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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.08.2025 Landmarks Commission Minutes CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION Minutes January 8th, 2025 PRESENT: Shirley Brabender Mattox, Sara Stichert, Paulette Feld, Vicky Redlin, Steve Cummings, Nikki Stoll Olthoff, and Council Member Jacob Floam ABSENT: Gerald Jacklin Staff: Emma Eisner, Museum Registrar and Jeffrey Witte, Principal Planner Agenda: 1) Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 3:05pm. 2) Approval of December 11th Meeting Council member Floam motioned to approve the December minutes, and Ms. Redlin seconded. The minutes were approved unanimously by voice vote. 3) Annual Report Ms. Brabender Mattox asked Mr. Witte about the status of the Annual Report. Mr. Witte stated he is currently working on a standardized draft. Ms. Brabendar Mattox stated that any conferences, trainings, webinars, and site visits are very important to add to the report. This report will go to the City Council and the State, and this report is also important when applying for grants. Ms. Brabendar Mattox stated that the weakest area for the Landmarks Commission is Local Landmarking, and further discussion continued on the subject. Council Member Floam stated he would like the new City Manager to sit in on one of the Landmarks meetings as soon as she gets on board. Ms. Redlin left the meeting at 4:03pm, however, before she left, she updated the group on an upcoming workshop at the Oshkosh Public Museum Arts and Culture Board for public art policy that she would be participating in. Additionally, OshHop will be hosted by the museum again and Landmarks may be interested in working with the museum this year on the program. Discussion continued. 4) Acanthus Awards Ms. Brabender Mattox introduced background information for the commission regarding the Acanthus Awards this year. There are three new categories and a word change for one category; from retention to restoration of a residential or commercial building. She then opened for discussion of proposed Acanthus Awards for 2025. Ms. Redlin proposed the County Court House and Council Member Floam agreed with her proposal. Further discussion of the Court House proposal continued. Council Member Floam proposed the Human Services Building on Washington which was the Wisconsin Nation Life building as another possible Acanthus Award. Ms. Brabender Mattox proposed the Baumann Block that has been recently listed on the state’s national register, and further discussion of the proposal continued. Ms. Feld proposed Reichenberger’s Food Market, now Thunderbird Bakery, and suggested that it would fall under the category of adaptation or possibly reuse because it is not a new structure but they kept the front of the building intact. Discussion continued regarding other potential buildings for Acanthus Awards. Mr. Witte later proposed a home near the lake on Washington that recently restored their historic porch for an Acanthus Award. Ms. Brabender Mattox compiled all proposed into a list and will continue to discuss further at the next meeting. 5) WHS Certified Legal Government (CLG) Grant Application- Hazel Street Historic District Ms. Brabender Mattox updated the Commissioners that she submitted the grant by the deadline. The group discussed this and then Ms. Brabender Mattox announced that the results of the grants will be February 21st 2025 after the next meeting. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the Commissioners have supported the grant but an official motion was never made so she asked for a formal motion to be made. Council Member Floam moved to formally apply for the WHS Certified Legal Government Grant – Hazel Street Historic District 500 Block of Hazel and 1100 Block of Parkway. Mr. Cumming’s seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously by voice vote. 6) Historic Plaque Application a. Oshkosh Great Fire (Research) Ms. Brabender Mattox has contacted the Oshkosh Community Foundation for setting up a fund for the plaques and it is under review. She further discussed research she has done for the project. Mr. Cummings motioned to have one large plaque and the text and illustration will drive the size of it. Working with the Wisconsin Historical Society on the plaque, Landmarks Commission will work with various groups to fund the project. Smaller plaques will be secondary for individual buildings. After further discussion, the motion was second by Council Member Floam. The motion was approved with a unanimous voice vote. b. Landmarks Commission Plaque Application Mr. Witte stated that he is currently working on the application so it can be downloaded online and completed in a fillable PDF document. 7) Oshkosh Herald Article Topics a. Welton Beckett, the architect of Park Plaza Mall, and Aristides Demetrios, sculptor of Triad, the 35’ kinetic sculpture in Center Court. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated she contacted the editor to see if he could post all previous article and he agreed. The editor sent in the first two and will do the others for Ms. Brabendar Mattox. Mr. Witte has posted some of the articles on Facebook that morning. Ms. Brabender Mattox states that January article will potentially be on Welton Beckett and Aristides Demetrios. Discussion continued. 8) Commissioner Statements a. Mid-Century Modern District Council Member Floam photographed the streets on the Mid-century Modern District and sent all the information to Ms. Brabender Mattox. Discussion continued. b. Morgan Company Housing Research Ms. Feld proposed renaming this agenda item. Ms. Brabender Mattox suggested changing it to Morgan-Aire Housing Research. Ms. Feld states that they could start the research by reaching out to neighbors who own the original homes. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked Ms. Feld if they would allow her to take photographs of the original elements. Mr. Cummings asked if any of the original records are at the library? Mr. Witte states that he went to the library and they have a few catalogs but not much in their collection. Further discussion continued on the style and designs of the homes. c. 322 Church – Rezoning Application Ms. Brabender Mattox stated she included this item on the agenda because it is in a historic district and they are changing this property back from commercial into a residential. 9) Staff Liaison Report a. Monthly Building Permit Report Ms. Brabender Mattox reported that on 216 State, $ 150,000 of work is being done for the installation of mechanical rooms in the new hotel. Another separate review and permit were for the HVAC equipment, she noted that the site visit was valuable for getting familiar with the property and in our decision-making. She stated that the project is not required to follow historic building codes. b. Agenda Items for Next Meeting South Side, Acanthus Awards, New City Manager, Great Fire Research Project, OshHop 10) Adjournment Ms. Stichert motioned to adjourn the meeting, and Mr. Cummings seconded. The meeting adjourned at 4:31pm.