of the Landmarks Commission to meeting with the DEI Committee. Ms. Brabender Mattox read Mr. Rohloff’s email from 08/11 into the record. Mr. Miller asked if it made sense to involve Parks in the discussion. Mr. Jacklin stated that he watched the last Advisory Parks Board meeting and that Parks was more interested in how the plaques were installed in the park. Mr. Miller asked why the tribe did not write their story and why a third party did so. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that she wished she had a tape recorder when she and others went up to meet with the tribe. Mr. Cummings stated that he was willing to go back up with a tape recorder. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the Menominee showed their history from their own site. Mr. Miller stated that it was appropriate to have the tribe provide their own words. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the Commissioners would receive an email from Diane Moran in the City Manager’s office regarding a joint meeting with DEI. Mr. Cummings stated that Landmarks should control the Hicks monuments. Ms. Brabender Mattox replied that Colonel Hicks trusted the Library and that it was in his will that the Library control the Hicks funds. Discussion concluded on the Chief Oshkosh project. 15. Adjournment Mr. Ulrich made a motion to adjourn and Mr. Miller seconded. Meeting adjourned at 4:57 pm (5-0). Recorded by: Steven Wiley, AICP, Associate Planner