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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes1 of 4 CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION MINUTES NOVEMBER 12, 2014 PRESENT: Vicky Redlin, Dennis Arnold, Karen Heikel, Steve Cummings, Angela Merrill, Sharon Kipetz, and Shirley Brabender Mattox 1. CALL TO ORDER Ms. Redlin called the meeting to order at 3:02 pm and a quorum was declared present. 2. APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 08, 2014 MEETING MINUTES Ms. Merrill motioned to approve the minutes as proposed. Motion was seconded by Mr. Cummings. Motion carried unanimously. 3. BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW (MARCH, 2014 - JUNE, 2014) Mr. Buck explained that the Commission has not been receiving the summaries of all of the building permits because of a change in the software in the Inspection Services Department but stated that staff is now able to run the reports and, because of the amount of them, the ones from March through June are included in the packet. He further stated that the next agenda will include July through November bringing us up to date and back on track. The Commission went over the building permits issued. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that work on 531 North Main Street is very extensive and she is anticipating seeing the project as it matures and she also stated that the work on 519 Franklin must be considered a “win” for the community as it has been painted rather than resided and has retained the historic elements of the structure. The Commission agreed that the home looks very good and felt the owner, who is a landlord, should be proud of the results. Other properties/projects were discussed and it was determined that there were no projects that destroyed the historic integrity of the structures. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if the tax credit information was supplied to the applicants before or when they applied for the permit. She stated that one of the only major contributions we can make as a Commission is to help the public with appropriate rehab and preservation and the tax credit programs. Mr. Buck stated that information is located within the brochure/hand-out area next to the Inspection Services window but that the inspectors and support staff have not been specifically handing it out. Discussion took place on getting the permit software to “flag” permits for properties that fall under the historic designation so that the inspectors would know what properties were potentially eligible or even require a step in the process of issuing the permit that would require the information be handed out. Discussion also took place regarding that often it is a contractor, who is less interested in going through the tax credit information, rather than a property owner, that comes in to get the permit and has the timeline set for the construction that would not afford a wait to apply for the credit. Mr. Buck said he has not yet had time to put together a decent brochure on tax credits so he will make that an action item and 2 of 4 then set up a meeting with the Chief Building Official to see what can be done at the Inspection counter. The Commission talked about the need to communicate the availability of this benefit earlier in the process so homeowners can utilize it before they start to pull permits. Ms. Redlin suggested that the brochure, once created, could be distributed in stores such as Menards, Lowes, and Noffke Lumber. Mr. Cummings stated that banks and credit unions as well as realtors would also be good. Mailings or maybe e-mails (as it would save on our nonexistent printing budget) to contractors, painters and others would help to get the word out as well. Ms. Merrill asked if the Commission still planned to send out an info mailing to all of the property owners in the historic districts. Mr. Buck stated yes but the information to be included as well as a letter needs to be generated. The Commission agreed that the item should be on the January agenda so it can be put together and a mailing can go out in February or March so people know the program is out there when they plan their spring or summer projects. 4. HISTORIC TOURS/INFORMATIONAL BROCHURES DISCUSSION Mr. Buck went over the tour brochures already completed being the “Historic Districts of Oshkosh” brochure and the “What it Means to Own a Historic Property” brochure. He then discussed that the brochure on tax credits was still being developed but that he did not have time to complete a draft for review yet. Ms. Redlin discussed issues with trying to retrofit the 1983 historic tour brochure because of the computer editing programs and file formats used in the past and that this effort has stalled. Mr. Buck said that the Commission was hoping to recreate this heritage tourism document over the winter by reevaluating the routes to be sure they still were as historically desirable as they had been 30 years ago and double-check the monument locations to be sure they were still all open to the public and had not been relocated. For this meeting, Mr. Buck stated he would simply distribute the multiple brochures for the Commission to analyze. Ms. Merrill stated that she has contacts with students at the University who have offered to do the layout for the brochure as a means to enhance their portfolios. Mr. Buck stated that the routes need to be recreated based on current conditions then the information can be given to a designer. The Commission discussed the multiple routes of the 1983 brochure and came to the conclusion that the tour routes would not need to be limited to recognized historic districts and that routes that created visual and historic interest should be the ones to be included, such as the south-side “Brooklyn” tour or near Hazel Street. The Commission thought that a separate meeting should be scheduled to divide the routes and have groups of the Commission walk or drive them to evaluate. Mr. Cummings stated that he will be trying to set up a meeting with the Museum and the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to help promote historic tours and “get the word out”. Mr. Cummings also mentioned that he has spoken with the Business Improvement District to get them to help promote the plaque program and historic tours and really bring the heritage/historic tourism concept into play as a tool for economic development. Mr. Buck mentioned that there has been discussion on a guided historic tour. The Commission discussed how something like this would operate and what route would be selected. The area and information is maybe the easiest aspect of this program concept but the larger issue was to acquire a “guide” or docent who can help run the tour itself. The hopes were that the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau could help to facilitate this aspect. Mr. Cummings stated he will keep the Commission informed of progress. 