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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION Minutes March 131h,2019 PRESENT: Shirley Brabender Mattox, Steve Cummings, Paul Arnold,Jeremy Galica, Nikki Stoll Olthoff EXCUSED: Harold Buchholz ABSENT: Jake Krause, Elizabeth Hintz STAFF AND OTHERS: Steven Wiley,Jim Hoffman (Oshkosh Public Museum Board), Lisa Morris (Property Manager, 2017 High Avenue) 1. Call to Order Chair Brabender Mattox called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. and a quorum was declared present. 2. Approval of February 131h,2019 Meeting Minutes Ms. Brabender Mattox asked the Commission if there were any revisions for the February meeting minutes. For Item 4 of the minutes, Mr. Cummings asked that Mr. Wiley change the wording from "621 W. Irving Avenue had been in poor condition since he was a child" to "621 W. Irving had been in poor condition since he was young." For Item 7 where the minutes describe discussion of the William Doe House, Mr. Arnold asked Mr. Wiley to revise "He proposed potentially awarding under Preservation Activities" to "He proposed potentially awarding the Acanthus Award under Preservation Activities." Lastly for Item 10 Mr. Arnold asked Mr. Wiley to check this item since Mr. Cummings had left the meeting but the minutes mentioned that Mr. Cummings seconded the motion to adjourn. No Commissioners had any further revisions so the Commission voted 6-0 to approve the minutes with changes (Arnold/Stoll Olthoff). 3. 217 High Avenue-Rehabilitation Work-Discussion/Action Property manager Lisa Morris was in attendance and provided the Commission materials with information on the property. She explained that she and Mr. Wiley had met and were working on the State/National Register Questionnaire. Ms. Morris had spoken with a painter and a general contractor. She explained that timing was important and that she needed to do much work (dentils, repair of boarded up areas, eaves). Ms. Morris explained that some openings that were covered were never windows. For the opening with shutters, she weighed whether to repair the shutters or purchase storm windows and paint them black. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that according to Daina Penkiunas of the Wisconsin Historical Society, the shutters could be restored. Mr. Arnold stated that if the State was amenable to using translucent glass for the bathroom window,Ms. Morris could consider it as an option for the window there. Ms. Morris mentioned that she would follow up with Mr. Wiley and email some pictures from the painter. She explained that she was working with Brian Wilson of Ripon and that he had an interest in older houses. She stated that the adjacent property had burned and under its vinyl siding was wood very similar to that of 217 High Avenue. She and her contractor were planning to repurpose as much wood as possible from the adjacent house to restore 217 High Avenue. She stated that the back gable needed work. Mr. Arnold replied that if it looked like there was no evidence of dentils on the rear of the house, Ms. Morris would not need to recreate this. Mr. Cummings stepped out at this point and Mr. Galica arrived after around 3:30 pm. Ms. Morris then mentioned that the windows on the front of the house were 91.5" tall and not energy efficient. Ms. Morris proposed replacing the windows. The Commission then discussed the windows on the front of the home. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that wood generally responds well to the environment. She and Mr.Arnold suggested tightening up the existing wood-framed windows. Mr. Arnold suggested Terry Laib as a starting point and that he was skeptical of a$450 or $500 investment having the most impact on energy efficiency. Mr. Galica asked if the windows had a weight and pulley system. Ms. Morris replied affirmatively. Mr. Arnold suggested that Ms. Morris allow her contractor adequate time to complete the work and to ensure fair payment for the work. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that tax credit projects may extend over a period of years and that the project may cover furnaces, plumbing, etc. Ms. Morris asked what the formula was for tax credits. Ms. Brabender Mattox answered that for the State program for income-generating properties, a minimum of$50,000 was required. She explained that WHS staff could visit the property. Mr. Arnold suggested concentrating on the house at this time. Ms. Morris stated that the house was the priority and that she wanted a consistent look between the house and garage. Ms. Brabender Mattox suggested that Ms. Morris check the City permit records. Ms. Morris explained that the 1890 Sanborn map showed a carriage house on the property. Mr. Arnold suggested that Ms. Morris continue working with Mr. Wiley and work with the State. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if Ms. Morris would meet with WHS staff if they were available. Ms. Morris stated that she would. Mr.Galica asked if Lueck's or Grabner Glass would work with historic properties. Mr. Arnold stated that neither would do historic windows. Ms. Stoll Olthoff asked Ms. Morris about potentially filming or documenting the restoration work and Ms. Morris stated that yes she would like to make the restoration work a story. 4. 434 Church Avenue-Rehabilitation Work-Discussion/Action Mr. Wiley explained that he had email correspondence with the owner of 434 Church since the previous Landmarks meeting and that the owner did not have anything new to report for this meeting. 5. Building Permit Review The Commission reviewed the list of historic building permits. Ms. Brabender Mattox mentioned the Frontenac Building and that it was on the National Register of Historic Places. The WHS had corrected its website and listed William Waters as the architect after she had brought this to their attention. She had found owner Chase Collins and connected with him. Mr. Collins owned properties in Eau Claire. The Frontenac Building had maintained much of its interior integrity and the owner had to repair the roof. Ms. Brabender Mattox had reached out to State preservation architect Mark Buechel and he believed that for the state tax credits the roof project would likely qualify. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the case of the Frontenac Building reaffirmed the importance of the building permit review for the Commission. 