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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9.13.2023 Minutes Landmarks Commission If you are unable to attend this meeting, notify staff (920-236-5059). If anyone requires reasonable ADA accommodations, please contact the office of Planning Services at andersonrach@ci.oshkosh.wi.us or 920-236-5059. CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION Minutes September 13, 2023 PRESENT: Shirley Brabender Mattox, Paulette Feld, Sara Stichert, Kristopher Ulrich, Steve Cummings, and Gerald Jacklin ABSENT: Nikki Stoll Olthoff STAFF: Amy Fels, Museum Archivist and Jeffrey Witte, Principal Planner Meeting Minutes: 1) Call to Order Meeting called to order by Shirley Brabender Mattox at 3:01 pm. Jeffrey Witte stated that he needed to leave the meeting at 3:30 pm. Kristopher Ulrich arrived to the meeting at 3:10 pm. 2) Approval of August 9th, 2023 Meeting Minutes Ms. Feld motioned to approve the minutes and was seconded by Mr. Cummings. Minutes were unanimously approved. 3) Public Comment No public comments were presented. 4) Review City Ordinances Related to Landmarks Commission a. Chapter 2-48(B) Duties, Purposes and Functions b. Chapter 30-447(A) Purpose c. Define Strategic Priorities Mr. Cummings stated he wanted to discuss this topic following decisions by the City of Oshkosh to close and demolish Merrill School and Webster Stanley School. He raised questions regarding what type of input and power the State of Wisconsin gives Landmarks Commissions in these types of matters, because he feels that the Commission should be more involved in the decision-making process. Mr. Witte and Ms. Brabender Mattox explained the City ordinance regarding local landmarking that gives the Commission some authority over historic buildings. Outside of that ordinance, the Commission’s role is advisory. Ms. Brabender Mattox expressed a wish to have a larger seat at the table with the City Planning department and for City council members to take more interest in Commission activities. Ms. Stichert stated she felt that they as Commission members should have been more proactive in getting involved with the board created regarding the Merrill School referendum. Ms. Feld echoed the sentiment, adding that committees were created for public input in the very early stages of the If you are unable to attend this meeting, notify staff (920-236-5059). If anyone requires reasonable ADA accommodations, please contact the office of Planning Services at andersonrach@ci.oshkosh.wi.us or 920-236-5059. process years before a final decision was made. Mr. Jacklin stated that preliminary steps had been made to have Merrill School placed on the State and National Register of Historic Places prior to the referendum. Ms. Fels commented that this agenda item was also designed to help the Commission take steps to determine and organize their actionable priorities moving forward to be as efficient and impactful as possible. Discussion followed regarding possibly strengthening or adjusting the landmarks ordinance, as well as the mural painting ordinance. The idea was raised of possibly having a working session to discuss the ordinance and potential changes. 5) Initial Agenda Items 7 (a) and (b) Agenda Items 7 (a) and (b) were moved forward to accommodate Mr. Witte’s need to leave the meeting early. Mr. Witte stated that he had not yet reached out to the Grand Opera House for a report on their current plans. He will contact Joe Ferlo of the Grand Opera House to invite him to attend an upcoming meeting. Mr. Witte presented building permits received by the City for the Commission to review and stated he was not aware of any potential issues with the permits. The Commission thanked Mr. Witte, who then left. 6) Certified Local Government Program Historic Preservation Fund Subgrant Application a. Letter of Intent for Nomination of two properties to the State and National Register of Historic Places Ms. Brabender Mattox reported that the owner of the Baumann Block building at 1124- 1128 Oregon Street is already in the process of having the building nominating to the National Register of Historic Places and will be paying the associated fees herself. Ms. Brabender Mattox then reached out to the owner of Oaks Candy at 1200 Oregon, who was supportive of having his building nominated to the National Register by the Commission. Ms. Brabender Mattox presented a list of buildings considered potentially eligible for listing on the National Register to the Commissioners. Discussion followed regarding which property should be nominated by the Commission alongside Oaks Candy, in place of the Baumann Block building. Commission members then chose three properties to consider: Ardy and Ed’s Drive In at 2413 S. Main Street; August Horn House at 1650 Doty Street; State Exchange Bank at 913 Oregon Street. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated she would check each property to see how much historical integrity remains and do additional research. 7) Commissioner Statements a. Oshkosh Herald Article Updates Mr. Ulrich discussed his article that was most recently published. Ms. Stichert and Ms. Feld discussed their upcoming article as part of their continuing series on where to do house history research. They stated this would be the If you are unable to attend this meeting, notify staff (920-236-5059). If anyone requires reasonable ADA accommodations, please contact the office of Planning Services at andersonrach@ci.oshkosh.wi.us or 920-236-5059. last in the series and that they would include a summary at the end. Mr. Ulrich noted that the Commissioners needed to generate a new set of topics for the last few months of the year, and a discussion took place. Mr. Ulrich expressed a desire to write about “kit” houses that could be ordered through a catalog. Mr. Jacklin proposed writing about why Oshkosh was chosen as a film location for the movie Public Enemies as a way to illustrate why saving historic structures matters and to motivate people to be interested in historic houses. Mr. Cummings said he would like to continuing writing about the industrial buildings that were once located on the Fox River. Ms. Brabender Mattox commented that it may be better to focus on buildings that are still standing in the city, rather than those that are gone, so that the Commission does not overlap with the county historical society in terms of its content. b. Lewis Hine Working Group Updates The working group scheduled another meeting to work on the project together on September 28th at 3:00 pm. c. Wisconsin Historical Society 2023 Fall Local History and Historic Preservation Commission Conference Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that Mr. Jacklin will be attending the conference, held in La Crosse, WI. She reiterated that if any other Commission members wished to attend, she would pay the registration fee. d. Wisconsin Association of Historic Preservation Commissions September 2023 Newsletter Ms. Brabender Mattox asked the Commissioners if they had all received the latest newsletter via email and spoke briefly about its content. Mr. Jacklin noted that it may have gone to Commissioners’ junk mail folder if they did not see it, as his did. e. National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC) Short Summer Course Report Ms. Brabender Mattox advised waiting for Ms. Stoll Olthoff to be in attendance before discussing this item further, since they both participated in the course. Ms. Fels asked to clarify if this item should be put on the next agenda, and Ms. Brabender Mattox affirmed. f. Update on potential Section 106 Review for Jackson/Oregon Street Bridge Ms. Brabender Mattox spoke with a consultant working on the bridge project. She asked the Commissioners if they would be interesting touring the Park Plaza structure with Chris Larson to learn what historic elements remain ahead of submitting a report to the state for nominating it to the historic register with the intention of making sure the new bridge would not impact the historic integrity of the building. All Commission members with the exception of Mr. Cummings expressed interest in scheduling a visit. If you are unable to attend this meeting, notify staff (920-236-5059). If anyone requires reasonable ADA accommodations, please contact the office of Planning Services at andersonrach@ci.oshkosh.wi.us or 920-236-5059. g. Review Historic Resources Survey 2006 - potentially eligible properties The Commissioners agreed that this item had been covered in the earlier discussion during Item 6 (a). 8) Staff Liaison Report a. Monthly Building Permit Report b. Grand Opera House Expansion Update c. Agenda Items for Next Meeting National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC) Short Summer Course Report 9) Adjournment Mr. Cummings motioned to adjourn and Mr. Jacklin seconded at 4:33 pm.