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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION Minutes July 11,2018 PRESENT: Shirley Brabender Mattox, Paul Arnold, Steve Cummings, Austin Frederick, David Schultz,Jeremy Galica EXCUSED: Harold Buchholz,Jake Krause, Elizabeth Hintz ABSENT: None STAFF AND OTHERS: Steven Wiley, Allen Davis,John Sadler (Oshkosh Northwestern), Tom Ekvall (Oshkosh Herald),Jennifer Haas& Seth Schneider (UWM), Nathan Ericson(634 Wisconsin St) 1. Call to Order Chair Brabender Mattox called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m. and a quorum was declared present. 2. Approval of June 131h,2018 Meeting Minutes The Commission discussed the June 131h meeting minutes. For item 13,Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that Mr. Wiley had obtained blueprints of City Hall from the Museum. For Commissioner Statements letter a,the minutes state, "Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that owner Rich Green had contracted with the Anderson Foundation." She explained that the sentence should read, "Rich Green had contracted with the Anderson Brothers about foundation repairs." For Commissioner Statements letter f,Ms. Brabender Mattox asked Mr.Wiley if he had met with Jon Urben about the revised Landmarks duties and the Grand Opera House. Mr. Wiley explained that he had met with Mr. Urben. Mr. Buchholz, who was not in attendance submitted comments on the minutes. He stated that for him, it is often difficult to read through the minutes and try and remember if something was said, even by him,where a word may make a difference in representing the statement. Commissioners did not have any other comments and the Commission voted 4-0 to approve the minutes. 3. Historic Preservation Ordinance Revisions (Recent Demolition Issues), Cost Analysis for Vinyl Siding, Cement Board and Original Material, and Potential Historic Rehab Program-Discussion Ms. Brabender Mattox mentioned the required state waiting period for the demolition of historic properties. She explained that Daina Penkiunas and Joe DeRose from the WHS had supplied her with some information on historic windows and siding. She mentioned issues with vinyl siding on historic properties. Mr. Frederick explained the problem some property owners face when they want to restore their properties to original/historic states but due to previous disqualifying work,cannot qualify for state or federal tax credits. Mr. Frederick explained that the Commission needed to help people who wanted to restore or maintain historic properties. Ms. Brabender Mattox recommended that the Commission look further into alternatives to vinyl siding. 4. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Cultural Resource Management-Lakeshore Archaeological Data Recovery Jennifer Haas (Principal Investigator) and Seth Schneider (field work) of UWM Cultural Resource Management introduced themselves and provided an overview of archeology, physical artifacts, cultural features, and archeological sites. They explained that the Lakeshore Golf Course was a site where people lived and worked during the Woodland era. They explained that many other archeological sites exist along Lake Butte des Morts. Ms. Haas explained that the site was largely preserved in place. Previously the golf course site was recorded as shell heaps. Ms. Haas presented a GLO map and 1937 aerial. Mr. Schneider then explained the field work that has occurred on the site. He stated that the work started in late 2017 and involved a 13 acre area. He stated that there was intact soil underneath the golf course. Much of the artifacts have dated to the Woodland era(900 AD-1400 AD). UWM worked on creating a Data Recovery Plan with the Wisconsin Historical Society. The UWM team looked at subsoils and conducted a series of shovel tests at 10 meter intervals. Out of 444 total shovel tests 174 yielded cultural materials. The UWM group opened up 7 acres. They identified 105 cultural features during data recovery. Mr. Schneider then explained the lab work that follows the field work. Lab work consists of cleaning, processing, analysis, and report writing and follows Wisconsin Historical Society protocols. Mr. Schneider explained that the team uses the artifacts to date the site. The findings will be written up in technical reports and provided to the City upon completion. Commissioners and others in attendance then asked questions. Ms. Haas and Mr. Schneider explained that the shovel tests went no more than 4 feet deep and generally 1.5 feet-2 feet. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked how the Commission could move a nomination for the Lakeshore site forward to have the site listed on the National Register. Ms. Haas explained that much of the site in question was on Oshkosh Corporation land, so the Commission would want to obtain support from Oshkosh Corporation and then take UWM's research and work with the WHS to prepare a nomination. 5. 