6. Historic Preservation Plan-Jeremy Galica and Steven Wiley-Update/Timeline/Process Mr. Cummings stepped back in at 4:10 pm. Mr. Wiley provided an update on the Historic Preservation Plan and explained that since the last meeting he had worked on the preservation plan and continued to compile material into a document. He had relied on a few precedent examples of preservation plans from other communities. Mr. Wiley explained that Mr. Buchholz had contacted him and that they had discussed the plan. Mr. Buchholz was unable to make the Landmarks meeting for March and had informed Mr. Wiley that he would like to assist with the plans development as best he could. Mr. Wiley explained to the Commission that Mr. Buchholz believed he could have the greatest impact working with Mr. Wiley at least once per week looking at the plan draft and critiquing rather than physically writing content. Mr. Wiley presented this proposal from Mr. Buchholz to the Commission and the Commission supported it. Mr. Galica stated that Mr. Wiley could delegate items to the Commission to work on. Mr. Wiley mentioned the workshop scheduled for 3 pm the following day to work on the Preservation Plan and that he wanted to start having workshops to keep the plan moving forward. 7. 2019 Acanthus Awards -Discussion Ms. Brabender Mattox mentioned the William Doe House and asked the Commission if they would rather wait to present an Acanthus Award for the property. She stated that the Commission presented awards in May and that the rehab work on the home would likely not be complete until July. Mr. Arnold explained that the award was more for education. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if for the William Doe House the Commission could present an award for education in 2019 and an award for work later. Mr. Arnold replied affirmatively. He explained that the Commission would probably not see much of a difference in the exterior of the house. Mr. Arnold suggested running the potential award idea by Becky Brown as a courtesy. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if there were other nominations. Mr. Galica asked if the rose window at St Mary's could qualify. Mr. Arnold suggested finding out when the window was completed. The Commission added St Mary's to the list under "Preservation Activities." Mr. Arnold mentioned 115 Washington Avenue (the Goettman Printing Co) and that he had walked around the site. The restoration was an improvement on before but the front of the building was in poor shape. Mr. Arnold wanted to talk to the building owner before moving forward with a nomination. The Commission found out that Paul Redemann owned the property and had received an award before. The Commission then voted to approve the list of nominees and move forward 5-0 (Cummings, Stoll Olthoff). Mr. Arnold left at this point. 8. Social Media-Discussion/Action Mr. Wiley explained the City's new policy on City social media (primarily Facebook) sites. The City Manager had directed staff to take over admin responsibility for these sites. Mr. Wiley explained that he had received additional instructions regarding posting for boards and commissions. Any staff- originated material could be posted immediately. For any board/commission-originated material staff was directed to hold on to the material and present it to the board or commission at the next meeting. The Commission could then decide whether to post or not. Mr. Galica asked if Ms. Stoll Olthoff could create her own Landmarks page. Mr. Wiley stated that as long as the page was personal and not affiliated with the Oshkosh Landmarks Commission, she could. Ms. Stoll Olthoff wanted to assist with capturing the work done at 217 High Avenue if the work moved forward. Mr. Galica asked if Landmarks could post current historic properties for sale. Mr. Wiley stated that he would have to look into this. The Commission motioned that anyone could send material to Mr. Wiley for posting and to approve sharing the material included in the Commissioner packets for this item 4-0 (Stoll Olthoff/Galica). 9. Wisconsin Association of Historic Preservation Commissions -Preservation Awards-Oshkosh Nominations-Action Ms. Brabender Mattox asked who was registered for the WAHPC Conference. Ms. Stoll Olthoff, Ms. Brabender Mattox, and Mr. Wiley were all registered. Mr. Wiley had explained that he had sent Mr. Arnold the information. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that Mr. Cummings had the welcome portion of the event. She stated that the event had a full agenda and that they were expecting about 100 people to attend. She asked the Commission if they would consider nominating the Howard, Waite Grass Carpet Company or the Fraternal Reserve. Mr. Cummings recommended the Howard due to the significance of individuals investing in the Center City. 10. WHS-CAMP Registration for Landmarks Commissioners-April 12,2019 This item was discussed in tandem with Item 11. This event was to occur in tandem with the WAHPC event in April. 11. Commissioner Statements a. 404 W. New York Avenue: Local Landmarking-Shirley Brabender Mattox/Rich Green Ms. Brabender Mattox mentioned that Mr. Green was working on this for his property. b. Mark Buechel: Seminar on State Tax Credits-Steve Cummings Mr. Cummings did not have any new material on this item. c. Feedback on Landmarks Website Stats-Harold Buchholz Mr. Buchholz did not make the meeting so Mr. Wiley did not have any new information on this item. d. Feedback on Landmarks Facebook Page-Steven Wiley Mr. Wiley explained that this was covered before and that Mr. Buchholz might have information on the Facebook page from February. e. 303 Washington Avenue (Corbett House)-Discussion-Steve Cummings Mr. Cummings explained that he was at a Rotary meeting and had spoken with owner Randy Schmiedel who indicated that he did not have plans to demolish the property. 12. Agenda Items for Next Meeting Ongoing items such as the Historic Preservation Plan, Acanthus Awards,properties at 217 High Avenue and 434 Church Avenue, the website and Facebook stats. Any ongoing items that might come up before the next meeting also would be included on the agenda. Mr. Cummings asked that Mr. Wiley to include a progress report on the Chief Oshkosh signage. 13. Adjournment Mr. Cummings made a motion to adjourn and Ms. Stoll Olthoff seconded. Meeting adjourned at 5:10 pm (4-0). Recorded by: Steven Wiley,Assistant Planner