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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION Minutes March 14,2018 PRESENT: Shirley Brabender Mattox, Paul Arnold, Steve Cummings, Harold Buchholz, Austin Frederick,Jeremy Galica, Elizabeth Hintz EXCUSED: Jake Krause ABSENT: None STAFF AND OTHERS: Steven Wiley, Allen Davis, Bill Sturm,Jim Hoffman, Tom Ekvall, Mike Lyster 1. Call to Order Chair Brabender Mattox called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. and a quorum was declared present. 2. Approval of July 12,2017 Meeting Minutes The Commission discussed the February 141h,2018 meeting minutes. Ms.Brabender Mattox asked if any commissioners had comments on the minutes. No commissioners had any and the Commission approved the minutes as written(Arnold/Buchholz). 3. Building Permit Review The Commission discussed the historic permits from February 1St-February 281h Ms. Brabender Mattox mentioned the permit for 418 Amherst Avenue and explained some of the background of the property. She and Mr. Arnold explained that the property has elements of the Prairie School, Arts and Crafts, and Bungalow styles in its design. 4. Mike Lyster-Home Landmarking-Discussion This item was shifted until after Item 6 to allow Mr. Davis time to discuss Item 6 with the Commission. Mr. Lyster explained that he was still interested in landmarking his property but that his insurance quote doubled from before. He explained that the insurance company equated his home to an antique and that they had the date of his home's construction at 1896 instead of 1903. Mr. Lyster explained that he had his home insured for the replacement value. Mr. Arnold suggested that Mr. Lyster speak to owners of comparable homes on Algoma Boulevard. Mr. Lyster asked if landmarking would affect his insurance rates. Mr. Buchholz said that this would not affect his rates. Mr. Buchholz suggested that Mr. Lyster obtain a few bids for insurance quotes before making a decision on his insurance. Mr. Lyster stated that he could contact the Commission when he was ready to resume the landmarking process. Mr. Lyster left at the conclusion of this item. 5. New York Avenue Property-Potential Landmarking-Action Mr. Wiley explained that a gentleman in New Jersey had contacted him and had an interest in landmarking the property at 306 West New York Avenue. Mr. Wiley also explained that the gentleman had explained a cursory level background regarding the property and that he was interested in learning more about the property. Mr. Wiley showed the commissioners the property and the Commissioners engaged in discussion. Mr. Arnold stated that the home appeared to be Italianate but then would likely date from the 1860s at the earliest. Mr. Buchholz and Ms. Brabender Mattox asked Mr. Wiley to learn more about the gentleman s intent regarding landmarking the property. The commissioners asked Mr. Wiley to find out more from the gentleman and his reasoning for pursuing the landmarking of the property. Mr. Wiley stated that he was previously in contact with the gentleman and that he could try to find out more from him. Mr. Wiley stated that he could have the gentleman fill out the landmarking form and follow up with the property owner. 6. Historic Preservation Ordinance-Recent Demolition Issues-Discussion with Allen Davis This item was moved to after Item 3 so Mr. Davis could discuss it with the Commission. Mr. Davis explained that code changes were required for protection of non-contributing structures outside historic districts. Mr. Buchholz stated that currently if the Commission could not landmark a property, there was no real protection for the property. Mr. Davis stated that focusing on contributing and non- contributing properties in historic districts was easier than trying to address all homes in the city built before 1970. Mr. Davis stated that it would be possible to flag homes that were contributing structures in the mapping and permitting systems. Mr. Cummings stated that he felt most of the homes in the city were built before 1970. Mr. Davis explained that trying to change the preservation ordinance or enforcement of the ordinance to include protection or a review/waiting period for all pre-1970 homes in the city would be a much larger effort than focusing on historic districts. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that some communities do not allow any demolition without a review process involving the local preservation commission. Mr. Davis explained that public input sessions would be important during the process and that he was not sure if the community was currently ready for it. Mr. Davis suggested potentially tweaking the preservation ordinance and meeting with property owners from recognized neighborhoods and historic districts to obtain some input from these owners. Mr. Arnold and Mr. Buchholz explained that they supported Mr. Davis' suggestion. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked how the Commission would proceed. Mr. Davis stated that the Commission could start with neighborhoods and historic districts and then the Sustainability Advisory Board, Plan Commission, and Common Council with a potential Council workshop. Mr. Cummings stated that the Commission's goals of examining the demolition issue fell in line with Healthy Neighborhoods. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked Mr. Frederick if he thought that the Winnebago County Historical and Archeological Society would support the demolition changes. Mr. Frederick replied affirmatively. Mr. Davis stated that about 20 to 30 demolition permits per year were issued per year and stated that he would follow up by working with staff and reprogramming the computer systems to flag landmark and contributing structures. 7. Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course-Further Discussion/Potential Reuse or Commemorative Use of Donated Trees on Future Oshkosh Corporation Land-Discussion/Action Mr. Sturm (City Forester) discussed this item. He explained that all donated trees were identified and that Oshkosh Corporation was to move 13 of these trees. Mr. Sturm would coordinate the project and was working with Woodendale Nursery who had moved trees previously. Mr. Sturm explained that the cost of moving the trees was about$225.00 per tree and that most of the trees were about 2" -6" in diameter. A landscape architect was working with Oshkosh Corporation and most of the oaks and hickories around the existing clubhouse were to be preserved. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if Mr. Sturm was suggesting native species. Mr. Sturm explained that he was not directing anything on the Oshkosh Corporation site but that the design team had mentioned some wetland species for the site. