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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION MINUTES SEPTEMBER 12, 2012 PRESENT: Dennis Arnold, Todd Clark, Shirley Brabender Mattox, and Karen Heikel EXCUSED: Steve Cummings, Arlene Schmuhl and Vicky Redlin STAFF: Jeffrey Nau CALL TO ORDER Chair Clark called the meeting to order at 3:15 pm and a quorum was declared present. APPROVAL OF AUGUST 8 MEETING MINUTES There was no discussion on this item. Mr. Clark stated he would be abstaining since he was not present at the August meeting. Mr. Arnold motioned to approve the meeting minutes as presented. Motioned seconded by Ms. Heikel. Minutes were approved 3-0-1 with Mr. Clark abstaining. BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW & DISCUSSION Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that owners of historic properties obtaining building permits exceeding $10,000 should be red flagged to inform the property owner that they may be eligible for a 25% tax credit depending on the type of work being done. She added that this would be a good public relations move on the City’s part and feared that the owner could be angry with the City for not sharing that information up front. The Board referenced 1369 Washington Avenue which obtained a permit for roof repairs costing $68,500 which could have resulted in a $17,000 credit if the work met criteria set by the Historical Society. Mr. Arnold stated that some of the responsibility does fall on the property owner whom should be aware of these incentives. Ms. Brabender Mattox inquired if the Inspections Division could hand out information at the time of building permit issuance. Mr. Nau responded that he would discuss the possibility with Mr. Buck. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated she was pleased with the amount of money being invested in historic properties and hopes the trend continues. HISTORIC SIGNAGE/MARKER LOCATION DETERMINATION The Commission reviewed the map showing the 12 zones for signage along the Fox River Corridor. Ms. Brabender Mattox inquired if the two signs related to the railroad were too much. Mr. Clark responded that Mr. Buck said that was a done deal per an agreement with Canadian National Railroad. The Commission further discussed that there should be additional focus on industry which occurred along the river. Ms. Heikel suggested that maybe one of the railroad signs could focus on how the railroad benefited industry. ANNUAL REPORT FINALIZATION Mr. Arnold stated the text should be finalized but needs to be checked for any grammatical errors. He also stated that Mr. Clark and Ms. Schmuhl will be coordinating with Elizabeth Schultz to prepare a more aesthetic final document. Ms. Brabender Mattox would like to see several photos and other visual elements. Mr. Clark asked the Commission to contact him soon if there are any 1 of 3 corrections that need to be made within the text. The Commission discussed that this item does not need to come back for further discussion and should go to the Common Council for the September 25, 2012 meeting. Shirley Brabender Mattox motioned for approval of the Annual Report omitting any grammatical errors that may still be present. Karen Heikel seconded the motion which passed unanimously. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS A. Fishing Shanty Investigation - Mr. Clark stated that the group met last week and developed a mission or game plan as to how to move forward to address the issue from a historic preservation standpoint. Mr. Clark added that he is going to contact the Historical Society to see if other communities have had to deal with this issue. The group will be meeting again next week. B. Website Update – Mr. Clark reported that Elizabeth Schultz is working on the website update and should have a prototype version for review within the next month or two. C. Tourism Brochure – There was no update to report. D.North Main Street Bungalow District – Ms. Brabender Mattox reported that this should be an easy district to get designated as there are only 23 houses in the proposed district. She added that if this district gets the designation, the Commission should continue their efforts by designating one area every year. Mr. Clark asked Ms. Brabender Mattox if the neighborhood still had interest in creating the district. She responded that yes, they were still talking about it. Mr. Arnold cautioned that several of the houses my not be eligible for landmark status because of alterations that have occurred to the houses over the years. E.Riverside Cemetery - Subcommittee is made up of Mr. Clark and Ms. Brabender Mattox. They have not met recently and there are no actions to report. Ms. Brabender Mattox questioned if the focus of the Committee was just the chapel. Mr. Clark responded that the chapel is the main focus; however, several mausoleums and gravestones are in poor shape and need attention. Mr. Clark also noted that Bill Sturm with the Forestry Division has implemented a system where the grave sites will be inventoried via G.P.S. Eventually, this will enable the public to conduct searches by name and view a map where the grave site is located. F.Historic Bar Elements – There was no update for this Committee. G.Property Landmarking – Mr. Arnold reported that the owner of 1203 Georgia Street was interested in landmarking her property and acquiring a plaque. Since her inquiry, she received a correction notice from the City for bushes exceeding height limitations and wondered if her inquiry for landmark status had something to do with the correction notice. Mr. Buck informed her that did not and that it was bad timing. As of now, the owner has put her application on hold. Mr. Arnold also stated that the owners of 324 Fulton Avenue are interested in landmarking their house and that he would be inspecting the property to determine if it would be eligible. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that other communities’ Landmark Commissions have the authority to landmark structures with or without owners’ consent and would like Oshkosh to have that ability to proactively landmark buildings. Mr. Clark responded that this item would be good to bring back for further discussion. H. Formation of Ordinance Rewrite Subcommittee – Ms. Brabender Mattox and Ms. Heikel volunteered to serve on the committee. Mr. Arnold also informed the Commission that Ms. Redlin 2 of 3 expressed interest to serve. Discussion followed that there are many good model ordinances out there and what criteria Oshkosh uses to use other cities as comparables. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING/COMMISSIONER STATEMENTS -Finalize creation of Ordinance Rewrite Subcommittee ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 4:35 pm was made by Dennis Arnold and seconded by Shirley Brabender Mattox. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Jeffrey L. Nau Associate Planner 3 of 3