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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLandmarks Minutes 1.14.26 1 CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION Minutes January 14, 2026 (Approved at the February 11, 2026 Commission meeting) PRESENT: Shirley Brabender Mattox, Steve Cummings, Vicky Redlin, Nikki Stoll Olthoff, Rich Green, Jeanne Tondryk ABSENT: Councilman Brad Spanbauer, Alec Lefeber CITY STAFF: Avis Seizert, Museum Archivist and Staff Liaison; Sara Rutkowski, Director of Community Development; Kimberly Gierach, Deputy Director of Community Development Agenda: 1) Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 3:04 pm by Ms. Brabender Mattox. 2) Consent Agenda Consent Agenda items are those items of a routine administrative nature that are voted on by the Commission in a single vote. The Commission has been furnished with background material on each item. Any member of the public or Commission may request that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda for discussion and to be voted on separately. The Commission considered the following consent agenda items: a. December 10th Meeting Minutes b. Winnebago County Historical Society Walking Tours Report – Vicky Redlin c. Sustainability Plan Update – Councilman Brad Spanbauer Mr. Cummings motioned to approve, seconded by Mr. Green. The motioned passed with all in favor. Ms. Rutkowski later discussed the Sustainability plan update in lieu of Councilman Spanbauer. She discussed that paleBLUEdot is the new vendor for the project. Additional funding was requested from Council to switch to a new contractor, which was approved. Ted Redmond is the new lead of the project, and Ms. Rutkowski noted that his work is very understandable and readable. It has put the project slightly behind, but that it is okay because the City just received the Energy Plan information, which can now be incorporated into the Sustainability Plan moving forward. More collaboration will be had in the future with various departments and entities. 2 3) Chapter 30 Zoning Code – Article XIV – Historic Preservation Ordinance – Subcommittee Update Ms. Brabender Mattox reported that the subcommittee met again. She has been in communication with Jason Tish at SHPO, who will be meeting with the subcommittee members virtually before the February monthly meeting. 4) Acanthus Awards – Potential Nominations – Discussion Ms. Brabender Mattox began by giving a background of the Acanthus Awards. She then added that the categories shall be reviewed so that documentation and nomination forms reflect the most up-to-date adopted categories. She suggested that a post be made for the Commission’s social media page to alert the community that the Commission is accepting nominations for this year’s awards. Mr. Cummings recommended a home for the work that they had done in their landscaping. Ms. Brabender Mattox recalled having added a category for landscaping in the past, but that nice landscaping does not automatically constitute historic landscaping deserving of an Acanthus Award, but that this can be evaluated as with other nominations. She continued that when Commissioners bring forth nominations, they should think about which category of the Acanthus Award it falls under since this information will also be presented in the narrative and the certificate awarded by the Mayor. Ms. Brabender Mattox volunteered to go through the past minutes to locate where other categories had been proposed and adopted in order to update the nomination form, website, social media, and other relevant locations as needed. Discussion turned towards what deadline should be set for this. March 3rd was the decided date in order for Ms. Seizert to get the information into the meeting material packets and distributed prior to the March 11th meeting, if possible. 5) Local Landmarking Discussion The discussion began with a conversation about other examples of city landmarking processes. In particular, Ms. Brabender Mattox discusses the City of Milwaukee’s large number of landmarked properties, their nomination form, and the study they conduct for each. Ms. Rutkowski notes that forms would be a great piece of the process to do in conjunction with new software the City is implementing. The discussion continues and covers the importance of the city ordinance to cover various matters such as demolition to protect buildings, and that landmarking properties can be an avenue to pursue in order to preserve historic buildings and keep them from being demolished. Mr. Green, then, formally submitted a nomination for his home at 404 West New York Avenue for the designation of Local Landmark. Mr. Green distributed the prepared binder and research materials that he had prepared in conjunction with his nomination form. He noted that he is honored to submit this nomination as the third potential landmarked property in the City of Oshkosh. He is looking forward 3 to speaking about this in front of Council and the general public to promote this designation and program as a positive thing. He also notes that he would like to pursue both the State and National Historic Register designations and would like advice on this process. Ms. Brabender Mattox recommends hiring a consultant for the nomination process and materials, and mentioned that the State has recommendations about this as well. Ms. Rutkowski commented that staff will find out what the next steps are for this to get it filed appropriately and get this process moving forward. Mr. Cummings asked who will do this work for other properties that are nominated. Ms. Rutkowski replied that generally the owner will be putting this information together. She noted that staff can assist with some things, but ideally, the Commission and the property owner should be doing this work. She notes that per the ordinance, the Commission needs the property owner’s permission. Mr. Green, then, read aloud a portion of the ordinance covering Landmarking and noted that the ordinance says, as written, owners need to be consulted, not grant approval. Ms. Gierach and Ms. Tondryk exited at 3:55 pm Discussion continued about the history of Mr. Green’s property. Ms. Brabender Mattox noted that the next step is to review and discuss the nomination, then vote. Mr. Green asks that the Commission let him know what parts of his work he can amend and update to strengthen his application. The Commission discussed the desire for a site visit to view the home. Mr. Green will work with Ms. Seizert to get this arranged. Ms. Redlin exited at 4:06pm. 6) Commissioner Statements a. Monthly Building Permit Reports: December Permits – no historic permits issued No discussion on this agenda item. b. Permitting Process and Communication – Workflow Information – Councilman Spanbauer In the absence of Councilman Spanbauer, Ms. Brabender Mattox noted that she and Councilman Spanbauer had a meeting with Ms. Rutkowski to discuss this matter and that Ms. Rutkowski suggested that a twice-monthly permit report is generated to catch more historic home permits being issued. Ms. Rutkowski added that this would also help take the sole responsibility of this task off of Ms. Brabender Mattox and offer support for 4 this. She also noted that she is planning on putting some information together for relevant City Staff members to hand out to individuals who do come in for permitting matters and other potential for educating staff and property owners. She also discussed new capabilities for updated software to flag more properties. Ms. Brabender Mattox discussed the potential to attend neighborhood meetings as educational opportunities. Both Ms. Brabender Mattox and Mr. Cummings noted areas of improvement and inaccuracies in City software that can be updated, including incorrect building dates and homes not being designated as they should be. 7) Staff Liaison a. Annual Report Ms. Seizert reported that she has started work on the annual report. b. Agenda Items for Next Meeting Commission training discussion. 8) Adjournment The meeting self-adjourned at 4:18 pm with the exit of Mr. Cummings, which resulted in a loss of quorum.