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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLandmarks Minutes 09.11.2024CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION Minutes September 11th, 2024 PRESENT: Shirley Brabender Mattox, Sara Stichert, Paulette Feld, Nikki Stoll Olthoff, Steve Cummings, Vicky Redlin, and Council Member Jacob Floam ABSENT: Gerald Jacklin STAFF: Amy Fels, Museum Archivist Agenda: 1) Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 3:00pm. 2) Approval of August 14th Meeting Minutes Councilmember Floam motioned to approve the August minutes, and Mr. Cummings seconded. The minutes were approved unanimously by voice vote. 3) 413 N. Main Street Historic Plaque Application Ms. Brabender Mattox provided the Commission with an update regarding the plaque and its corresponding event. Due to backlog at the foundry caused by an equipment failure, the final plaque will not be done in time for the event on September 26, but there will be a facsimile present. The event will begin at 4:00, with the formal plaque presentation taking place at 4:30. Ms. Stoll Olthoff offered her assistance if Ms. Brabender Mattox needed any help with setting up for the event. There will be a series of prints of Lewis Hine photographs on display inside Jambalaya. Ms. Brabender Mattox hopes the event will be open to the public until 7:00 in the evening and encouraged as many Commissioners who can attend as possible to do so. She stated she may give a talk at the event. 4) WHS Certified Legal Government (CLG) Grant Application Letter of Intent Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that she believes the Commission will have the greatest chance of success by submitting a letter of intent to apply for a grant to nominate a historic district, rather than doing an archaeological survey or attempting to list a single building. There are two districts in the city considered eligible at this time, one on Elmwood Avenue, and the 500 Block of Hazel Street, between Merritt Avenue and Parkway Avenue. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated the majority of properties on Hazel Street are owner-occupied, rather than rented, which increases the Commission’s chance of a successful application. She stated she will contact Jason Tisch at SHPO to inquire how much communication is required with the homeowners before submitting the application. Ms. Stoll Olthoff motioned to proceed with applying for a CLG Grant to nominate the Hazel Street Historic District to the National and State Historic Registers. Councilmember Floam seconded, and the motion was approved unanimously by voice vote. 5) Merrill School and Sacred Heart School – Wisconsin Historical Society Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that it is customary that a building that is historically eligible is set to be razed, it is customary to photograph the interior and exterior and submit those photos to the Wisconsin Historical Society for their files. The consulting firm hired by the school district to look at Merrill School will be submitting the photos they took of the property to the state. Ms. Brabender Mattox contacted Andy Ratchman, of Camera Casino, who took photographs of Sacred Heart for the church community, and he will be creating a specific file of his photographs of the Sacred Heart School to send to Ms. Brabender Mattox that she will then forward on to the state. Councilmember Floam stated that the status of Merrill School is still somewhat in limbo, because the Common Council recently rejected the school district’s plan for a new athletic field, and until plans are approved, he does not believe the building can be razed. 6) UWO Multicultural Center Renovations (Wall House) Mr. Cummings spoke about having driven past the UWO Multicultural Center, the former Wall House, at 751 Algoma Boulevard over the weekend. Mr. Cummings was concerned about the significant scope of work being done, including window replacements, and the fact that the project never came to the Landmarks Commission, despite the building being listed on the National Register both individually and as part of district. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated she contacted the State Historic Preservation Office, since the university is state-owned property, so all projects would have to go past SHPO. She is awaiting a response. Ms. Feld suggested contacting the university’s facilities department. The Commissioners questioned if the university was required to submit projects to the City since they are state-owned property. Councilmember Floam stepped out to ask Jeffrey Witte from City Planning that question, and Mr. Witte came in to inform the Commission that the university does not have submit permits to City Planning; they go directly to the state. Mr. Witte stated that he knows of the contract company doing the work and that they have worked on historic properties in the past. The Commissioners thanked Mr. Witte for his help, and he left. 7) Marketing Historic Tax Credits Mr. Cummings stated that, following his house appearing in a Herald article, he wants to change how they speak to the public about using tax credits for home projects. He believes that it is important to emphasize that tax credits can be used for smaller projects on modest homes, not simply just massive undertakings on large, grand houses. He stated that people who tackle very large projects likely have the money to do so anyway; the tax credits would be a more significant financial benefit to homeowners of more modest means. Mr. Cummings asked how the Commission can get more people involved in the program to benefit from the tax credits. Ms. Redlin suggested using the Commission’s Facebook page consistently to reach out to the members of the community who are active on social media and inform them that the tax credits can be used for things life roofs, heaters, etc. Councilmember Floam asked Ms. Brabender Mattox if she has a good contact at the Wisconsin Historical Society to ask about getting some pre-made historic preservation and tax credit informational marketing materials that the Commission to provide to community members. Ms. Brabender Mattox reminded the Commissioners that a property must be considered eligible to a historic register to qualify to historic tax credits. Ms. Brabender Mattox recalled a Herald article Mr. Cummings had written in the past on tax credits and suggested reusing them and posting them on Facebook. Ms. Fels suggested that re-running the article in the newspaper may also be useful to reach new readers who may not have seen it originally. Mr. Cummings stated he would be happy to talk to people about the program, because it is not as complicated as it may seem. Ms. Redlin suggested being present at the next OshHop event hosted by the Oshkosh Public Museum, since many of the past year’s attendees asked questions about historic preservation and preserving their homes. The Commissioners also spoke in favor of using ready-made media materials provided by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked that this item be included on next month’s agenda for continued discussion and proposed the possibility of having someone from the state come speak to the community. Ms. Stoll Olthoff also suggested, when posting old articles to the Facebook page, to include images of the actual article, and then include a link to the full article within the Herald to make it as easy as possible for people to see. Ms. Feld said it would be a good idea to let the Herald know so they’re aware. 8) Oshkosh Herald Article Topics Ms. Brabender Mattox stated she will write an article on Lewis Hine for September to coincide with the upcoming plaque dedication and celebration at 413 N. Main Street. She also stated, in agreement with the other Commissioners, that she will write an article on architect Welton Becket and his designing of the Park Plaza Mall for October, since the structure has been a recent topic of community interest and discussion. The proposal to use it for storage units has been temporarily put on hold, and it was recently proposed that it could potentially be the new home of Oshkosh City Hall, since the City is looking to find a more suitable facility that its current location in the old high school. 9) Commissioner Statements a. WHS Local History & Historic Preservation Conference Oct. 16-18 Ms. Brabender Mattox reminded the Commissioners of the upcoming WHS Local History & Historic Preservation conference in Appleton. She stated she would pay the registration fees for any member interested in attending. 10) Staff Liaison Report a. Monthly Building Permit Report No monthly permit report was received for this month. b. Agenda Items for Next Meeting WHS CLG Grant Application, Marketing Historic Tax Credits, Oshkosh Herald articles 11) Adjournment Councilmember Floam motioned to adjourn the meeting, and Ms. Feld seconded. The meeting adjourned at 4:15.