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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION Minutes May 81h,2019 PRESENT: Shirley Brabender Mattox, Steve Cummings, Nikki Stoll Olthoff, Elizabeth Hintz EXCUSED: Paul Arnold,Jeremy Galica ABSENT: Jake Krause STAFF AND OTHERS: Steven Wiley, Amy Albright (Convention and Visitor's Bureau), Leif Larson (Artist) 1. Call to Order Chair Brabender Mattox called the meeting to order at 3:10 p.m. and a quorum was declared present. 2. Approval of April 101h,2019 Meeting Minutes Ms. Brabender Mattox asked the Commission if there were any revisions for the April meeting minutes. No commissioners had any revisions so the Commission voted 4-0 to approve the minutes as written(Cummings/Stoll Olthoff). 3. Quaker Mural Restoration-Amy Albright, Cassie Daniels, and Leif Larson-Discussion/Action Ms.Albright and Mr. Larson introduced themselves to the Commission and Mr. Larson presented a slide presentation on their proposal to restore the Quaker mural on the side of 103 Algoma Boulevard. Ms. Albright and Mr.Larson had discussed this proposal with the building owner(Mario Ambas),Mr.Burich (Planning Services Director), Ms. Daniels (Downtown Business Improvement District), and Mr. Wiley. Mr. Larson explained that the area of facade in question was approximately 60' x 110'in area. Ms. Hintz asked if Mr. Larson had checked with the Oshkosh Public Museum to see if historical documentation existed on the original mural. Mr. Larson stated that he had checked with the museum and no documentation was on file. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if Mr. Larson had asked Dan Raddick if he had any information. Mr. Larson stated that he had reached out and Mr. Raddick provided an image of the mural from 1981. Mr. Larson was interested in what the mural restoration would do aesthetically for the city and explained that the mural was a very visible prominent billboard with several visual avenues. Mr. Larson presented a slide showing a sample color palette of what eyes see in the area. He showed another example of a Quaker mural that used lead in the paint and had lasted a long time. Mr.Cummings recommended that Mr. Larson check with Dahl Motors, a Ford dealer in LaCrosse to see if they might have historical images of similar murals. Mr. Larson explained that the figure in the Quaker mural was a full-body painted figure. The word "tobacco' was painted on the bottom of the facade below the Quaker mural. Ms. Hintz asked if Mr. Larson would paint the entire facade or just the Quaker section. Mr. Larson stated that he was planning to restore the Quaker section. He explained that it was easier to keep the mural as what it was historically and that the building owner was supportive. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked if Mr. Larson would paint the entire mural or just the letters. Mr. Larson stated that he would paint the whole mural. Ms. Brabender Mattox asked what paint Mr. Larson would use. Mr. Larson stated that he had not yet determined the paint type. Ms. Brabender Mattox provided Mr. Larson with information from state architect Mark Buechel. She stated that different paint types exist and that breathability was important. Ms. Hintz asked if the building was previously sandblasted. Mr. Larson replied that he did not believe so. Mr. Wiley explained that Mr.Buechel informed him that it was possible to test the historic paint and use a breathable non-latex paint of a different water solubility than the original. This would allow for the new paint to be removed in the future if necessary. Ms. Hintz stated that she had tested paint in the past and was familiar with the procedures. She explained that mortar would have a greater impact on longevity of historic masonry. Ms.Albright explained an earlier discussion she had with Mr.Burich regarding the definitions of murals and signs. She stated that Quaker did not wish to be involved with the mural restoration. For funding she stated that$3,500.00 was raised for the arts during Restaurant week. The mural restoration was estimated at approximately$10,000.00. Mr. Larson stated that he had another artist that he had worked with who could help with the mural project. After the discussion the Commission voted (4-0) to approve the mural restoration as long as appropriate materials were used and the State architects were consulted during the process (Cummings/Hintz). 4. 217 High Avenue-Discussion/Action Mr. Wiley explained that there were no major updates on this item. The owner/property manager had to obtain additional exterior photographs to submit with the initial questionnaire for the Wisconsin Historical Society to determine eligibility for the National and State Registers. Mr. Wiley explained that the owner/property manager had most of the information necessary for submitting but had not yet taken the photographs. 5. Building Permit Review / 1263 Merritt - Potential Standing Seam Roofing for rear addition - Discussion/Action Mr. Wiley explained that the owner of 1263 Merritt Avenue had asked him to withdraw the item from the agenda because the owner wanted to compile more information regarding the potential project. The Commission discussed the list of building permits for properties located in historic districts. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that for the property at 1435 Congress Avenue, the owner knew about tax credits and had filled out the required application for tax credits. For the property at 651 Jackson Street, Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that the owner was having work done on the interior and exterior. She stated that she referred the owner to Mr.Wiley who provided some assistance in starting the application for tax credits. 6. Evening on the Avenue Event-June V-Discussion Mr. Wiley explained that the Oshkosh Public Library along with several other partners was celebrating the new Historic Walking Tour and renovated William Waters Plaza on June 1st. Landmarks was to have a table at the event. Mr. Wiley stated that he would have the boards from State of the City along with any information that could be placed at the table. Mr. Wiley mentioned that he would follow up with more information as the event came closer but asked the Commissioners to consider volunteering for the event. 