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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes1 of 3 CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION MINUTES OCTOBER 08, 2014 PRESENT: Karen Heikel, Steve Cummings, Angela Merrill, and Shirley Brabender Mattox EXCUSED: Vicky Redlin, Dennis Arnold, and Sharon Kipetz 1. CALL TO ORDER Ms. Brabender Mattox called the meeting to order at 3:22 pm and a quorum was declared present. 2. APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 MEETING MINUTES Ms. Brabender Mattox suggested corrections to the minutes on Agenda Item 4-Comments from the Farmers Market. She stated that two names were misspelled; Clarence Cook is Clarence Coch and Matt Shustack is Matt Hostack. Ms. Brabender Mattox also stated that the word “verbiage” was in the minutes in several places and it should be “text”. Ms. Heikel motioned to approve the minutes as amended. Motion was seconded by Mr. Cummings. Motion carried unanimously. 3. ANNUAL REPORT REVIEW Mr. Buck went over the draft annual report and stated that the format is the same as the previous years. He went over the items individually and discussion took place on them. Ms. Brabender Mattox pointed out that several of the Acanthus Award narratives were cut-off and needed to be adjusted. Ms. Heikel asked that the edited report be e-mailed to the Commissioners. Ms. Heikel motioned to approve the annual report as amended. Motion was seconded by Mr. Cummings. Motion carried unanimously. 4. HISTORIC TOUR/INFORMATIONAL BROCHURES DISCUSSION Mr. Buck discussed the 1983 historic tour brochure update and that the progress has been stalled. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that she liked the format in that it has the facts that are educational without a lot of space taken up with explanatory text. The Commission went over the other items such as the introduction and marker locations and felt they are a good addition to the brochure. Ms. Merrill suggested that tours need not follow the historic districts themselves but could focus on intact historic quadrants of the city with great streetscapes. The Commission discussed that the tour routes will need to be walked and inventoried to be sure that the integrity of the routes were still intact since the previous tour brochure routes are 30 years old. Mr. Cummings stated that the historic districts were invariably going to be routed but by allowing some deviation will allow areas on the south side to be included, especially in a downtown tour route. Mr. Cummings stated that we will need to coordinate with the CVB, Museum, County 2 of 3 Historical Society, and others on getting the tours together and possibly having guided tours using volunteers, CVB staff or the Commissioners. Mr. Buck suggested holding a working group or special Commission meeting to coordinate and organize the discussion of the tour map so it can be put together over the winter; much like the Commission had done with the historic district brochure that ended up coming together rapidly with greater Commissioner participation. The Commission suggested setting up a meeting in November. Ms. Merrill mentioned that she has contacts with graphic designers who may be willing to design the brochures at no cost to the Commission as they are looking for portfolio work. The Commission agreed that this would be a great resource to tap. Mr. Cummings added that he had been to a historic outdoor building museum in Sister Bay that had relocated buildings and had a docent that was interesting and could be a good project for Oshkosh or Winnebago County. The Commission discussed several similar projects throughout the country and thought it could be a good project to work on with other groups/property owners as it would require greater resources than the Commission itself has at its disposal. Mr. Buck brought up the limited North Main Street guided walking tour that has been discussed recently and suggested that it would be a similar but smaller scale project to begin with. If it is successful and manageable, this could expand. The Commission agreed that the North Main Street guided walking tour should be a topic to focus on to start and should be an item on the 2015 goal list. 5. SHPO-HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND SUBGRANT LETTER OF INTENT/APPLICATION DISCUSSION Mr. Buck went over the original discussion on a new Washington Street Historic District and stated that the letter of intent included the expanded area as the Commission had determined it wanted to include a lot of area outside which was in the 2006 Intensive Survey. SHPO had responded that it was too disjointed and did not have a common theme including gaps between contributing buildings and the mix of residential and commercial uses. The Commission said we need to pull it back in response but asked staff to inquire if three other buildings be included as two are also neoclassical and eligible including the apartment building on the same block north of the library and the Northwestern Building one block south that is already on the Register. The third is a Romanesque Revival commercial structure that is in great shape and situated between the Washington Building and the Northwestern Building. Ms. Merrill made a motion to have staff investigate the expansion of the potential historic district as discussed with SHPO. Motion was seconded by Mr. Cummings. Motion carried unanimously. 6. REPORT ON SHPO CONFERENCE Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that she will be attending the conference all days and Ms. Merrill said she was considering attending the Saturday sessions. Mr. Buck said that he would not be able to attend. 7. HISTORIC MARKER PROGRAM UPDATE Mr. Buck gave an update that the two railroads related markers are in and being stored at the Parks Department. The CN Bridge Marker will be installed next spring and the other when the 3 of 3 riverwalk is developed on the south side, probably in 2016. He also added that we have received a donation from Battle on Bago for the Historic Marker on the Lake and River Systems however the Commission had designated this for the Pioneer Resort Zone for which construction of the riverwalk is not “on the radar” for construction. Mr. Buck stated that he will discuss this situation with the staff who plan the riverwalk development and see if they have any suggestions and possibly talk with the Battle on Bago people to see if they would be willing to sponsor a different one such as boating or if they would like the donation returned until that area of the riverfront is redeveloped. The Commission stated that they would hate to lose the donation and ability to get another marker done but may not have an option in this case. Mr. Buck said he will report back in November with new information. 8. WORKING GROUP REPORTS No reports. 9. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING/COMMISSIONER STATEMENTS The Commission determined that a future item needs to be marketing for the Acanthus Awards such as placement of a “request for nominations” in the community section of the newspaper. Additionally, Sharon Kipetz would like to invite everyone over to see the attached building plaque on her home. The topic of tourism brochures needs to be included for discussion as well as a report on the SHPO conference. The discussion on the historic preservation code also needs to be included on a future agenda. 10. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Cummings motioned to adjourn. Motion was seconded by Ms. Heikel. Motion approved unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 4:59 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, David Buck, Principal Planner