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked about the plaque to Hank Detlaff which is currently mounted on a rock. Mr. Sturm explained that he had spoken to Ray Maurer about this and that the current plans were to move the rock/plaque off site and preserve it. He stated that commissioners should direct questions to Mr. Maurer. He stated that he could follow up with the Commission on memorabilia related to the golf course. Mr. Galica asked what portion of the golf course was to be maintained by the city. Mr. Sturm stated that approximately 70 acres would likely become park. Mr. Galica explained that the preservation of the plaque was important and that it should not be moved too far off the site so that the city could preserve its meaning. Mr. Sturm explained that he would meet with a UWM team working on the site and that more archeological work would occur on site. 8. 2018 Acanthus Awards -Discussion The Commission discussed four potential award nominees. Mr. Buchholz stated that he had been in touch with the owner of 1304 Algoma and discussed a potential tour of the property. He had started the nomination form for the property. For the Oshkosh West Veterans Wall Mr. Galica explained that he still had to contact the teacher and meet in person to discuss the project. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that she had previously toured the Fraternal Reserve (Washington)building and that she contacted the building owners. Mr. Arnold explained that for Ardy and Ed's he had contacted one of the owners and the owner had a wealth of information on the property. Commissioners stated that they would follow up on their nominees and that at the April meeting they'd take action to move nominees forward. Mr. Buchholz asked if commissioners had preferred times in mind for tours of the properties. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that it would help to propose three dates/times and have Mr. Wiley notice the tour once the Commission decided. 9. 2017-2018 Goals/Priorities -Discussion Mr. Wiley explained that he had kept the goals on the agenda so the Commission did not lose track of them. Mr. Buchholz explained that the Commission had ranked the top three goals: 1.) Ongoing Activities 2.) Preservation Ordinance Updates 3.) Landmarking of properties Mr. Cummings asked if the Morgan House marker could be repaired. Mr. Wiley stated that this item was on his list but that he had not had an opportunity to follow up on it. Mr. Cummings explained that the year was incorrect on the marker. He stated that Reinke might have the ability to repair the plaque. 10. Historic Oshkosh Website -Update Mr. Wiley explained the changes he had worked on for the Historic Oshkosh website with Mr. Kunkle in IT. He showed the Commissioners the list of Commission members and changes done since the last Landmarks meeting. He stated that there were some small scale changes he wanted to make to the list of commission members but that in speaking with Mr. Kunkle, the process was more involved than originally thought. Mr. Wiley stated that he would follow up on a few small scale changes to the list of commissioners but that the city was planning to redo the entire website in the near future so IT recommended small changes at most. 11.Jim Hoffman Millers Bay Research-Discussion Mr. Hoffman explained some of the additional research he did and the map he created for the potential Millers Bay project he was working on with the neighborhood. Mr. Hoffman had obtained a large map of the neighborhood from Mr. Wiley and listed for each address the year of construction and what architectural style the home was. Mr. Hoffman stated that he would share the map with the neighborhood leadership and work on next steps. 15. Commissioner Statements a. 404 W. New York Avenue-Local Landmarking-Shirley Brabender Mattox Ms. Brabender Mattox asked Mr. Wiley to keep this item on the agenda. b. Mark Buechel: Seminar on State Tax Credits-Steve Cummings Mr. Cummings stated that the Commission needed to agree on a date for the seminar and that other than that,he did not have any updates on this item. c. 1703 Michigan Street Historic Plaque-Steven Wiley Mr. Wiley explained that the owner was hoping to schedule the plaque presentation during a time of warmer weather and so that her family and friends could attend. Mr. Wiley stated that this was in progress. d. Feedback on Landmarks Website Stats-Harold Buchholz Mr. Buchholz stated that he was continuing to work with Mr. Neumann in IT and that web traffic was low in February with 157 hits. Mr. Buchholz stated that he would continue to track website stats. e. Historic Preservation Plan-Steven Wiley-Update Mr. Wiley explained that he was researching the plans of other communities and that Mr. Galica had agreed to help with the plan as part of his graduate project. Mr. Galica stated that his instructor was supportive of this proposal but that most of the work would have to be completed during the Spring 2019 semester. Mr. Wiley stated that he and Mr. Galica could continue to have discussions about the plan. f. Feedback on Landmarks Facebook Page Mr. Buchholz explained that the Facebook page was not currently showing the weekly postings as was previously the case. Mr. Wiley stated that he needed to take some time and update the page but that he had not had a chance yet. Ms. Hintz stated that she could help with the Facebook page. Mr. Wiley stated that he would follow up with Ms. Hintz. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if it was possible to place a link to the Landmarks website on the Facebook page. Mr. Galica stated that it would be a good idea if the Commission could have a link to the Eagles Club (Howard) progress on the Facebook page. Mr. Cummings suggested Landmarks hosting a space at the Farmers Market during 1 or 2 Saturdays during the summer to engage with the public. 16. Agenda Items for next meeting/statements Mr. Cummings asked to include discussion on the City Hall front steps (previously removed), along with potential landmarking of 404 W. New York Ave,Acanthus Awards, Historic Preservation Ordinance,Jim Hoffman s research, an item on the Riverside Chapel since staff was intending to hold the next meeting there, and ongoing 2017-2018 goals and objectives. 17. Adjournment Mr. Cummings made a motion to adjourn and the motion was seconded by Mr. Arnold. Motion approved unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 5:24 p.m. Recorded by: Steven Wiley,Assistant Planner