7. Historic Preservation Plan and Project-Jeremy Galica/Steven Wiley-Update/Timeline/Process Mr. Wiley stated that he was working on the plan but that he had not had an opportunity to work on it recently. He wanted to do another workshop and explained that Mr. Burich had recommended that the Commission and Mr. Wiley draft much of the plan and then seek public input. Mr. Wiley explained that Mr. Galica had completed his content analysis of statutes, ordinances, and existing preservation plans. 8. 2019 Acanthus Awards -Discussion Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that there were four nominees for 2019 Acanthus Awards. Ms. Stoll Olthoff stated that she was working on the write up for the Howard. Ms. Brabender Mattox was working on the write-up for the William Doe House and agreed to do the write-up for the Riverside Chapel. She stated that Mr. Buchholz, who had since passed away, was originally planning to do the write-up for Riverside Chapel. Mr. Galica was unable to attend the May Landmarks meeting and planned to do the write-up for St. Mary's. The Commission proposed holding off on St. Mary's for 2019 if Mr. Galica was unable to do the write-up. 9. Historic Sign Markers-Lakeshore Riverwalk-Discussion Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that development at the Lakeshore site would require compliance with Statute 44.40. She reminded the Commission that the UWM Cultural Resource Management team believed that a portion of the site was eligible for the National Register. Mr. Cummings explained that he had toured the Oshkosh Corp.building and that Oshkosh Corp. supported the idea of signage at the Lakeshore site. He explained that one possibility was to do something on the western end of the site and work towards Rainbow Memorial Park. He recommended examining Augusta, Georgia as an example of a precedent. Mr. Cummings recommended that Landmarks take the lead on the project and consider educational signage for children. Ms. Hintz asked how many acres comprised the site in question. Mr. Cummings replied that the site was 70 acres. He suggested that the commission consider how to make the experience engaging to a seventh grader and tell the public what occurred there. Commissioners were supportive of conducting field trips to other locations in the state that had done similar projects before. Mr. Cummings suggested reaching out to the State Historic Preservation Office and working with the State and Oshkosh Public Museum. Ms. Hintz asked if there was a plan for the Lakeshore site. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that the city hired a consultant and there would be a public input process in the coming months. She stated that the Youth Council was a group that could provide input. Ms. Stoll Olthoff stated that she could reach out to UW-Oshkosh. Mr. Cummings proposed holding a special meeting to discuss the historic sign project further. 12. Commissioner Statements a. April 121h WHS-CAMP and WAHPC Preservation Awards Update-Shirley Brabender Mattox Ms. Brabender Mattox provided an update and explained that she, Mr. Arnold, and Ms. Stoll Olthoff had attended. Ms. Stoll Olthoff mentioned that she learned much at the event coming in as a new commissioner. b. Frontenac Flats-Historic Tax Credits-Steven Wiley Mr. Wiley explained that he and Ms. Brabender Mattox were assisting owner Chase Collins with submitting the required documentation for the tax credits. Mr. Wiley had taken photographs of the property and the state required that the photographs be printed and sent in. c. 404 W. New York Avenue: Local Landmarking-Shirley Brabender Mattox/Rich Green Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that she would assist with this after the Acanthus Awards. d. Feedback on Landmarks Website Stats-Steven Wiley Mr. Wiley explained that since Mr. Buchholz passing,he had contact Tony Newman in IT and had Mr. Newman send him the website information. He explained that the number of page views had risen from 161 to 208 since March, the number of unique pageviews had risen from 118 to 162,but the average time on the page had decreased from 1:04 to 00:58. e. Feedback on Landmarks Facebook Page-Steven Wiley Mr. Wiley explained that Commissioners could send him material for posting and that this would help him keep the Facebook page up to date. f. 303 Washington Avenue (Corbett House)-Discussion-Steve Cummings Mr. Cummings explained that he did not have any further updates since speaking with owner Randy Schmiedel who indicated that he did not have plans to demolish the property. g. 530 N. Main Street Proposed Cell Antennae-Steven Wiley Mr. Wiley stated that he had completed and submitted to the consultants the response letters on behalf of Landmarks. AT&T and U.S. Cellular were proposing modernization upgrades of antennae on the building. Mr. Wiley explained that Su van Houwelingen of the Housing Authority had concerns because she was not notified of the previous Landmarks meeting when the Commission took action on the item. Mr. Wiley explained that the Landmarks comments were only a portion of the process and that he mentioned this to Su van Houwelingen. h. 434 Church Avenue-Update Mr. Wiley did not have much new information on this property. Mr. Ambas was working on obtaining quotes from contractors but was struggling with getting the quotes. Mr. Wiley stated that the owner was considering just renting a lift and scraping and painting. i. Chief Oshkosh-Progress Report-Steve Cummings Mr. Cummings stated that he had a meeting a few weeks prior to the Landmarks meeting and had discussed four markers (North, South, East and West). He stated that Dennis Zack was on the Unity and Community steering committee and was the American Indian Students Services Coordinator at UW-Oshkosh. Mr. Cummings stated that Mr. Zack was involved. He wanted to meet with the tribal leader and finish up the draft. Ms. Brabender Mattox stated that she was willing to go and assist in finishing the draft. She suggested focusing on Chief Oshkosh in perhaps four major roles such as environmentalist, leader, peacemaker, etc. 13. Agenda Items for Next Meeting (June 12,2019: 3 PM in City Hall Room 203) 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 suggested moving the Acanthus Awards and Lakeshore discussion up on the agenda. 14. Adjournment Mr. Cummings made a motion to adjourn and Ms. Stoll Olthoff seconded. Meeting adjourned at 5:01 pm (4-0). Recorded by: Steven Wiley,Assistant Planner