3 of 4 5. SHPO-HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND SUBGRANT LETTER OF INTENT/APPLICATION DISCUSSION Mr. Buck went over the original discussion on a area to be included for new Washington Street Historic District and discussed that SHPO wanted it pulled back to include only the six neoclassical buildings included in the 2005 survey so the application was for only the six building district. He went over the application with the Commission and the cost estimates received. Mr. Buck stated that the dollar amount requested was the middle estimate, not the highest or the lowest. Mr. Arnold stated that the estimates do not include all the same work items such as conducting informational meetings and presenting the application at the State. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the State has minimum requirements that are expected with the state grant and these contractors were all included within SHPOs recommendations for contractors. Mr. Buck stated that if we receive the grant we would then do a RFP with the details of what is expected. The next step is to get a representative from SHPO to come up to Oshkosh and meet with the six property owners to go over what it means to be in a National Registered District and to gauge the desire to be included in one. Ms. Brabender Mattox said she would like to know if any of the owners have been contacted yet. Mr. Buck stated he spoke with Diana and she suggested that SHPO be included in a meeting as they are most skilled and knowledgeable on the topic. 6. REPORT ON SHPO CONFERENCE Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that she and Mr. Arnold attended the full conference. Ms. Merrill said she was considering attending but did not make it. Mr. Arnold said the conference was really well attended and many were from local and regional historical societies. He added that it had a very wide range of topic matters and workshops such as “know your local preservation code”, historic research, assessing condition of wood and foundations, and an engineering service that could be used for evaluating a rehabilitation. Ms. Brabender Mattox added that the there were not a lot of handouts but that the presentations will be online soon. Ms. Brabender Mattox said Michael Perry was a speaker. He is a regional author and humorist. Ms. Brabender Mattox said she went to a session that Candice Mortara and Terry Laib had on the Fox Wisconsin Heritage Parkway, which is a group that we have partnered with, which was inspiring. She went to a presentation by Robert Vogal as well who stressed the need for historic preservation plans and that there are 1900 CLGs in the U.S. and will help to get the elected officials to buy into the plans and use it as a policy tool. She mentioned that landmarks are a resource business and things like the Acanthus Awards help to provide “buy-in”. She stated that information about “interventions” needs to be at the front end of a project, not at the 11th hour as it is too late by then. Ms. Redlin asked that we check the States website to see if the information can be pulled and provided to the Commissioners. All in all, Mr. Arnold and Ms. Brabender Mattox felt the Commission is doing a lot of things right but that we can always improve. 7. HISTORIC MARKER PROGRAM UPDATE Mr. Buck stated that this item is included on the agenda because we have received a donation 4 of 4 from the Battle on Bago to create and install the historic education marker on the Lake Winnebago and Fox River Systems. However, the location originally identified for this topic is located on lands that are not under city control at this time and will not include a public accessible access anytime in the near future. Ms. Redlin stated she had spoken with Glen Curran on the topic, who was wondering if it was possible to switch the location of Pioneer Resort Zone (9) with the transportation/boating topic in the South Shore Central Zone (6) as there is already a marina on the resort zone. Alternately, the Lake Winnebago and Fox River Systems marker could be placed on the Marion Road Zone 2 (2) and supplant the “On this Spot” marker or replace the “North-South Side Heritage” topic at the South Shore West Zone (11). The Commission discussed the topic of switching locations now and when other locations come online that we could switch the tops to put the topics in the most appropriate zones and felt that most of the topics could be moved except the ones specifically tied to the shore location. Ms. Redlin said she would reach out to Glen Curran with Battle on Bago and give him the options of relocating to the South Shore Central Zone (6), Marion Road Zone 2 (2), or the South Shore West Zone (11). Mr. Cummings suggested just removing the locations that are not available now and focus those locations that are being redeveloped or will be in the very near future. The Commission agreed and Mr. Buck said he would update the map and information sheet. 8. WORK PLAN/PROJECTS FOR 2015 Mr. Buck said the meeting in December is typically the meeting that goals are set for the following year. Mr. Buck went over the current year’s goals and the progress that has been made on them as well as the on-going projects such as Acanthus Awards and the Annual Report. The Commission decided to include the item on the December agenda. 9. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING/COMMISSIONER STATEMENTS Mr. Buck talked about William Waters Plaza and explained what it looks like. He further discussed that street work will be happening at William Waters Plaza (across Washington Street from the Public Library) and that the River East Neighborhood Association is looking to redesign/update the plaza so it can be enhanced. They have asked the Landmarks Commission to provide a volunteer to sit on a design committee to help with the project. Mr. Arnold stated that he would be interested in volunteering and Ms. Redlin said she would be willing if they met in the evening. The Commission asked that the topic be brought back when the group is closer to meeting. The Commission determined that a future agenda needs to include goals for 2015, an updated map and description for the historic markers, the draft of the tax credit brochure, update on tourism topic and update on discussion on the plaques with the BID. 10. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Redlin motioned to adjourn. Motion was seconded by Mr. Arnold. Motion approved unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, David Buck, Principal Planner