634 Wisconsin Street-Proposed Facade Work,Lighting, and Landscaping Pastor Nathan Ericson explained that he was looking to do some rehab work on the exterior of 634 Wisconsin Street. The building was built in 1909, acquired by his group in 1969, and a chapel built in 1989. He asked the Commission for input and was considering getting an architect on board. He explained that he was looking to paint or replace the siding. The building was last painted in 2002 or 2004. Mr. Arnold explained that inspection and preparation work were key. He explained that the west and south facades would often take a bigger beating from the sun and weather than the other facades. He recommended finding a reputable contractor to inspect the building. Commissioners explained that Mr. Ericson should remove foliage that is in contact with the siding. Ms. Brabender Mattox recommended Terry Laib and Mr. Cummings recommended Mike Lyster as people that Mr. Ericson could contact. Mr. Frederick and Ms. Brabender Mattox recommended potentially reaching out to Mark Buechel or Joe DeRose at the WHS. Ms. Brabender Mattox and Mr. Arnold recommended that Mr. Ericson explore vintage lighting to replace the previous broken light fixtures. Mr. Arnold stated that restoration of the clapboard siding is always preferable to replacement. Mr. Frederick recommended that Mr. Ericson have the facade analysis done and see what shape it is in before proceeding. 6. Building Permit Review The Commission reviewed the historic permits and the county's proposed parking lot work for 220 Washington Avenue. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if landscaping was required. Mr. Wiley stated that the parking lot was likely non-conforming and that landscaping was not required because the county was repairing some of the asphalt in the current lot. Mr. Arnold saw no problem with the proposed work. 7. Historic Plaques -415 Linde Street and 456 Mount Vernon-Discussion Mr. Frederick explained the research he had completed for 415 Linde Street. He had been in contact with Scott Cross of the Museum and that the house was on the tax records for 1907. Mr. Arnold stated that he thought the Commission could approve the plaque. The Commission approved the plaque 4-0 (Frederick/Cummings). The Commission examined the research Rebecca Brown conducted for 456 Mount Vernon with Terry Laib. Mr. Frederick stated that the research was an example of what the Commission should encourage from other historic property owners. The Commission voted 4-0 to approve this plaque (Frederick/Arnold). Mr. Frederick asked Mr. Wiley to include 456 Mount Vernon on the next Landmarks agenda to discuss as a candidate for local landmarking. Mr. Wiley explained that Mr. Buchholz had emailed his comments in and that Mr. Buchholz would support approval of both plaques but that he would like to have a chance to go by the properties. 8. Millers Bay Research-Jim Hoffman-Discussion The Commission refrained from discussing this item because Mr. Hoffman was unable to attend the meeting. 9. City Hall Front Steps -Discussion Mr. Cummings mentioned the City Hall space needs study that the City was working on with an architect. He explained that he wanted to include the City Hall steps as a part of potential future work. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that Mr. Wiley had obtained blueprints of City Hall from the Museum. 10. Historic Preservation Plan-Jeremy Galica and Steven Wiley-Update Mr. Wiley explained that he and Mr. Galica were planning to meet again on the Historic Preservation Plan and that they had found multiple case studies as example plans to look through. Commissioner Statements a. 404 W. New York Avenue-Local Landmarking-Shirley Brabender Mattox Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that she had looked at the garage of the property since the previous Landmarks meeting. 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. Feedback on Landmarks Website Stats-Harold Buchholz Mr. Wiley provided Mr. Buchholz's update to the Commission. Mr. Buchholz had mentioned in his update that the number of hits to the Landmarks webpage was down from May. There were 211 hits in June vs. 226 in May. The time spent on the page decreased by 13% and the most hits for the month were the Commission District Maps. d. Feedback on Landmarks Facebook Page Mr. Wiley explained that Mr. Frederick had volunteered to help with the Facebook page. Mr. Frederick explained that he had scheduled content to appear daily. 12. Agenda Items for Next Meeting/Statements Ongoing items such as the Historic Preservation Ordinance, the Historic Preservation Plan, the Lakeshore site, the website and Facebook stats, Mr. Hoffman s Millers Bay research, revised west wall Grand Opera House signage, and the City Hall steps. Additionally, Mr. Frederick asked if the information Ms. Brabender Mattox obtained from Daina Penkiunas and Joe DeRose could be on the agenda. Mr. Wiley explained that he was hoping to have an update on the Morgan House/Irving Church signage. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked Mr. Wiley to include discussion of 223 N Main and discussion regarding Oshkosh hosting the WAHPC conference. 13. Adjournment Mr. Frederick made a motion to adjourn and Mr. Arnold seconded. Meeting adjourned at 5:06 pm. Recorded by: Steven Wiley,Assistant Planner